This study explores the work of Samuel Beckett through the lens of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's materialist philosophy. More specifically, it chases after what the French theorists refer to as the "new man" or the "man without qualities"—a stuttering, staggering creature whose language, movements, gestures, and thought confuse the organizations and institutions of the "molar world." Such a figure seeks refuge from the confines of capitalism, the oedipalized family, and other cultural systems that attempt to forge respectable citizens out of immanent bodies, molar men out of tramps. The "new man" appears in Beckett's first published novel, Murphy, and proceeds to traverse the terrain of his plays, short prose, and late texts. Significantly, Beckett often situates his stuttering figures in equally stuttering environments, revealing his ability to "carve a foreign language out of language" (as Deleuze and Guattari, following Proust, are fond of saying) and cause entire texts to shake the foundations of molarity. Like Kafka, Beckett thus demonstrates his capacity as a "minor" writer—that is, one who subjects not only his characters but his entire oeuvre to a "minor" treatment to oppose the onslaught of majoritarian ideals. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of English in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2005. / January 4, 2005. / Man Without Qualities, De-Oedipalization, Samuel Beckett, Gilles Deleuze, Stuttering / Includes bibliographical references. / S. E. Gontarski, Professor Directing Dissertation; Mary Karen Dahl, Outside Committee Member; Karen Laughlin, Committee Member; Fred L. Standley, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_176242 |
| Contributors | Shields, Paul (authoraut), Gontarski, S. E. (professor directing dissertation), Dahl, Mary Karen (outside committee member), Laughlin, Karen (committee member), Standley, Fred L. (committee member), Department of English (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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