Beckett x Ellmann Nayman of Noland

8/12/2019 Beckett x Ellmann Nayman of Noland

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,awriterwithhis

Thissaid,he canstillusefullybe

sors.Becauseofwhathehas

ok.Becauseoftheir work,he

shefirstappears.Although

hisIrish nationalityasYeatsand

entionwithfondnessunexpected

firstpublication,thepoem

rothersnamedBootfrom

tocomplimentthemforhaving

Molloysuddenlyremarks,"Da,in

r,"and thenameMolloyreminds

nessforthecommonestIrish

ithMMurphy,Molloy,Moran.

sil(whichmeansclockwise)suddenly

sousedconspicuouslyasthefirst

odeinUlysses.Beckett'stransla-

endtogivetheman Irishinflec-

hewere anEnglishman,he

clinationstoacknowledgehis

byhisdecisionin earlyyouthto

eoftwenty-twoBeckettwentfrom

before,atthe ageoftwenty,Joyce

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ivotalwerethedisplacementsof

oLondon,andofWilde,at

hegeographicalchangesymbol-

pttoproceedfromthe knownto

vesinunfamiliarair.

928,he mightwellhave

stsofliteraturehad alreadybeen

countrymen.Disapproveashe

forBecketthatesposturinghe

teverseandproseincongruous

estohisdecrepitude.Joyce,

hadreconstructedprosenarra-

modificationsofEnglish,was

alanguageneverbeforeutteredby

ationalities,wereofcourse

was intense.Beckettwasnot

theacademiccareerwhichhehad

ewroteaboutProust andJoyce,

worked,or disdainedtowork,ata

ertwo yearsaslecteurattheEcole

Trinity College,Dublin.

a genius,yetnooneknewas

eployed.Histeachingpostat

ediscovered,andwouldlater

herswhathe didnothimself

ofusendure withoutbridling.

aveled,he idled,heabsorbed

wedhimselfamorousentangle-

hingelseforit andhewas,ashe

h,"hebeganto write.Whetherhe

orcisedemonshecouldperhaps

d.First hewasapoetwho wrote

wrote plays.Compositionsofall

tionalterms ofgenresprang

onsofauthorsto theirsubjects,to

e,totheirreaders,and evento

.Eachforayintoa morestarkand

another;hewasimpatientwithhis

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ameincreasinglyoutlandishashe

expressionofhisexperience.Not

rsuing,fortheideaofpursuer and

erature.Ratherhehappened

ownbeing.Theurgeto write

anonsomeTrollopianschedule.

smolargeniusarefamiliar.

phy,in 1938.Thatitwasanearly

yits havingaplot,thoughthe

hardtofollowinits laterstages.

waysextrapolatedBeckett's

nitude,orisitemptiness?Perhaps

wastorest,or toberestless,amid

atpovertyandpossessionsarethe

lymeaninglessarrestsintime,

phy,evenmorethanBelacquain

PricksthanKicks,issomeoneto

yoflife,or ofnon-life.Actionis

likenon-being.Atthenovel'sstart

rvesinarockingchairand

udelairesays)"anywhereoutof

roverturn.Physicaldislodge-

rmix,asif theworldmight

samemoment.

kofhis lifenotasa well-

darkcolor.Authors,hehassaid,

Whoroscope"aboutDescartes

andopaque.Hewasdissatisfied

on,diligencewithwhichwe

tility.Heagreedwith Dr.John-

te aplay,thatthepredominant

r,thereforeImaybe,"washis

ifmiserymarkedbutdidnot

ingwereoutof thequestion.He

forothers.HischaracterBelac-

ownintotheboilingpot, but

hyextendsbeyondcrustaceans.

ecanstill mournthekillingof

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ithadhappenedyesterday.That

s originallycalledLevysuggests

hat playthoughindeedthe

em.His dedicationoftherecent

CzechdramatistVaclavHavel

asmaintainingitselfin post-

oteinEnglishduringthewar,

saneasylums,asif onlytheredid

heirenvironment.Beckettwas

called"themess."Themesscould

yafterthe warinEuropehad

ouldlaterwithsomeembarrass-

dentifyas"a revelation."It

motherin Irelandinthesummer

ce,"acrosstheroadfrom"Cool-

he suddenlysawwhathisfuture

elations,thisoneofferedno new

somethinglikea presenthell.We

artbecauseBecketthimself

his playmanipulatesthedouble

nghisachievements,andKrapp

retensionsandeagerto listen

love.Krapp turnstobox3,spool

longbeforetohavehadsuch a

ttdid:

omand indigenceuntilthat

end ofthejetty,inthe howling

suddenlyIsaw thewholething.

whatI havechieflytorecordthis

yworkwillbe doneandperhapsno

cold,for themiracle...[hesitates]

hatI suddenlysawthenwasthat,

nall mylife,namely...

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tchesaheadonthetape,butnotfar

"that thedarkIhavealways

litymymost..."beforeheswitches

n tosay,"thatthedarkI have

in realitymymost"effectiveally

hatKrappreallywantstolisten to

ngerinterestshim,buthisexpe-

oat.Hegetsto thisandlistenstoi t

sslywindsonpastit:

poolfive.Perhapsmybestyearsare

happiness.ButI wouldn'twant

menow.No,Iwouldn'twantthem

ng,spool-playingKrapp

havethemback.Thefire of

slong sincegoneout.Beckett

eratingirony,amomentwhenhe

ce.

iveinart waspovertyor

wouldbedeprivednotonlyof

ortitude.I donotthinkthatthe

ractedhimfortheir ownsakeso

couldapproachtheunderside

dposture.Hisbookswouldalso

esofliterature.SinceBalzac,

onamassingparticulars.Beckett

espeaksofdoing so,butthe

ckingstones,areofsuch paltri-

Yetbeds,chairs,pets,bikes,farts,

ated.Thefurnituremaynot be

lyinonewaydidhe allowhimself

ndthatwasinlanguage.Heuses

edupandthenturnout tobe

tallowclichesorstockphrasesto

maydescribefaltering,but they

ction;asifto counterthedying

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eundergoesa tremendousrevivi-

unheroics.Hisdislikeof pre-

mshyawayfromswellingchords

ersandshapers,nodeedsor

itus,debris,thepratfalltrium-

closetothenucleusofbeing,

rue,whereasforGenetthe

haplin,themostpainfulis the

ksBelacquaaskshimself,"Wasitto

thesamethinginthe end."Oras

esquehorror aboutits[life's]

toculminateinfarce."Thetwo

onwas,hisIrishpredeces-

omparablemomentsofvisionary

chishardto discoverandscarcely

than withBeckett;itcamewhen

rmasportentousasrevelation.

unostentatiousexposureand

momentmeant.Theartistdid not

lyapprehendeditsshape.While

amsorlyricalintimations,the

vulgarpawnticketsor

hanyexaltedthecommonplace,

monologue,inwhichtheessence

inglywithoutpriorordering,the

epiphanyJoycediscoveredthe

henot worthmentioning.

tendtheunmentionabletothe

ppearstohavebeensucha

dewasfirstatOxford,heberated

estowardstheheightsof aspira-

.Theissuewascrystallizedforhim

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icandhiswishto beapagan.He

cha contrarietyofimpulse.But

awthathemightchooseboth

bylivingakind ofdoublelife

hisownindividuality.He

aireprayedfor,tocontemplate

iscontemporariesmighthave

ndconformity,butinhavingit

secretimpulseandfurtive

tosee thatthisundisclosed

desexualdeviation,anddeviation

ceofhimselfforwhathe was.It

ryproclivity,containeditsown

swasto assurehimselfofanew

othersthebestmediumwas

saninsistentreminderofwhatlay

nal.LikeBeckett,Wildeforcesus

lconversewhilekeepingits

asthirty-two,his viewson

sticinsighthad coalescedintoa

ergedhisbestwriting.Onlywhen

life,and adoubleview,didhe

ordiscoveredthattheywerenot

indermerecouldactincomplete

AlgernonandJackcould

elves,andDorianGraycouldfind

idnotinventa newlanguage,as

odo,butheevolvedan English

tautnessandsurprise.

alizationofhis natureand

uthis friendGeorgeRussell

n,Yeatshadbeengreatlyexcitedby

mountain,startledathisown

hisownlifetimeexplorationof

sk.Byextensionitincludedallthe

emons,and imagesuponthings

hewasoneforwhomthe visible

lftobeonefor whomtheinvisible

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sof thatinvisibleworldwashe

ss.Itwasnot likeWilde'sdouble

enottwosexualdirectionsbuttwo

compasshisgraduallyincreasing

ewvocabularyandsyntax,and

es.

undwasanoldone, French.

daftertheDunLaoghairerevela-

ore,werei nFrench,ashebegan

nentailedquitedifferentmodes

wshapesofliteraturethathewas

stwithoutprecedent.Itfreedhim

decisiononlyl essradicalthan

ntFinnegansWake-csc.Impover-

swearallthoseassociations

his ownlanguagehappilymakes

renchfreedhimfromthe neces-

volvedanewstylein hisadopted

Molloy,MaloneDies,andThe

nistswitheringawayalongwith

namesbecomeconfusedand

aveeverlivedisalso dubious.

atDavid Humereachedbut

wakingwasakindof sleeping,"

avelivedinakind ofcoma,"is

n,"saystheUnnamable,"asif I

whereasIamthe onlyoneabsent

ntrateonpeoplingthe void,

ngitagain."Ican'tgo on,I'llgo

mehaveseenthisas arayofhope

pudiatesuchasuggestion,for-

stworkwiththe terminalwords,

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obbleabout,asfarfromthe

ycanget.Theyareusuallyold,and

avenotbeenfavoriteliterary

erannuatedinhisStruldbrugs,

ett'sStruldbrugsdolittleelse.

SeenIIISaid,hopesthat atthe

ast"knowhappiness."Perhapsno

ttabouthowitfeelsto besoill.He

andmaimedandinarticulate,men

her,pastposeor pretense,past

eseemstosaythatonlythere and

dGod'spaucity,nothisplenty,

onbe approached.Theselean

ed,paralyzed,defeated,arepast

proffers.Neithersubjectivenor

emselvesinthefaceofdecrepi-

theUnnamableand"It,say it,

dHothefiguresofanold manand

therwoulddoas ill,"thetext

emberofthismostrecenttriad of

nsareimaginedintoaprecarious

adeandleavetheirimagineras he

inationfindsimagestoconceiveof

ofnovelsthroughtowhat

eckettians)incompletion,inthe

woplays.Thefirsthasneverbeen

odidea ofitfromRubyCohn's

eriaGreekforliberty.Beckett's

ironical,asfar aspossiblefrom

matMissolonghi.Itis centered

haracterizedasananti-artist,and

herodoesnotaspirethrough

eaconscienceforhisr ace.The

beridofthe worldandhisown

verachieve.Thefaintsoundof

e ashesaystheclosestto

havehadinmind towritea

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ngbuta losingofshape,diseduca-

ey'sDemogorgontellsusthat

ckettputtheplay aside,perhaps

statementtoJoyce's^Portraitof

towrite,againin French,Waiting

ldbenosuspicionof Joyce's

WhereEleutheriadealtwiththe

eople,Godotdealswiththeir

rosefiction,doublesornear-

isplays heusuallysummonsupa

and-outers,clowns,nihilists.The

ithasthe samefoulweatheras

fdialoguethecharacterscom-

sionofrealityand unreality,of

ramedhislandscapeandhis

sKafka's,yetdifferentinthat

fully,whileBeckett'sendurepur-

kewilling forothers;theylinger,

nthe vergeofdiscoveringwhy

withKafkaandwithHenri

ecketthasaffinitiesacertain

fivephysicalsensesmoreorless

"and"Let'scontradicteach

dVladimirare stillwillingto

intheir proficiencyatthem.Ina

himself,"Youcriedfornight;it

encomplimentshimself,"Nicely

himselfonhisphrasingearlier in

ed toitselfaslanguage.In the

ngratulateshimselfonhaving

,Ithink,nicelyindeed."Thereis

elessis thefuture,aswellas the

le,menandwomenpreposter-

stheticsenseisrelated toBeckett's

ostdistressfulworksat times

zedwithsuchattentiveness,with

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astobecomefunny.Molloyhas

Estragonhavetheirboots.

ispositionvisa vishis

"Theartist whostakeshisbeing

sBeckettin hisessayonthe

mablfaspires"tostartagain from

othing."ReadingWilde,Yeats,

ngof Beckettpredictable.Yet

thelpbutconsiderorreconsider

ndwhenwedo,a strangething

eywere,atleastsomeoftheir

his. Qualitiesinhispredecessors

onspicuoushepushestothe fore.

esharedBeckett'smiddle-

ellashis schoolanduniversity,is

ntboulevardierwithhisbutton-

enothingin commonwith

eteleganceandsqualorcallto

theworkethicanddoing

yhaveincommon.It'strue that

causetheyenjoyit,Beckett's

erhapsthedistinctionis nota

ifiedifduringit artcanbecreated,

ulse,thoughacknowledged,is

rtisticambitionin Krapp's

stinctfromWildeasmight be

naccountofsucha mixtureand

edescribedasWilde'slasttape.For

eremembershowasOscarWilde

essful,andasWildehe looksat

reisinit agooddealofself-

mplishments,muchremorse;

rd.Attheend Wildeseemstoput

heturnsto eroticthoughtsof

ustasKrappfuriouslyplays the

aboat.The fireinKrapphas gone

etoothenubof hisrecollectionsis

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ing."Heoffershisnewlyappre-

ure,disgrace,poverty,sorrow,

ecouldnothaveknownthat

rojundisinReadingGaolthe

eshehadcompleted,butin

gesare removedeachweekinthe

gwasnotsomethingdis-

romhisfairytale,"TheHappy

dthecharacterofHerodin

ishedphysicalorspiritualdecay.

etainsanaestheticsenseas the

alomeIokanaanrisesfromhis

eirtrashbarrelsin Endgame,a

influencebuttosuggestthat

dramain strangerepositories.)

tserveas anepigraphtoBeck-

ptorwho wascommissionedto

wThatEndurethfor Ever."

onzewithwhichto makeit,not

bethoughthimselfofawOrkhe

eJoyThatAbidethOnlyforan

of "TheJoyThatAbidethOnly

t"TheSorrowThatEndurethfor

nWildethereismuchpain.

WildeandBeckettmaywell

rtasrecreationas wellasvocation.

rsareIrishenoughtodawdlefor a

oeat. Thereisalwaystimeto

ofVladimirand Estragonfinda

heself-conscioustakingpartina

nTheImportanceofBeingEarnest,

Allenbyin AWomanofNo

rsandwiches,orGilbert'sorto-

vecounterpartsinBeckett's

nas,Vladimir'scarrots.Both

ng throughthesurfaceofstate-

mlike"aswell"and turningit

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g,"saystheUnnamable,"what

ouldmislaytheother?"andLady

parentmaybe regardedasa

ecarelessness."Bothwriters

othatWestwardHocanbecome

iveearnestgivesawrytwisttothe

uageconnectwithpunsof

heputativeportrait ofWillie

onnetaboutamanofall hues,in

devisualas wellasverbalpuns.

esisaleadingenterprisefor both

ncebyproxy."Hisproxiesare

ndBominMurphy,buttheycan

ethe protagonistmalevolently

TheUnnamablewhereWormand

nterfeitsoftheprincipal

thequalitypossessedby

dself-cancellation.Theycannot

vokingitsoppositeand recogniz-

onnetsWilde adaptedaphraseof

orhis enemies,")todescribe

his enemies,"andBeckettmakes

henhewrites,"Greycloudlesssky

rof thosenorforGodnor his

say"TheTruthofMasks"by

all thathehassaid."A truthinart

true,"he declares,andinfactthe

aforarcheologicalaccuracyin

contradictiontoaremarkhemade

ogybegins,artceases."Beckett,

act,hasMolloyend hislong

tothehouseand wrote,Itis

thewindows.Itwasnotmid-

ationanddenialgo handinhand.

ibylVanegivesupthe pretenseofart

hisworld,onlyto commitsuicide,

onditionsofexistenceandto live

eless)worldof art,onlyto

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repudiatesnature,experience,

heperfectionofart,there isan

ehangsontheedgeof non-being.

toclaim itfortheother.Whenhe

thanfaces,thesolidityofbothis

ys,MolloysandMalonesdo not

hesuspicionlatentinnineteenth-

nstructionsmaybeonlyPotem-

ctiontocoveranessential

ckettidentifieswithmisery.

tallsuccess.Thegreatestmen

e attests,andBeckettsays,"Tobe

e fail..."InthisrespectWilde

'smoreflagrantbelittlementsof

arouseBeckett'ssympathy

eringbecameovertratherthan

viouscentury.Beckettwasmore

ormedthefeatoftransforming

rywriterintoatwentieth-century

etthaddistinctpreferences.Those

nedupwhatBeckettcalled"the

nviolaterose,"herecommended

ng."Yeatsby thistimeagreed,

erse"frogspawn,""oldbottles,

"excrement."YetamongYeats's

nerringlytheonethat wasmost

hesHisBelovedWereDead."It

ldhimselfreframeinfourof his

raveyard

veme

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French,"pleurantcellequicrut

oughtshelovedme."Itis aline

notonly becausehislovedidnot

ausehe wouldnothaveendeda

oubtwhichBeckettlikesto

wasforYeatssomethingtoget

htbathosasYeatssoughtclimax.

atKillineysouthof Dublin,

vy.Atthissinglemeetingin1932

ingapassagefrom"Whoro-

dreferredtoDescartes'attitude

ofease

ne

oveandfemalecrueltymayhave

artling imagery.Inasubsequent

sfromYeats'spoem,"The

eofhis minidrama"...butthe

raseispart ofakindof grand

ngandthedetermination,concen-

ya manistryingto evokethe

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aMaud-Gonne-likefigure,and

ieflyonascreen,murmuring

spoem.Atlastthemanquotes.

on,asinYeats,butof unreality,or

nded.InBeckettthecloudsare

reversubjectto decayofbody,

e.

eanddramacontainedele-

kett.Therewereagedbundlesof

dMadTom,imagesof senilelust,

fflatand fallenbreasts,ofold

eople"ravening,raging,and

nothingnessofreality."The

ityintoan imaginativeparadise,

entoBeckett;butinthe obverseof

meto time,hecouldfind

ysat theAbbeyTheaterin

playsofYeats.Helikedespecially

dsupontheWindow-Pane,inwhich

astatingfinalline,"Perishtheday

kedYeats'sversionofthe Sopho-

anaptemblemfor Beckettofthe

nblindedanddispossessed,like

ythatmovedhimwasAtthe

nda youngonewaitinvain,as do

thingthatneverhappensto

tesfromit, "Icalltothe eyeofthe

ympathizingwiththeoldman

Cuchulain,concludeshisprelude

t!Ispit! Ispit!"Orwith the

whichratherlikethat ofGodot

ductionofscenery,theelimination

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ntrationofwordsweretobe

reastheywereofYeats's.One

eenYeats,withhis fabulous

andanatomizingoftheheroic,

hIrish legendandprefersthe

atshada strainofskepticismtoo.

ficetriumphantovernature,are

d,inwhichall artisonlywhathe

wsofadream."(Evenin

otsingea sleeve.")

thehardestofthethreeto

gestedthatBeckettwasJoyce's

ehisearlybooksdescribedcharac-

ullyaroundcities.Suchechoesas

cketttookovertheJoycean

endoingthat,andJoycehimself

kindsofhumor,especiallythe

hanicaldetails,theyboth

Chaplin.

wellasanyoneduringthelast

ymetoften,theyconversed

mewithoutwords,directing

sandintothe unfeelingether.

ayOhioImprompturecordstheir

ook togetheralongtheSeineto

wordexchangedtheygrewtobe

sttheonly youngwriterwhose

whenMurphywaspublished,

badlimerick,andmoreimpor-

orythepassageaboutthedispos-

rofapub, theashesmixingwith

nawaythatJoyce,past masterof

ery,couldvalue.

whathewouldlatercall

g."Nonetheless,hedidnot

oyce'sworks.Inparticularhe

ofmissiontooclamant,hisown

heplayExiles hefoundblood-

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nofNoland,"existingonthe

ydoubtfulsoul.Beckettmightbe

orcertaindiscrepancies.Itis true

yce's"workinprogress"as"ruinsin

s'affirmationsarechallengedby

emlessscorchingifheis readafter

gisaccompaniedbyinnumerable

to saynoinvaudevilleis

willingtosayyesor notothe

ntthathehad"transmutedthe

sexaltation."Certainlyhedid

.But asNietzschesays,"Only

esurrections."Itissomehow

toreforus.Joyceclaimedtohave

anlifethat isspentinsleep.

navoicetothe thirdofevery

cay.Hisstudiedreticenceabout

ainistoattenuate.Ashis writings

edtoimplythat faithfulimages

Yethismusicalcadences,his

annothelpbutstaveoffthevoid.

III Said,"Imaginationatwit'send

anstodepressusmerely,hemaybe

wingsare notonlypanache,they

wesurviveinhis fire.

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Documents

Beckett x Ellmann Nayman of Noland