Edward Albee’s Theatre of Testimony: Response Ethics in At Home at the Zoo

Abstract

This paper examines response ethics in At Home at the Zoo, concentrating on the self-other relation and its ethical implications. Albee’s decision to revisit the 1959 duologue The Zoo Story to flesh out the character of Peter results in a nuanced portrayal of his selfhood vis-à-vis others. The two-act play knits together a series of intricately structured face-to-face encounters culminating in Jerry’s death, presenting the epiphanic moments of the call of the other. In these moments, the face qua the absolute alterity of the other appears as a traumatic demand that disrupts the solipsistic self, as exemplified by Jerry’s forsaking of desire for recognition. Peter’s failure to acknowledge others’ demands looms large in his interactions with people, engendering Ann’s frustration and Jerry’s desperate attempts to make contact with him. Jerry’s testimonial storytelling and ritualistic death is presented in such a way that both calls for and prefigures his transformation into an ethically responsible person. In this sense, the play explores the importance of response-ability. This essay concludes that Albee mobilizes the audience’s ethical vigilance by rendering the spectators witnesses to the play.