Delicate Balance, A | Virginia I. Perry (essay date 1983)
Virginia I. Perry (essay date 1983)
SOURCE: "Disturbing Our Sense of Well-Being: The 'Univited' in A Delicate Balance," in Edward Albee: An Interview and Essays, The University of St. Thomas, 1983, pp. 55-64.
[In the essay below, Perry observes that "A Delicate Balance is intended to point out the fragile nature of [one 'sj illusion of security by exploring the ill-defined boundaries which separate sanity from madness and by exposing just how delicate those boundaries can be."]
In the first scene of the second act of A Delicate Balance, Agnes tells Julia about a recently published book: "It is a book to be read and disbelieved, for it disturbs our sense of well-being."1 Ironically, Agnes' rather terse critical pronouncement might just as aptly be applied to the literary piece in which she herself appears, for by challenging and disturbing the "well-being" of critics and audience alike the play has continued to...
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