Power Play in Samuel
Beckett’s Endgame
In a shelter devoid of sunlight and laughter, the family in Samuel Beckett’s Endgame all struggle to find their niches within their world. Central to the play physically and emotionally, Hamm has the ability to make the others revolve around him. Clov, physically the healthiest in the family, has a power that even Hamm could not define until very late in the play. Nagg and Nell, the elderly parents of Hamm, hold the power of memories. Although some characters may appear weaker than the others at times, Hamm, Clov, Nagg and Nell all hold a source of power, resulting in a weak type of mutualism in the family dynamics.
Hamm is blind and unable to stand. However, sitting in a chair at the centre of the room, he is the axis of power in the family. Hamm repeatedly says, “Outside of here it’s death” (2475) and, according to Clov’s observations, the world outside has indeed been forsaken by nature and is awash in desolation. Therefore, as the owner of the shelter, Hamm has the power to protect Clov, Nagg, and Nell. Hamm makes the house rules even though he does not have the physical ability to enforce the rules: “I’ll give you just enough to keep you from dying. You’ll be hungry all the time” (2474). There is nowhere else to go, so in order to survive, everyone abides by Hamm’s commands.
Clov humours Hamm, because it is Hamm who took him into the shelter when Clov was a child. With a paternal power over Clov, Hamm has the power to make Clov suffer. He controls Clov like a puppeteer, telling the latter to withdraw or to go close to him. Using Clov as a physical extension of himself, Hamm is able to “bottle” his father Nagg when the latter complains he is unable to eat the hard biscuit (2476). When Nagg and Nell are too noisy, Hamm tells Clov to screw down the lids of his parents’ bins. Hamm’s cruelty does not end with this treatment of his parents. Because of his thirst for power, Hamm gives commands without truly thinking about their consequences, which in some cases result in the opposite of his desires. For example, in order to reassert his power in the household, Hamm harshly tells Clov to “wait till [he is] spoken to” (2482) before speaking, even though he is eager to see what lies outside through Clov’s eyes. If Clov is silenced, the purpose of having Clov describe the outside world to the blind Hamm is defeated. Although Clov has the power of sight, Hamm seems to hold a special kind of power over Clov by wearing dark glasses. By shielding the windows to his soul, Hamm prevents Clov from seeing his emotions and his thoughts. Thus, Hamm becomes a figure to be admired from a distance.
This power to be worshipped extends further: Hamm also holds power over the toy dog that Clov has made for him. Hamm tells Clov to leave the three-legged dog “standing there imploring [him]” (2486) and finds this amusing. Hamm’s storytelling cannot fall upon deaf ears either; in order to demonstrate his power over his audience, Hamm makes Clov and Nagg listen to his stories. After all, “the dialogue” is the most important aspect of his existence (2492). It is this “prolonged creative effort” that, in the end, drained him of his vital energies (2493). Nevertheless, Hamm’s powerful will to live influences Clov. Hamm hesitates to end his life even though life is doomed: “The end is in the beginning and yet you go on” (2495). He realizes that being powerful is not everything, and that “the bigger man is the fuller he is. [Pause. Gloomily.] And the emptier” (2473). As the play continues, Hamm understands that the extent of his power has a limit. He cannot prevent Clov from singing when Clov decides he wants life to end with a song. When Clov decides to desert him, Hamm is resigned and implores Clov to say something from his heart. Desperate to hear words of kindness, Hamm surrenders to Clov the power of words – for words can either comfort or hurt (2498). At the end of the play, Hamm treats this moment of his life as an endgame and as his “last soliloquy” (248). He throws away his symbol of power: the whistle. He also throws away the power of ownership by throwing away the toy dog. The only item that remains is his old stauncher – something that will soothe Hamm’s physical and emotional pain now that he has given up some of his tyrannical powers.
Clov cannot sit, but he has the power of sight and of locomotion. He is able to cater to the needs of Hamm, Nagg, and Nell. Without him, the family will collapse. However, like a dog heeding its master, Clov attends to Hamm immediately whenever the latter whistles for him. Clov’s centre of power is in his kitchen, where he can reflect alone; when he is out of his tiny domain, he is a servant to Hamm: “I can’t be punished any more. [Pause.] I’ll go now to my kitchen, ten feet by ten feet by ten feet, and wait for him to whistle me” (2473). Clov knows no happiness in this family, yet he stays with Hamm because there is nowhere else to go. Although he obeys Hamm’s every whim, Clov has the power to hurt Hamm physically and emotionally. Hamm offers to give Clov the combination to the cupboard so that Clov could get the weapon to end Hamm’s life. Admitting to himself that “if [he] could kill [Hamm he’d] die happy” (2482), Clov is nevertheless unable to murder Hamm. However, Clov does hurt his adoptive father emotionally, such as the time when Clov says that he has only loved Hamm “once” (2475), and the times when Clov ignores Hamm’s commands for Clov to forgive him (2475, 2477). Clov also has the power to be as ruthless as Hamm, for because Clov sees his own “light dying” (2477), he scorns Hamm’s suggestion that they might begin to “mean something” (2483); after all, to Clov, life is meaningless. Moreover, Clov deprives Hamm of an important part of love: the touch of a caress. Clov will not kiss or touch Hamm, even though Hamm has pleaded with him several times. This power over the physical bonds between the two is a powerful one for Clov.
Having the power of being Hamm’s eyes and limbs, Clov does not argue with Hamm when Hamm chastises him for saying “laying doggo” instead of “lying doggo” (2484). However, Clov questions, “Do this, do that, and I do it. I never refuse. Why?” (2487) The reason is partly because obeying is part of the routine of his life. Towards the end of the play, Hamm is able to more accurately answer this question: “Perhaps it’s compassion” (2497). The power of compassion is a powerful one. It defies the pains of an empty existence and brings unconditional love into the family. Even when he plans to desert Hamm, Clov is not without mercy. He devises a way to let the blind Hamm know the truth: “You whistle me. I don’t come. The alarm rings. I’m gone. It doesn’t ring. I’m dead” (2488). This plan spares Hamm the pain of wilful abandonment on Clov’s part – and even as the play ends, it is uncertain if Clov does indeed desert the family.
Hamm says “Gone from me you’d be dead” and Clov calmly remarks, “And vice versa” (2495). This exchange sums up the power play between Hamm and Clov. As the play nears its end, Clov becomes tired of Hamm’s game and wishes Hamm would stop giving him orders. Clov has the power to hurt Hamm, but he says instead, “that’s love” and “that’s friendship, yes, yes, no question, you’ve found it” (2498-2499). The power of friendship and compassion ennobles Clov, and there is also power in suffering nobly: “you must learn to suffer better than that if you want them to weary of punishing you – one day” (2499). Sardonic and calm, Clov exerts his power carefully and gently in his relationship with the tyrannical Hamm.
Calling the two sheets-covered ashbins their homes, Hamm’s parents Nagg and Nell do not appear to have any power within the family dynamics. The parental roles are reversed, and this elderly couple are treated as though they are infants: they need to eat “pap” – mushy food – and need to have their bin’s sand changed everyday. Frail and ill, Nagg and Nell are losing their teeth, their eyesight, and their hearing. They only have stumps for legs and they are unable to kiss, as they cannot get out of their respective bins. This physical helplessness becomes a nuisance to Hamm – even though Hamm himself is disabled – and he calls his father an “accursed progenitor” (2475). Nagg and Nell’s chatter is silenced by Hamm, and they are as cautious of Hamm as schoolchildren are wary of their teachers. Thus, Nagg and Nell’s power lies not in their physical or assertive roles in the play, but in their reflections upon life.
Unable to kiss Nagg, Nell questions, “Why this farce, day after day?” (2477) Like Hamm and Clov who question life, Nell has the power to ponder the meaning of existence. She brings a grim sense of humour into the play and says, “Nothing is funnier than unhappiness” and that “it’s like the funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we don’t laugh any more” (2479). Nell is able to voice what the other characters feel, but is unfortunately unable to move Hamm and Clov out of their deadened feelings by her death. Howbeit, Nell’s death causes her husband of many years to shed tears, showing that she is able to influence at least one member of the family.
To Nagg and Nell, the bygone days of cycling and rowing seem like a fairy tale from the distant past. Their memories serve as a source of power, for as Pearl Strachan Hurd once said, words have more power than atom bombs. Nagg’s story about the Englishman who is unable to get the tailor to make him a pair of trousers despite threats and pleadings serves as a lesson. On one level, Nagg warns that although the Englishman is more powerful than the tailor socially, he is powerless if he cannot make the tailor obey him. On another level, Nagg uses this anecdote to cheer Nell up and to break the monotony of their dreary existence.
Dialogue is the most important component of Hamm’s life and Nagg, as Hamm’s perfect audience, holds a great deal of power over his son in this manner. Like a child, Nagg bargains with Hamm: he will only listen to Hamm’s story if Hamm gives him a sugar-plum. Of course, Nagg knows that Hamm swearing on his honour is a joke, yet he listens to his son’s story. This is the power of unconditional love for his son, just like Clov’s compassion towards Hamm. Nagg grieves at Hamm’s unkindness, but he does not resent his son’s cruelty. Instead, Nagg’s final words are powerful: “I hope the day will come when you’ll really need to have me listen to you, and need to hear my voice, any voice. [Pause.] Yes, I hope I’ll live till then, to hear you calling me like when you were a tiny boy, and were frightened, in the dark, and I was your only hope” (2491). This does not have an immediate effect on Hamm, but at the end of Endgame, Hamm is humbled by his circumstances, and there is a chance that he will turn to Nagg for comfort if Clov abandons the family.
As Hamm says to Clov: “It’s we are obliged to each other” (2499). This dysfunctional family, amidst their painful existence, manages balance their powers and to mutually co-exist. Words have much power, and Hamm retains his grip on his family by his commands. However, Clov – Hamm’s eyes and limbs – has power that matches Hamm’s, because if Clov leaves, no one will be able to physically support them. Nagg and Nell have the power of words and memories, as well as that of listening skills. They are the perfect audience for Hamm, who feels that dialogue is his main reason for living. Without them, Hamm will have no more reasons to continue living. Precariously balanced, the power play in Beckett’s play is like that of its title: an endgame fraught with dangers and overshadowed with doom.
WORK CITED
Beckett, Samuel. Endgame. 1958. Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols.
New York: Norton, 2000, 2: 2472-2500.