The American Dream Characters

Mommy is the cruel, domineering, self-centered driving force at the center of the play. Rumored to be based on Albee’s real-life adoptive mother, Mommy has very little regard for anyone but herself. She is obsessed… read analysis of Mommy

Where Mommy is authoritative, domineering, and self-aggrandizing, Daddy is sheepish, suggestible, and self-deprecating. Daddy is a wealthy man who tries his best to ignore his frivolous yet cruel wife’s antics, going along with whatever she… read analysis of Daddy

Though Mommy is the play’s most bombastic force, Grandma is its quiet center. The only character who breaks the fourth wall to address the audience—and the only character who seems to truly know what’s going… read analysis of Grandma

Mrs. Barker is the chairman of the local woman’s club, and a friend and neighbor of Mommy and Daddy. When she shows up to the house, neither they—nor she—seem to really know what her… read analysis of Mrs. Barker