The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett
"The Unnamable" is a novel by Samuel Beckett, published in 1953, and is known for its exploration of existential themes through a fragmented narrative. The protagonist, who never explicitly names himself, is depicted as an old male grappling with profound uncertainty about his identity and existence. He engages in a continuous internal monologue filled with humor and despair, lamenting his bizarre predicament. This character believes he is trapped in a cycle of speech that he views as a punishment, yearning for a resolution to his "pensum"—a mysterious task he feels compelled to complete before he can achieve silence and freedom.
The narrative unfolds in a dim, undefined space where the Unnamable interacts with bizarre figures and reflects on his disconnection from reality. Beckett employs surreal imagery and absurdist elements, illustrating the protagonist's struggles with the futility of existence and the human condition. Throughout the novel, a sense of hopelessness permeates as the Unnamable confronts his isolation and the relentless flow of thoughts that define his being. This work is a significant part of Beckett's broader exploration of language, memory, and self-discovery, marking it as a critical piece within the genre of absurdist literature.
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The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett
First published:L’Innommable, 1953 (English translation, 1958)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Absurdist
Time of plot: Mid-twentieth century
Locale: Unnamed
Principal characters
The Unnamable ,Mahood , an IrishmanWorm ,
The Story:
The Unnamable, although he never calls himself that, seems to be an old male who is not certain of where he is, who he is, or if, in fact, he actually exists. Intelligent, loquacious, and sometimes very funny, he constantly bemoans his odd situation. He believes that he has been used for some unknown reason by some unknown persons who put words in his mouth, although he is not sure that he has a mouth. He is certain that the constant talk that flows through him is, in part, some kind of punishment. He believes that until he does his “pensum” (a term for a school assignment for misbehavior), he cannot get on to his lesson and satisfy his tormentors, who he hopes will let him go so that he can fall silent and cease to exist. However, he has no idea what his pensum is or what his lesson is. Instead, he presumes that in time, in constant babbling, he will by chance utter the right words or phrases and be allowed his freedom. He has trouble trying not to give in to his urge to talk about things about which he knows little or nothing.
All that he actually is prepared to accept as true is the fact that he is sitting in some unknown, dim place; he can feel the pressure on his backside from some kind of seat without a back, and he can feel the pressure of his arms resting on his thighs. He also thinks that certain male figures are passing in front of him on a kind of circular path, but since he can look only forward, he is not certain where they are coming from.
An early tale initially concerns a character named Mahood but then slides into being a tale about the Unnamable himself, who has returned from a long trip abroad and is trying to get back to his family. He is disabled and having difficulty in reaching them. He takes so long, in fact, that they are all dead when he enters their home, and he has to be content to stamp about on their putrid corpses. The Unnamable habitually rejects the possibility of these incidents being true or having anything to do with him. A later tale again involves Mahood. On that occasion, legless, armless, and speechless, he is living in a large jar across from a small restaurant in a Paris side street close to the slaughterhouse. The proprietor of the restaurant takes some desultory care of him, feeding him scraps, cleaning out his jar, covering his head in inclement weather, and using the surface of the huge jar to display her menus. She does not speak to him, and no one looking at the menu seems to notice him, although his rigidly clamped head protrudes over the lip of the jar. It is a kind of life, but the Unnamable is not fooled: It is not his life.
Later on, another character appears, since Mahood seems to have exhausted his power to convince. This one, called Worm, is less than human; it has a single, unlidded eye but no other physical features, save for the coiled body of a serpent. It never manages to become anything more than a failed attempt to exist in any active manner. The Unnamable suspects that it is just another attempt to convince him that he has a life.
These bizarre tales are interspersed among the Unnamable’s long, sometimes confused but always lively considerations of his situation. Ultimately, the Unnamable is where he started, with tears running down his face and a constant flow of grotesque, sometimes offensively vulgar ideas running unbidden through his mind. Occasionally, it seems that he just might have escaped the clutches of his tormentors. There are occasional moments of silence, but inevitably the babble begins anew, and the Unnamable knows that the misery will continue, perhaps forever.
Bibliography
Alvarez, Alfred. Beckett. 2d ed. London: Fontana, 1992. A short, lively, and sometimes opinionated discussion of Beckett by a critic who does not altogether trust the author and who knows how to argue not only for his strengths but also against his limitations. Contains a good short discussion of the intellectual climate that precipitated absurdist literature.
Cousineau, Thomas. After the Final No: Samuel Beckett’s Trilogy. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1999. Analyzes the three books in order of publication, describing how in the course of the work Beckett demystifies each of the principal authority figures from whom Molloy has sought protection and guidance.
Esslin, Martin, ed. Samuel Beckett: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1965. Collection of essays includes important commentary by some of the most widely respected Beckett critics. Covers all phases of Beckett’s work, including his novels.
Kenner, Hugh. A Reader’s Guide to Samuel Beckett. London: Thames and Hudson, 1973. An essential resource for anyone determined to understand the works of Beckett. Comments clearly and simply on the individual texts, including The Unnamable.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Samuel Beckett: A Critical Study. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968. Work by probably the best commentator on Beckett is lively, imaginative, and extremely good at placing Beckett in the Irish tradition as well as assessing his part in the movement of experimental literature.
McDonald, Rónán. The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Beckett. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Chapter 4 of this concise overview of Beckett’s life and work includes a discussion of the trilogy.
Mercier, Vivian. Beckett/Beckett. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. An Irish scholar with understanding of the Irish mind, absurdist literature, and Beckett offers helpful insights into all the novels, particularly into the trilogy ending with The Unnamable.
Pultar, Gönül. Technique and Tradition in Beckett’s Trilogy of Novels. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1996. Devotes a chapter to each of the three books in the order of their publication. The chapter on The Unnamable discusses its mix of fact and fiction along with other elements of the novel. Other chapters compare the three novels to other works of European literature and philosophy.