This research intends to describe existentialism in Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf by Edward Albee.This research is a descriptive qualitative research which
is done under the framework of English Literature limited to existentialism as one
of areas of its study. This research takes Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by
Edward Albee as source of data. Some forms of its dialogues, sentences, phrases
and words are taken as primary data. This inquiry is completed also with
secondary data in the form ofany relevant information from books, journals and
online sources. From the analysis, several elements of existentialism which can be
found in the play are ‘Existence precedes Essence’, ‘Man creates himself’, pain of
existing, anguish, choice, death, authenticity and despair. The characters were
struggling to find the meaning of their existence. They struggled to make sense of
their life and to invent themselves. The characters were aware that they
experienced anguish and pain of existing. They were trying to find their
authenticity. However, at the end of the play, none of the characters managed to
reach an authentic being. Some of the characters felt that it was enough to live in
the illusion, trapped in their ‘self-deception’ because it means that they did not
have to face their existential pain. The other half of the characters, while
managing to face their existential pain, were trapped in despair because of the
uncertainty of the absurdity in their life.