beckett and existentialism3

8/13/2019 Beckett and Existentialism3

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The Spectacle of the Struggle:

Existential Themes in the Work of Samuel Beckett.

by

Colin Pink

We have art in order not to die of the truth. Nietzsche (quoted in M! "#$%

No &ork of art can be reduced to a set of "hiloso"hical or 'oral "rece"ts. hat is not

the &ay that &orks of art &ork. )reat art &ill al&ays esca"e reduction to a set of

ideas. *rt worksby creatin+ a concrete e,"erience- and like a natural e,"erience it is

o"en to 'ulti"le inter"retations. he richer the &ork of art the 'ore various the

inter"retations. t is no accident that /eckett is one of the 'ost over0inter"reted

&riters &ho ever lived- it 'erely attests to the richness and resonance of his &ork.

!ince art affects us by creatin+ a concrete e,"erience akin to the e,"eriences

of life one could say that all art is e,istential in the sense of e'"hasisin+ lived

e,"erience1 doin+ rather than thinkin+1 e'bodiedness rather than abstraction1

interraction rather than detach'ent. *rt1 in 2ierke+aardian ter's1 is a for' of indirect

co''unication- it does not si'"ly tell us thin+s1 it sho&s us a &ay of bein+. n this

res"ect all art is e,istential in that it 'akes us question our bein+1 our relationshi" to

the &orld1 and to see it in a ne& li+ht and also forces us back on ourselves to

e,a'ine ho& &e are. his is &here art differs fro' si'"le entertain'ent. Pure

entertain'ent takes us out of ourselves1 &hereas art returns us to ourselves1 but

chan+ed1 enriched &ith ne& "ers"ectives1 and ne& questions1 on &hich to reflect.

/eckett is a "hiloso"hically very a&are &riter. 3e read a lot of "hiloso"hy and

he 'akes e,"licit use of "hiloso"hical ideas in his &ork. 3is first "ublished "iece1

Whorosco"e1 &as a lon+ ironical narrative "oe' about the life of 4ene 5escartes.

5escartes and his ideas about 'ind0body dualis' re'ain a very "otent influence on

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/ecketts &ritin+. 6or instance1 in Murphy1 his first novel1 "ublished in 789#1 he

&rites:

hus Mur"hy felt hi'self s"lit in t&o1 a body and a 'ind. heyhad intercourse a""arently1 other&ise he could not have kno&nthat they had anythin+ in co''on. /ut he felt his 'ind to bebodyti+ht and did not understand throu+h &hat channel theintercourse &as effected nor ho& the t&o e,"eriences ca'e tooverla". (fro' Murphy"$;%.

n addition to 5escartes /ecketts &orks 'ake e,"licit or i'"licit use of ideas derived

fro' the "hiloso"hy of the ccasionalist follo&ers of 5escartes ()eulinc, and

Malebranche%1 !"inoza1 /erkeley (/ecketts only fil' scri"t 6il' takes /erkeleys

esse est "erci"i as its "re'iss%1 2ant1 3e+el and es"ecially !cho"enhauer. here is

a dee" affinity bet&een the bleak1 "essi'istic "hiloso"hy of !cho"enhauer1 &herein

life is nothin+ but a blind strivin+ of the &ill to life in a &orld of sufferin+1 and /ecketts

&orld0vie&. *s *cheson de'onstrates (see /P! "assi'% /eckett 'ade use of

!cho"enhauerian ideas in his study of ProustsA la Recherche du Temps Perdu.

/eckett &as1 in his early career1 stron+ly influenced by


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their &ork. 3e leaves in only &hat is essential. n an intervie& &ith o' 5river

/eckett is re"orted as sayin+:

When 3eide++er and !artre s"eak of a contrast bet&eenbein+ and e,istence1 they 'ay be ri+ht1 dont kno&1 but theirlan+ua+e is too "hiloso"hical for 'e. a' not a "hiloso"her.ne can only s"eak of &hat is in front of hi'1 and that issi'"ly a 'ess. (quoted in Cohn1 !/C= "7$8%

/eckett de"icts the 'ess that is the hu'an "redica'ent in a "articularly strikin+ and

"rofound &ay. *s &e can see fro' the above quote1 and fro' readin+ his &ork1

/eckett is a+ainst syste'atic or abstract ideas- &hen his characters indul+e in

"hiloso"hy (e.+. Mur"hy1 Watt1 >ucky% it is in order to sho& ho& absurd it is to

indul+e in "hiloso"hy. * de+ree of sus"icion about the value of traditional

"hiloso"hical 'odes of thou+ht1 characterised by an abstract detach'ent fro' the

"heno'ena of lived e,"erience (the 'ess%1 handed do&n fro' a re'ote hei+ht1

re'oved fro' bein+0in0the0&orld1 is of course a feature of e,istentialist thou+ht &ith

its e'"hasis on the value of en+a+e'ent1 and the i'"ortance of sub?ective truth over

abstractions.

Martin =sslin dra&s a "arallel bet&een /eckett and 2ierke+aard1 since for

both fi+ures any abstract state'ent about the nature of the &orld1 by havin+ been

abstracted fro' the livin+ e,"erience of an individual1 is necessarily dead1 the 'ere

e'"ty shell of a livin+ truth. ("$ !/C=%. 3e +oes on to quote 2ierke+aard1 fro' the

oncluding Unscientific Postscript:

While ob?ective thou+ht is indifferent to&ard the thinkin+individual and his e,istence1 the sub?ective thinker1 as ane,istin+ bein+1 is vitally interested in his o&n thou+ht &ithin&hich he e,ists@(!/C= "$%

/eckett is such a sub?ective thinker. 3e creates in his novels1 "lays and short te,ts

"o&erful concrete e,"eriences that reflect on the 'ess. 3e refused to e,"lain the

'eanin+ of his te,ts because to do so &ould be to "rovide a ready0'ade ans&er

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rather than creatin+ the "ossibly for the reader or vie&er to e,"erience the revelation

of a sub?ective truth throu+h e,"eriencin+ the &ork directly. *s 2ierke+aard says:

While ob?ective thou+ht attaches su"re'e i'"ortance toresults and enables all 'ankind to "ractice deceit by co"yin+and re"eatin+ results and su''ations1 sub?ective thou+ht"uts all its store on the "rocess of beco'in+ and o'its theresult1 "artly because this1 "recisely1 is a 'atter for the thinkerhi'self1 he bein+ the one &ho kno&s the &ay it is reached1"artly because he is in a constant "rocess of beco'in+@(quoted in !/C= "$%.

Waitin+ for )odot is sub0titled a tra+i0co'edy. *ll /ecketts &ork is tra+i0co'ic. We

should never for+et the hu'our. t is the hu'our that 'akes the tra+edy of e,istence

bearable1 to so'e e,tent. Perfor'ed correctly all /ecketts &orks1 ho&ever bleak

they 'ay be1 are also very funny. t is a +allo&s hu'our1 but ?ust as valuable for all

that. /ecketts hu'our is al'ost al&ays lau+hter in the face of the absurdity of

e,istence. ra+edy and co'edy are t&o sides of the sa'e coin de"endin+ on ho&

you look at events.

Nothin+ is funnier than unha""iness1 +rant you that. @ Aes1yes1 its the 'ost co'ical thin+ in the &orld. *nd &e lau+h1 &elau+h1 &ith a &ill1 in the be+innin+. /ut its al&ays the sa'ethin+. Aes1 its like the funny story &e have heard too often1&e still find it funny1 but &e dont lau+h any 'ore. (= "B%

n an absurd &orld1 that is a &orld &here there is no ulti'ate foundation to +ive

'eanin+ to our e,istence1 all &e can do is clin+ to a 'eanin+ &e have invented for

ourselves. n an absurd &orld every individual 'ust invent their o&n 'eanin+ for

e,istence. he o"enin+ lines of Waiting for !odotillustrate the "redica'ent of1 in

3eide++erian ter's !eworfenheitor hro&nness1 the fact that &e al&ays find

ourselves already in the 'idst of e,istence. 3ere is the o"enin+ te,t of Waiting for

!odot:

=stra+on1 sitting on a low mound" is trying to take off his #oot$%e pulls at it with #oth hands" panting$ %e gi&es up"e'hausted" rests" tries again.As #efore.

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=nter Dladi'ir.=stra+on: (gi&ing up again.% Nothin+ to be done.Dladi'ir: (ad&ancing with short" stiff strides" legs wide apart.%' be+innin+ to co'e round to that o"inion. *ll 'y life vetried to "ut it fro' 'e1 sayin+1 Dladi'ir1 be reasonable1 youhavent yet tried everythin+. *nd resu'ed the stru++le.(W6) "8%.

here is literally nothin+ to be done about the fact of our e,istence. ur thro&nness

into the &orld cannot be avoided- it has to be confronted. We did not choose to e,ist1

in this &orld1 at this ti'e1 in this "lace1 on this sta+e1 but nonetheless here &e are.

We are then confronted &ith the necessity of doin+ so'ethin+ about our situation.

We can des"air1 and +ive u"1 nothin+ to be done1 or &e can resu'e the stru++le

and atte'"t to 'ake so'ethin+ out of the disaster of our e,istence1 &hich for /eckett

is the ori+inal sin of havin+ been born. /eckett concurs &ith the )reek sa+e &ho

declared: the best thin+ is never to have been born.

his conce"t of hro&nness is illustrated even 'ore literally at the start of

/ecketts 'i'e called *ct Without Words 7:

5esert. 5azzlin+ li+ht.he 'an is flun+ back&ards on sta+e fro' ri+ht &in+.

3e falls1 +ets u" i''ediately1 dusts hi'self1 turns aside1reflects.

Whistle fro' ri+ht &in+.3e reflects1 +oes out ri+ht.''ediately flun+ back on sta+e he falls1 +ets u"

i''ediately1 dusts hi'self1 turns aside1 reflects.Whistle fro' left &in+.3e reflects1 +oes out left.''ediately flun+ back on sta+e he falls1 +ets u"

i''ediately1 dusts hi'self1 turns aside1 reflects. (";9

Collected !horter Plays%

nce youre on you cant +et easily +et off. !tranded in the desert /ecketts

character is tantalised by various ob?ects of desire (&ater and shade% that are

dan+led ?ust out of reach. n 'any &ays the e,istentialist &riter &ho is closest to

/eckett is *lbert Ca'us. he situation of the character inAct Without Words (

chi'es &ith Ca'uss state'ent in The Myth of )isyphus:

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he Myth of !isy"hus . . . su's itself u" for 'e as a lucidinvitation to live and to create in the very 'idst of the desert.(M! "E%

!i'ilarly1 in *ndgame3a'' declares: Fse your head1 cant you1 use your head1

youre on earth1 theres no cure for thatG )o+os boots bein+ stuck on is therefore a

'eta"hor for the =,istentialist ada+e: e,istence "recedes essence. We are stuck

&ith life ?ust as )o+os boot is stuck to his foot.

Waitin+ for )odot can be seen as one bi+ 'eta"hor for the e,istential

"redica'ent of hu'ankind. We are thro&n into the &orld1 &e have to decide &hat to

do &ith our life. here is no ulti'ate "oint to e,istence ()roundlessness% therefore

&e have to invent a 'eanin+ to +ive it in order to continue the &ait bet&een birth and

death.

/ecketts vision is bleak and "essi'istic1 ver+in+ on nihilis'. ne of the last

lines in his late "lay Rocka#yis si'"ly: 6uck life. (C!P "B#B%. here is a constant

tension in his &ork bet&een des"airHnihilis' and a kind of stubborn resilience or

ho"e. /ecketts characters occu"y the s"ace bet&een the "oles of1 on the one hand1

nihilis'1 des"air1 and hanatos and1 on the other hand1 affir'ation1 ho"e and =ros.

/eckett confronts the necessity to continue in the face of i'"ossible situations1

"erha"s 'ost clearly illustrated in the "redica'ent of Winnie in %appy Days&ho is

slo&ly bein+ en+ulfed by the earth and yet1 in this i'"ossible "osition1 she finds &ays

of carryin+ on. t is this de'onstration of hu'an resilience that1 at the end of the day1

results in /ecketts &ork bein+ a "ositive e,"ression of hu'an resilience rather than

?ust bein+ a de"ressin+ vision of death1 decay and "ain. t is si+nificant that1 des"ite

their sufferin+1 none of /ecketts characters do elect to kill the'selves. *s Ca'us

states:

3e I!isy"husJ is stron+er than his rock @ here is no fate thatcannot be sur'ounted by scorn @ crushin+ truths "erish fro'bein+ ackno&led+ed @ leave !isy"hus at the foot of the'ountainG ne al&ays finds ones burden a+ain. /ut !isy"husteaches the hi+her fidelity that ne+ates the +ods and raisesrocks. 3e1 too1 concludes that all is &ell @ he stru++le itself

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to&ards the hei+hts is enou+h to fill a 'ans heart. ne 'usti'a+ine !isy"hus ha""y. (M! "780777%

Ca'us &ild Nietzschean o"ti'is' about !isy"huss state of 'ind &ould not be

endorsed by /eckett but the "o&er to endure cruel "redica'ents is "o&erfully

illustrated in his &ork. n 'any of /ecketts "lays the characters are either "hysically

unable (e.+. %appy Days" Play" Act Without Words (% to leave the sta+e1 or 'entally

unable (e.+. *ndgame" +ot ,% to leave. t is as if beyond the confines of the sta+e is

death1 like the bleak lifeless landsca"e outside the refu+e in *ndgame.

*s Pozzo says in Waiting for !odot: hey +ive birth astride of a +rave1 the

li+ht +lea's an instant1 then its ni+ht once 'ore. (W6) "#8%. 6or /eckett life is a

transient burden bet&een the dual cataclys's of birth and death1 a vale of tears1 of

stru++le and tor'ent. Co'"are1 for instance1 &hat Ca'us says in the Myth of

)isyphus:

n the e,"erience that a' atte'"tin+ to describe and tostress on several 'odes1 it is certain that a ne& tor'entarises &herever another dies. (M! "#$%

&ith Waiting for !odot:

Pozzo: 3es sto""ed cryin+. (To *stragon.% Aou havere"laced hi' as it &ere. (-yrically.% he tears of the &orld area constant quantity. 6or each one &ho be+ins to &ee"1so'e&here else another sto"s. he sa'e is true of the lau+h.(%e laughs.% (W6) "99%

he characters in )odot are clearly desi+ned to be seen as re"resentations of

every'an:

Dladi'ir: /ut at this "lace1 at this 'o'ent of ti'e1 all 'ankindis us1 &hether &e like it or not. >et us 'ake the 'ost of it1before it is too lateG >et us re"resent &orthily for once the foulbrood to &hich a cruel fate consi+ned usG (W6) "E8%

Dladi'ir: What are &e doin+ here1 that is the question. *nd&e are blessed in this1 that &e ha""en to kno& the ans&er.Aes1 in this i''ense confusion one thin+ alone is clear. Weare &aitin+ for )odot to co'e (W6) "#%

n other &ords1 &hatever sense of "ur"ose you have invented and +iven to yourself

that is your )odot. ur sense of 'eanin+ in life is ?ust as "ointlessH+roundless as the

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t&o tra'"s endlessly &aitin+ for )odot1 but it is ours. n an absurd &orld1 that is a

&orld &here there is no ulti'ate foundation to +ive 'eanin+ to our e,istence1 all &e

can do is clin+ to a 'eanin+ &e have invented for ourselves. n an absurd &orld

every individual 'ust invent their o&n 'eanin+ for e,istence.

Many "eo"le have asked Who is )odotK. * "ro"er na'e naturally inclines

"eo"le to seek so'e unique individual that corres"onds to it. /ut )odot is not clearly

defined and that is intentional because he is a "laceholder for &hatever it is that

+ives 'eanin+ to ones e,istence1 to &hat kee"s one +oin+ on in the face of the

stru++le for survival1 the "ain and ulti'ate di'inution of life. t is therefore a "ointless

question to ask1 as so 'any have1 Who is )odotK )odot is si'"ly a "laceholder for

&hatever it is that kee"s one +oin+.

/ut &hile &e &ait for our "ersonal )odot ()od1 ho"e1 success in our

endeavours1 love1 "olitical chan+e1 &hatever is our ulti'ate +oal and1 of course1 our

ulti'ate destination1 death% &hat do &e have to &ork &ithK We have relationshi"s. *t

the core of Waiting for !odotis the relationshi"s bet&een t&o cou"les: the tra'"s

5idi and )o+o1 and the 'aster and slave relationshi" of Pozzo and >ucky. hese t&o

"airs are best seen as re"resentin+ cou"les1 like 'arried cou"les1 but one

relationshi" is basically su""ortive1 )o+o and 5idi1 and the other is basically

e,"loitative1 >ucky and Pozzo. !i+nificantly both sets of cou"les re"eatedly threaten

to leave one another but never do. hey need one another1 even the PozzoH>ucky

co'bination need one another. =ach &ould be di'inished by the absence of the

other. herefore the "alliative value of hu'an relationshi"s1 co'"lete &ith bickerin+

and abuse1 is the very thin+ that 'akes the &aitin+ bet&een birth and death

bearable. he hu'an need for reco+nition and identity is illustrated forcefully at the

end of )odot &hen the 'essen+er boy fro' )odot does not reco+nise 5idi:

Dladi'ir: @ 5o you not reco+nise 'eK/oy: No1 sir.Dladi'ir: t &asnt you ca'e yesterday./oy: No1 sir.

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!ilence@./oy: What a' to tell Mr. )odot1 sirKDladi'ir: ell hi' . . . (he hesitates% . . . tell hi' you sa& 'eand that . . . (he hesitates% . . . that you sa& 'e. (Pause$.ladimir ad&ances" the /oy recoils$ .ladimir halts" the /oyhalts$ With sudden &iolence$% Aoure sure you sa& 'e1 you&ont co'e and tell 'e to'orro& that you never sa& 'eG(W6) "8708B%.

We &ant to be reco+nised for &ho &e are. We need the reco+nition of others to truly

believe that &e e,ist. Aet1 &e do not &ant to be "inned do&n1 labelled1 filed1 fi,ed like

a butterfly in a tray of s"eci'ens. 3ence1 &e ado"t different "ersonas1 de"endin+ on

the situation.

he shiftin+ sands of identity are indicated by the fact that each of the t&o

'ain characters has three na'es: their official na'e1 &hich is not used1 their

di'inutiveHaffectionate na'e1 &hich they use bet&een the'selves1 and their aliases1

&hich are used &ith stran+ers.

=.+. Dladi'ir 5idi Mr. *lbert

and =stra+on )o+o *da'

5idi and )o+o seek distractions to relieve the boredo' of &aitin+He,istence and they

invent a nu'ber of diversions to entertain the'selves. /ut their "ri'ary diversion is

the a""earance of another cou"le1 Pozzo and >ucky1 &ho vividly re"resent a kind of

sado0'asochistic relationshi" of do'inance and sub'ission. ''ediately after the

entrance of Pozzo (brandishin+ his &hi"% and >ucky (on a lon+ leash of ro"e% the t&o

tra'"s feel "ity for >ucky. hey see ho& badly he is treated by Pozzo and note the

runnin+ sore on his neck. * little later1 after Pozzo co'"lains of ho& >ucky is drivin+

hi' 'ad1 they turn on >ucky1 and sy'"athise instead &ith Pozzo.

Dladi'ir: (to -ucky% 3o& dare youG ts abo'inableG !uch a+ood 'asterG Crucify hi' like thatG *fter so 'any yearsG4eallyG (W6) "9;%

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!uch is the fickleness of hu'an sy'"athy. When it looks like Pozzo &ants to +et rid

of >ucky1 and even thou+h they have seen ho& badly he is treated1 they &ant to see

if they can re"lace hi':

Pozzo: (so##ing% 3e used to be so kind . . . so hel"ful . . . andentertainin+ . . . 'y +ood an+el . . . and no& . . . hes killin+'e.=stra+on: (to .ladimir% 5oes he &ant to re"lace hi'KDladi'ir: WhatK=stra+on: 5oes he &ant so'eone to take his "lace or notKDladi'ir: dont think so.=stra+on: WhatKDladi'ir: dont kno&.=stra+on: *sk hi'. (W6) "9;%

hey atte'"t to abandon their freedo' in e,chan+e for a "osition1 a little succour.

a' re'inded of ho& +o to +reat len+ths fillin+ in elaborate a""lication for's1 sittin+

tests and havin+ intervie&s for ?obs have no real interest in doin+1 si'"ly because

need to earn a livin+. n a less e,"licit &ay &e are continuously +ivin+ a&ay our

freedo' in return for a dis+uised for' of slavery that is ulti'ately akin to that of

>ucky. he "o'"ous boss is the 'odel for Pozzo. Most of us sacrifice our freedo'

for a re+ular inco'e1 for the bones that societys Pozzos toss us.

he Pozzo and >ucky characters illustrate the nature of hu'an do'inance

and the 'utual de"endence of 'aster and slave and ho& the role of the 'aster is

only "ossible &ith the co'"licity of the slave. 3o&ever1 it should not be 'istaken for

a re"resentation of the 3e+elian MasterH!lave dialectic because there is no sense of

"ro+ress orAufhe#en (su"ersedin+%. With the 3e+elian dialectic &e have an in0built

conce"t of "ro+ress. here is no "ro+ress in /eckett1 ?ust +radual decay. n /eckett

&e have re"etition but no dialectic. 3e never &rote a three0act "lay. What does the

third act +ive usK 4esolutionHsynthesisHcul'ination. here is no resolution in

/ecketts &ork: ?ust re"etition and a +radual &indin+ do&n. he endin+s of /ecketts

"lays are al&ays inconclusive and see' to "ro'ise yet 'ore re"etition. 6or instance1

the last lines of )odot are:

Dladi'ir: WellK !hall &e +oK

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=stra+on: Aes1 lets +o.They do not mo&e. (W6) "8;%

!i'ilarly1 at the end of *ndgame1 thou+h Clov has been threatenin+ to leave

3a'' throu+hout the "lay1 and has "acked his ba+s1 the final instructions to the

actor are:

3e halts by the door and stands there1 i'"assive and'otionless1 his eyes fi,ed on 3a''1 till the end. (= "L70LB%

he sha"e of /ecketts &orks is a 'eta"hor for the sha"e of a hu'an life- day after

day1 on and on1 a +radual di'inution of vitality1 until the last day. 4e"etition "lus

entro"y1 slo& declineHdecay1 is the structural "rinci"le of /ecketts &ork and can be

seen clearly1 for instance1 in 'a?or "ieces such as Waiting for !odot" %appy Days"

and Play.

n Waiting for !odot: the second act re"eats the mise en sc0neof the first

act. n both acts the t&o tra'"s &ait for )odot1 are interru"ted by the arrival of Pozzo

and >ucky and are then told by a /oy that )odot &ill not co'e today but surely

to'orro&. 3o&ever1 in the second act Pozzo has +one blind and >ucky has +one

du'b1 illustratin+ decay.

n %appy Daysthe second act is a re"eat of the first act &ith Winnie valiantly

atte'"tin+ to +et throu+h her day (to s"eak in the old style% deter'ined to re'ain

cheerful even in an i'"ossible situation. n the first act she is stuck in the earth u" to

her &aist1 in the second act she is stuck u" to her neck and the blazin+ li+ht has

beco'e 'ore intense.

n Playthree heads stuck in urns recount their trian+ular relationshi" &hile

bein+ interro+ated by a li+ht. he second act is a virtual re"eat of the first act1

ho&ever the li+ht is fainter1 as if +ro&in+ &eary of torturin+ the characters1 and the

voices of the characters are softer and slo&er.

his re"etition is akin to Nietzsches idea of the eternal recurrence. /ecketts

characters are forced to relive their e,"erience in all its "ain and boredo' a+ain and

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a+ain. Whereas for Nietzsche the idea of eternal recurrence is a chance for a valiant

affir'ation of life in the face of all its cruelty1 for /eckett it is si'"ly ho& thin+s are1

the diurnal cycle1 &akin+ and slee"in+ (re'e'ber the bell for &akin+ in %appy Days%1

so'ethin+ to be endured. 6or /eckett life is not so'ethin+ one can say yes to1

because of ones e,istential thro&nness it is "ointless to say yes1 all one can do is

either say no (i.e. kill oneself1 as the tra'"s conte'"late 0 thou+h not very seriously 0

in Waiting for !odot% or endure. 6or /eckett endurin+ life is not the sa'e as sayin+

yes to it. n =,istentialist "hiloso"hy one can either react to the fact of e,istence in an

authentic or inauthentic &ay and 'any of /ecketts characters illu'inate this

"redica'ent.

here &ould see' to be1 i'"licit in /ecketts &ork1 a value "laced on honesty

to oneself about ones life1 actions1 thou+hts1 feelin+s. ften he de"icts characters

&ho are tortured by the inability to be honest &ith the'selves about their life

e,"erience. 6or instance1 in +ot ,1 one of his 'ost innovative dra'as &here the

character is reduced to a virtually dise'bodied consciousness re"eatedly1

obsessively1 +oin+ over the sa'e life 'e'ories. * 'outh hovers in the air tellin+ the

story of a &o'an1 she1 in snatches- an *uditor listens to the s"eech1 says nothin+

but so'eti'es raises hisHher ar's in a +esture of hel"less co'"assion at the

'o'ents &hen the character is interru"ted by a questioner (audible only to the

'outh% and refuses to ackno&led+e that the &o'an1 about &ho' she talks in the

third "erson1 is in fact herself1 hence the title1 +ot ,.

sto" and stare a+ain @ so on @ driftin+ around @ &hensuddenly @ +radually @ all &ent out @ all that early *"ril'ornin+ li+ht @ and she found herself in the0 @. &hatK @&hoK @ noG @ sheG @ found herself in the dark @("B7E C!P%

n this "lay the character has been stri""ed do&n to a lin+erin+Htortured

consciousness1 endlessly +oin+ over trau'atic events in her 'ind1 refusin+ to

ackno&led+e herself as the a+ent of her actions. Aet the 'ind has +li'"ses of &hat it

needs to do to find rest:

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@ "ainless @ so far @ haG @ so far @ then thinkin+ @ ohlon+ after @ sudden flash @ "erha"s so'ethin+ she had to@ had to @ tell @ could that be itK @ so'ethin+ she had to@ tell ("BB7 Collected !horter Plays%.

*s one of the fe'ale characters says1 in the si'ilarly interro+atory Play1 s it

that do not tell the truth1 is that it1 that so'e day so'eho& 'ay tell the truth at last

and then no 'ore li+ht at last1 for the truthK (P "7$%

n the Three Dialogues with !eorges Duthuit/eckett said that @there is

nothin+ to e,"ress1 no "o&er to e,"ress1 no desire to e,"ress1 to+ether &ith the

obli+ation to e,"ress@ *ccordin+ to /eckett this is the "redica'ent of the 'odern

artist1 but it is also1 as &e can see above1 the "redica'ent of 'any of his characters.

his co'"ulsion to e,"ress1 even &ith no 'eans to e,"ress1 is the underlyin+

force &ithin his +reat "rose trilo+y (Molloy Malone Dies The Unnama#le%. he last

lines of The Unnama#leare:

@you 'ust +o on1 cant +o on1 ll +o on. ( ";7#%

Punctuation is al&ays of crucial i'"ortance in a /eckett te,t. Note that there is a

co''a bet&een you 'ust +o on and cant +o on si+nifyin+ that the i''ediate

reaction to the in?unction to +o on is that it cant be done- then there is a another

co''a1 and after it1 ll +o on1 si+nifyin+ an i''ediate chan+e of heart and the

resolve that the i'"ossible &ill be atte'"ted1 yet a+ain. here is also irony here

because ll +o on are the last &ords of The Unnama#le- it is the "recise "oint at

&hich it does not+o on. !i'ilarly1 in his late "rose "iece1 Worstward %o1 /eckett

&rites: ry a+ain. 6ail a+ain. 6ail better. (W3 "E%. * certain a+ed &eariness has

cre"t in &ith the co''as of The Unnama#lere"laced by the full0sto"s of Worstward

%o1 but the stru++le continues. /ecketts "oint1 &hich find full of solace1 is that the

kno&led+e of certain failure is no reason to +ive u" tryin+.

hou+h the 'essa+e of /ecketts "lays is1 to a lar+e e,tent1 that life is a

'eanin+less1 re"etitive stru++le1 akin to !isy"huss stru++le to roll his rock u" the

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14/15

'ountainside only to have it roll do&n to the botto' a+ain1 yet the alche'y of art is

such that one leaves feelin+ u"lifted by the s"ectacle of the stru++le1 that one feels1

thanks to the de'onstration that /ecketts &ork +ives1 'ore able1 in the &ords of

5idi1 to resu'e the stru++le.

t is i'"ossible to su' u" the achieve'ents of a &riter as +reat as !a'uel

/eckett. 3o&ever1 believe another +reat &riter1 3arold Pinter1 ca'e close to it &hen

he said1 reflectin+ on the i'"ortance of /ecketts &ork for hi':

he farther he +oes the 'ore +ood it does 'e. dont &ant"hiloso"hies1 tracts1 do+'as1 creeds1 &ays out1 truths1ans&ers1 nothin+ fro' the bar+ain base'ent. 3e is the 'ost

coura+eous1 re'orseless &riter +oin+ and the 'ore he +rinds'y nose in the shit the 'ore a' +rateful to hi'. (DD "LL%

=N5

/iblio+ra"hy:


15/15

4o'ona Cor'ier . Pallister1 Waiting for Death1 *laba'a1 78E8

ed Martin =sslin1 )amuel /eckett" a collection of critical essays1 Ne& ondon1 78$7.

5er'ot Moran1 /eckett and Philoso"hy in ed. Christo"her Murray1 )amuel /eckett"

(11 years1 5ublin1 B$.

P.

beckett and existentialism3

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