Company: Analysis of Major Characters
"Company: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex interplay between a group of characters within a dark, introspective narrative. At the center is the Hearer, an elderly man lying immobile in a dark space, whose past in Ireland is revealed through a disembodied Voice. This Voice serves as a companion, sharing anecdotes from the Hearer’s childhood, while the Hearer remains silent and passive, grappling with the reality of his situation. Surrounding them is the Narrator, known as the Deviser, who adds depth by recording the Voice's words and offering insights into the Hearer’s reactions. The Narrator, who may be reflecting on his own life, enriches the story with humor and emotional anecdotes. Additionally, the Commentator provides a critical lens, questioning the narrative’s authenticity and suggesting alternative interpretations. Other characters from the Hearer's past, such as his father, an old beggar woman, and friends, add layers to the narrative, showcasing the themes of memory and human connection in a poignant, reflective manner. This work invites readers to engage with its characters and the intricate storytelling dynamics at play.
Company: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Samuel Beckett
First published: Compagnie, 1980 (English translation, 1980)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The mind of the creator
Plot: Experimental
Time: The late 1970's
A Voice, seemingly speaking in a dark room, unidentified, addressing the Hearer about his past life and present situation. The Voice seems to move about in the unlit space, sometimes far off, sometimes very close to the Hearer; the Voice is tonally flat on all occasions. Sometimes there are long periods in which the Voice is silent. When it is heard, it is always very soft.
The Hearer, as he is called, who is unidentified by name (al-though he is given a name, only to have it immediately taken away). He is clearly a male and is lying on his back in the dark. He is a very old man, immobile save for the opening and closing of his eyes. The anecdotes of his childhood indicate that he was born and brought up in Ireland. He does not speak, and it is made clear that he has never been very active intellectually. At first, he is not sure if the Voice is really speaking to him. It seems that he has been in the darkened space for a very long time before the Voice begins to speak. The Voice provides some company for him, and the third-person narrator allows the reader to know how he reacts to the Voice.
The narrator, called the cankerous other and sometimes the Deviser, who is able to record the words spoken by the Voice and to enter the mind of the Hearer to reveal how the Hearer responds to what is being said about him. The technical device of third-party narration is given character of a kind. The Narrator is described as the Deviser devising the Voice and the Hearer to keep himself company. There is a vague suggestion that he is really telling a tale of his own life. He possesses a talent for telling witty and sometimes heartfelt anecdotes.
The Commentator, the voice behind it all, who claims to have invented the narrative voice, the Voice, and the Hearer. He provides a running critical commentary on the story, breaching the credibility of the tale and continually considering other ways of telling it and of changing the nature of the characters, physically and in terms of character and action. The box-within-a-box of normal third-party narration is opened up in this way to critical comment and to the possibility that there may be another writer, perhaps the real writer, behind this voice.
The Hearer's father, who is unnamed and appears in some of the anecdotes told about the Hearer's life as a child. A ruddy, round-faced man, wearing a thick mustache, he is a reader of Punch, likes egg sandwiches and long walks, and is off walking in the rugged countryside at the time of his son's birth. After his death, he occasionally reappears to his son, but as the son gets older, these appearances cease.
An old beggar woman, another character out of the Hearer's childhood. Half blind, stone deaf, and not quite sane, she thinks she can fly, and, on one occasion, throws herself out a second-story window. The Hearer was kind to her.
Mrs. Coote, a friend of the Hearer's mother, a small, thin, pessimistic woman. She was having tea one day with his mother while he was busy climbing a huge fir tree in the garden and throwing himself down through the branches.
The Hedgehog, an animal found wandering one day by the young Hearer. He put it in a hat box with a supply of worms but made sure that the animal was free to come and go. Some time later, he found the rotting corpse of the Hedgehog in the box. This anecdote, as well as many of the others that the Voice relates, may have been based on incidents in the author's childhood.