P-107 Assignment

Religious Significance in Waiting for Godot

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper-The Twentieth Century Literature: From World War II

 to The End of The Century

Roll no-07

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-2)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

                Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

 

Introduction:

 

Samuel Beckett is a famous Irish dramatist and novelist. “Waiting for Godot” is his master piece. The play is one of the classic works of theatre of absurd. It is multilayered drama which has many interpretations.The play seems absurd but with a deep religious meaning. Though the play commonly interpreted within the context of the theatre of absurd, existentialist literature, it is also Christian allegory and also interpreted with religious interpretations.

The play has very strong evidences of theory of existentialism, but still, it can be related with many other religious interpretations. Like, Christian myth of two thieves, waiting for second coming of Jesus Christ, Hindu philosophy and its ‘Avatar’ and other interpretations.

Theme of the Uncertainty of Salvation

The theme of the two thieves on the cross, the theme of the uncertainty of the hope of salvation and the chance bestowal of divine grace, does indeed pervade the whole play. Vladimir states it right at the beginnings, when he says: 

“One of the thieves was saved. It’s a reasonable percentage.” 

Later he enlarges on the subject. One of the two thieves is supposed to have been saved and the other damned, says Vladimir. But he asks why only one of the four Evangelists speaks of a thief being saved. Of the other three Evangelists, two do not mention any thieves at all, and the third says that both of them, abused Christ. In other words, there is a fifty-fifty chance of salvation but, as only one out of four witnesses (the Evangelists) reports it, the chances are considerably reduced. As Vladimir points out, it is a curious fact that everybody seems to believe that one witness: “It is the only version they know.” Estragon, whose attitude has been one of scepticism throughout, merely comments “People are bloody ignorant apes.”

The Chance Remarks Made By the Two Thieves

It is the shape of the idea that fascinated Beckett. Out of all the evildoers, out of all the millions and millions of criminals that have been, executed in the course of history, only two had the chance of salvation in so unique a manner. One happened to make a hostile remark; he was damned. The other happened to contradict that hostile remark; and he was saved. How easily could the roles have been reversed! These, after all, were not well-considered judgments, but chance exclamations uttered at a moment of supreme suffering and stress. As Pozzo says about Lucky:

 “Remark that I might easily have been in his shoes and he in mine. If chance had not willed it otherwise. To each one his due.”

Godot’s Unpredictability in Bestowing Grace

Godot himself is unpredictable in bestowing kindness and punishment. The boy who is his messenger looks after the goats, and Godot treats him well. But the boy’s brother, who looks after the sheep, is beaten by Godot.

 “And why doesn’t he beat you?” asks Vladimir. “I don’t know, sir,” the boy replies. The parallel to Cain and Abel is evident: there too the Lord’s grace fell on one rather than on the other without any rational explanation. Here Godot also acts contrary to Jesus Christ at the Last Judgment: “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” But if Godot’s kindness is bestowed as a matter of pure chance, his coming is not a source of pure joy; it can also mean damnation. When in Act II Estragon believes Godot to be approaching, his first thought is that he is accursed. And as Vladimir triumphantly exclaims “It’s Godot! At last! Let’s go and meet him,” Estragon runs away, shouting: “I’m in hell.”

Two Divisions of Mankind

The chance bestowal of grace, which human beings cannot comprehend, divides mankind into those who will be saved and those who will be damned. When in Act II, Pozzo and Lucky return, and the two tramps try to identify them, Estragon calls out: “Abel! Abel!” Pozzo immediately responds. But when Estragon calls out: “Cain! Cain!” Pozzo responds again. “He’s all humanity,” concludes Estragon.

Pozzo’s Effort to Attain Salvation

There is even a suggestion that Pozzo’s activity is concerned with his frantic attempt to draw that fifty-fifty chance of salvation upon himself. In Act I, Pozzo is on his way to sell Lucky at the fair. The French version of the play, however, specifies that it is the Market of the Holy Saviour to which he is taking Lucky. Is Pozzo trying to sell Lucky to redeem himself? Is he trying to divert the fifty-fifty chance of redemption from Lucky to Pozzo? He certainly complains that Lucky is causing him great pain, that he is killing him with his mere presence—perhaps because his mere presence reminds Pozzo that it might be Lucky who will be redeemed. When Lucky gives his famous demonstration of his thinking, the thin thread of sense that underlies the opening lines seems to be concerned with the accidental nature of salvation: “Given the existence of a personal God outside time without extension who from the heights of divine apathia, divine athambia, divine aphasia, loves us dearly with some exception for reasons unknown and suffers with those who are plunged in torment….” Here we have a description of a personal God, with his divine apathy, his speechlessness (“aphasia”), and his lack of the capacity for terror or amazement (“athambia”), in other words, a God who does not communicate with us, cannt feel for us, and condemns us for reasons unknown.

Pozzo’s Failure

When Pozzo and Lucky reappear the next day, Pozzo blind and Lucky dumb, no more is heard of the fair. Pozzo has failed to sell Lucky; his blindness in thinking that he could thus influence the action of grace has been made evident in concrete physical form.

A Religious or Christian Play

Waiting for Godot then seems to be concerned with the hope of salvation through the workings of grace. And this view supports the belief that it is a Christian or a religious play. Vladimir’s and Estragon’s “waiting” might be explained as signifying their steadfast faith and hope, while Vladimir’s kindness to his friend, and the two tramps’ mutual interdependence might be seen as symbols of Christian charity.

Conclusion:

It is strongly believed that the play has ideas of existentialism. But event to support existentialism, writer shows religious ideas. And he also tries to deconstruct it. Consciously or unconsciously, writer presents many Christian myths and Biblical images.

As biography suggests, Beckett knows about all the Christian philosophical, spiritual ideas from childhood. So, the play has many Christian values like repentance, craving for  salvation, faith in God, fear of God and hope for to be saved, and ‘coming of Mr. Godot’. Even Vladimir’s character is full with Christian values like he feeds and helps Estragon as true friend, he wants to help Pozzo and has desire to be saved.