Self-identity through time and habit

Abstract EN

Beckett's most enduring contribution to world literature is without a doubt his depiction of this interstitial zone of uncertainty between subject and object.

Waiting for Godot, a controversial play, by Samuel Beckett is supposed to be off-balance, with question marks preceding and following nothing to give us that specific tension.

Time, habit, memory, and games add both literary and theatrical interest to the play's texture.

Proust's ideas and works inspired Beckett immensely, particularly his concept of habit that looks behind the ego's surface, behind voluntary to involuntary memory and which can be seen in most of Beckett's writings, and most notably in Waiting for Godot.

This paper tries to explore Beckett's habit to discover his self-identity using Proust's ideas on time, habit and memory.

It also shows how Beckett's characters face eventually failure in achieving their real selves.