Diss.--Germanistik--Université libre de Bruxelles, 1992. / Bibliogr. p. 391-401.

Texte remanié de: Proefschrift--Letteren--Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, 2000. / Résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 197-204. Index.

This thesis is concerned basically with the philosophical and aesthetic implications of the "yes or no" dialectic in Samuel Beckett's novels. While some aspects of this problem have been noted by critics (especially Richard Coe and Hugh Kenner), their full significance has not been elaborated. This thesis is especially indebted to Hugh Kenner’s provocative discussion of "art in a closed field" in Flaubert, Joyce and Beckett: The Stoic Comedians. But a new line of exploration is opened up by developing the notion of "art in a closed field" in conjunction with Kierkegaard's philosophy of either/or and Beckett's "yes or no." Such an approach allows for an awareness of the "existential " nature of Beckett's writings and helps emphasize the urgency of the emotional appeal of Beckett's characters as they make their "choices." A key question the thesis attempts continually to answer is: what are the nature and consequences of this "choice" made within the closed field of art and life? In Murphy the “yes or no" theme is dealt with in terms of the dualisms of Cartesianism and schizophrenia. (Note: Since the completion of my thesis, G.C. Barnard's Samuel Beckett: A New Approach which deals extensively with schizophrenia has appeared. He fails, however, to relate the psychological with the philosophical dimensions of Beckett's art and thought.). My own attempt to come to terms with Beckett is eclectic - but all discussions centre around the "yes or no" conundrum. A significant contribution to the study of Beckett's thought is, I believe, made in the discussion of Watt by indicating the relevancy of Kant and Hume to Beckett's philosophy of form - his aesthetics of the absurd. Beckett's indebtedness to Enlightenment thought, especially Descartes, has been recognized since Kenner's pioneer work. But the extended discussion of this debt in terms of Kant and Hume shows the complexity of this heritage as it influences Beckett's art. Tracing still further this intellectual tradition in the trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable, it is possible to discern Beckett's Kierkegaardian-like parody of Hegelian rationalism and aesthetics. The philosophical underpining of Beckett's progressive treatment of the "yes or no" dialectic is thus made clearer. The discussion of How It Is in terms of the pornographic form illustrates how Beckett's relentless pursuit of his artistic premises' leads him to a unique philosophical treatment of what is usually regarded as a sub-literary genre. The conclusion, "No's Knife," deals briefly with some of the social and cultural implications of Beckett's art. This area of Beckett criticism is most weak and is often marred by an obvious failure to study in depth Beckett's work. It is hoped that this thesis helps in part to redress this failure in Beckett criticism. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

This essay is principally concerned with the nature and possibilities of action in Samuel Beckett1s four major stage plays: Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp's Last Tape, and Happy Bays. The problem arises from the fact that each of these plays is organically inconclusive, indicating that the action is not causally structured in the Aristotelean sense. Action is therefore examined in terms of the characters' separate activities: how they are initiated and terminated, their internal order, and their relation to each play as a whole. The three basic sources employed for criteria are Beckett's critical essay, Proust; his early novels, Murphy and Watt; and Johan Huizinga's Homo Ludens. Proust provides a clear indication of Beckett's theories on time, habit, and friendship; Murphy and Watt are seen as character prototypes; and Homo Ludens is useful in that it supplies a working definition of play. After a detailed examination of each play in the above terms, the general conclusion reached is that in all cases Beckett has portrayed a state of being as opposed to a process of becoming. In other words, the characters feel and act as though they are caught in an endless present: in their situations they feel cut off from their past, and at the same time they cannot plan and project their activities toward a known goal, for the future is completely uncertain. Consequently, aside from those moments when the characters have no effective control over their actions, and aside from those actions governed by some form of necessity, everything they do during the course of the plays is done simply to fill the enormous void of time. Considered separately, each activity or strategy of waiting is seen to conform to the characteristics of play as defined by Huizinga, and furthermore, each activity is seen as a habitual response to reality. The similarities between one activity and another are conditioned by two fundamental factors: a subject-object dichotomy, or the relation between the individual, the world, and other people; and death, the one event in human life which is certain, but not fixed. The differences between the various activities, on the other hand, are conditioned primarily by the ages of the characters: the older a character is the more he loses contact with the world and other people, and this affects the scope of his activities. It is finally concluded that Beckett has portrayed the fundamental isolation of western man—the tragicomedy of individualism. Cut off from others and time, man's habitual response to life and the external world has been to devise strategies of waiting for the time when it will all end. / Arts, Faculty of / Theatre and Film, Department of / Graduate

Mémoire (M.A.)--Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f.[98]-105.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 309-330) Resists the notion of a subversive Beckett appropriated by the cultural mainstream, by tracing the discursive limits of avante-garde writing, and by exploring how Beckett paradoxically reinforced the traditional author-function even as he appeared to challenge it.

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 2002

Diss.--Hamburg--Universität, 1990.

Thesis (M. A.), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1998. / Bibliography: leaves 149-159.

Diss.--Heidelberg Universität, 1993. / Bibliogr. p. 329-344. Index.