Chapter V CONCLUSION 222
The Theatre of the Absurd emerged as a modern literary genre in the 1950s. Paris was its centre stage. The plays of Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Arthur Adamov, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, Robert Pinget, N. F. Simpson, Edward Albee, Fernando Arrabal, and Gunter Grass belong to this genre. It seems that these playwrights want to revive the lost belief and faith in God. All these dramatists strived for a school of drama, which was labeled as the Theatre of the Absurd by Martin Esslin. The Theatre of the Absurd has established itself in the contemporary theatre and acclaimed philosophical plays in the critical currency. Though the playwrights of absurd were centered in post-war Paris, they were accepted by the world after Beckett s huge success in Waiting for Godot. Martin Esslin has coined the term the Theatre of the Absurd in order to discuss the plays of Harold Pinter, Edward Albee, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, Eugene Ionesco, Jean Genet etc. The Theatre of the Absurd flourished as a byproduct of existentialism in the western countries. Industrialization, urbanization, the two World Wars, enhancement in scientific temper and technology lead man to frustration and hopelessness in life. Man lost faith in religion. Spirituality seemed in vain. The morality was enslaved by anarchy. All these reasons culminated into the birth of the Theatre of the Absurd. This theatre seemed to be a reaction to the loss of the spiritual dimensions from life. It attempted to make man aware of the ultimate realities of his situation, by insisting on restoration of the significance of myth and ritual of the age. The modern man s attitude towards life was sheer negative. He felt the life he is leading, is not good for him. Despite of achieving almost all 223
material progress and luxuries, the life of man seems purposeless and aimless. This is apt for the Western society living especially in the post World Wars world. The civilization these people have developed, lead them to discontentment and dissatisfaction. On the other hand their sceptic but inquisitive approach to life might have compelled them to find out the purpose of life. The Theatre of the Absurd came into existence through this approach. Some of the intellectuals wrote such plays which reflected man s fundamental perplexity. This perplexity was bulged due to certain facts that man has no answers to the fundamental questions about existence. Why is man alive? Why he has to suffer? Why shouldn t he commit suicide? The concepts of hell and heaven, transmigration and salvation of the soul, the preaching of the Gospel, the role of fate in shaping life, sin and virtue, alarmed man s mind. The Western plays attempted to explore answers to these questions. The Western absurd plays have sought a highly innovative form out of this quest. This theatrical genre startled and shook the viewers. The Theatre of the Absurd represents the pangs of modern man. The traditional form of theatre is totally denounced. The use of proper plot, characterization, meaningful language, is rejected in absurd. The new theatre was absolutely anti-theatre. Martin Esslin rightly puts the characteristic features of this genre: Theatre of the Absurd strives to express its sense of the senselessness of the human condition and the inadequacy of the rational approach by the open abandonment of rational devices and discursive thought [2004, 24]. Because of its illogical, conflictless and plotless structure the absurd theatre had to face incomprehension and rejection in the beginning. It used lyrical statements very much like music. It communicated an atmosphere, an experience of 224
archetypal human situations. It is a lyrical theatre implementing abstract scenic effects, most of which have been modified from mine, ballet, clowning. acrobatics etc. It relies on nonsensical, allegorical, mythical and the situations of fantasy and dream reality. The convention of the Absurd springs from a feeling of deep disillusionment, the draining away of the sense of meaning and purpose in life, which has been characteristic of countries like France and Britain in the years after the Second World War. The Theatre of the Absurd could not become popular in America because in America there has been no corresponding loss of meaning and purpose. The American dream of the good life was still very strong. In the United States the belief in progress that characterised Europe in nineteenth century, has been maintained into the middle of the twentieth. Edward Albee and Harold Pinter are the most outstanding names in the world of the absurd theatre. Their excellence, dramatic skills, mastery over language and artistic depth made them well known personalities in the history of twentieth century drama. A variety of plays of these playwrights are studied to focus on the problem of futility of human endeavour. Edward Albee and Harold Pinter occupy a prominent position in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd. These playwrights have placed themselves in the world of drama with a less attention towards their themes. After a consistent effort, these playwrights acclaimed a prominent position in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd. Their techniques, language, and the subjects which are perplexing as well as stunning, and the problems 225
of modern urban people especially after two World Wars compel us to place these playwrights at a prominent position. Edward Albee is counted into the category of the Theatre of the Absurd because his work attacks the very foundations of American optimism. His first play, The Zoo Story showed the forcefulness and bitter irony of his approaches. In the realism of its dialogue and in its subject matter an outsider s inability to establish genuine contact with a dog, let alone any human being The Zoo Story is closely akin to the world of Harold Pinter. The man s alienation in a world is the important theme of Albee s plays. Albee s famous one-act play The Zoo Story reveals a sharp perception of man s loneliness in a word of spiritual importance, or a social order in which there is troublesome break down of human communication. The Zoo Story is concerned with human isolation. The world seems to be a zoo in which men are separated from each other by bars. The play analyses the contemporary American society. In its realistic social vision this play is a remarkable artistic representation of the distortions of the capitalistic system, urbanization and its effect on human society. The play discusses the aspects of isolation and lack of communication between Peter and Jerry. It also explores the disturbing facets of their life like their struggle for existence and futility of their endeavour for survival. In Edward Albee s work we see a tension between realism and the Theatre of the Absurd. The Zoo Story, on the face of it, is absurd play. If we compare it with the work of Beckett, Ionesco of Pinter, the play retreats from the full implications of the absurd when a certain point is reached. 226
Albee seems to be attracted to the Theatre of the Absurd mainly because of the kind of social criticism he is engaged in. The Zoo Story is an attack on the American way of life. The American way of life in a certain context is a structure of images. These images have lost much of their meaning through commercial and political exploitation. This way of life is one in which normal human feelings and relationships have been deprived of meaning. The gestures of love, sexual attraction, parental affection, family feeling and hospitality remain, but the true feelings which would give a meaning to the gestures, have gone. The Zoo Story reflects the futility of human endeavour to establish social relationships through communication and also futility of human existence. Albee s Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? presents the theme of illusion and consequent frustration, disappointment and loss. The problem of American academia is representative of the whole American and western society. Through the characters of George and Martha, Albee shows how the American way of life imposes false ideals on the individual, resulting in his destruction. It is an allegory of contemporary American Everyman indulged in achieving success and material values. With Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Albee achieved his breakthrough into the first rank of contemporary American playwrights. On the surface this is a savage marital battle in the tradition of Strindberg and the later O Neill. George and Martha are realistic characters. Their world that of dink-sodden and frustrated university teacher is wholly real. A closer inspection of the play reveals elements which clearly relate the play to Albee s earlier work and the Theatre of the Absurd. George and Martha have an Imaginary child which they treat as real. In the cold dawn of that wild night they decide to kill it by abandoning their joint fantasy. Albee presents here the theme of 227
illusion and consequent frustration, disappointment and loss. The problem of American academia is representation of the whole American and Western society. Through the characters of George and Martha, Albee shows how the American way of life has imposed false ideals on the individual. The play is an allegory of contemporary American Everyman indulged in seeking success and material prosperity. Hence, the play is an account of the futility of human endeavour in building up concrete social, family relationship as well as futility in seeking contentment through material prosperity and fantasy. Edward Albee s A Delicate Balance is the story of Tobias and Agnes and Harry and Edna. These middle aged couples have lost all the fire and prowess in marital combat. Whatever intense emotional and sexual relationship may have existed between them, has long since passed. Their lives have a steady, dull tone, having settled for a commonplace routine of life. Beneath the surface of calmness and complacency, there runs a current of desperation and madness at the perception of reality. Albee seems to insist that there is desperate need to re-establish human relationship on a firm foundation of truth and love. The play is a quest for lost love. A Delicate Balance is the study of futility of human endeavour to build family relationship on concrete ground of love and intimacy. Seascape discusses the problem of what is reality in life. Charlie and Nancy are middle-aged married couple. They frankly love each other and shyly admit of their faithfulness to one another. Seascape is an optimistic play. Albee believes here that the regeneration of society is possible by establishing human contact. Here, it is love which offers to neutralize a sense of alienation and despair. Albee portrays the examination of the whole 228
human civilization as a whole. The play raises many inevitable questions: Has the evolution of man been for the better? Can the development of civilization be equaled with progress and has it really civilized man in the true sense of the word? Thus, Seascape reflects futility of man in developing a civilization leading man nowhere. Harold Pinter s plays reflect the futility of human endeavour in a variety of facets. Pinter s The Birthday Party focuses more sharply on the fight for existence. The play can be seen as a social allegory and it is about the role and the fate of the artist in society. It is a study of the problem of communication. Pinter insists on the use of language made by people for communication. The existential dilemma of his characters is the threat to their autonomy. The characters are involved in an existential struggle to defend themselves from what they perceive. The play, thus, reflects futility of human endeavour for survival. The Caretaker is about the distance between reality and fantasy, family relations, and the struggle for power. It also touches the subject of mental illness and the plight of the indigent. Through the characters of Mick, Aston and Davies, Pinter has portrayed the plight of loneliness and human conditions. Instead of allowing an old man to die beaten in a pub brawl, the System insists on tantalizing him with faint hope of life, thereby increasing his final desperate anguish. The play depicts the hopelessness in the lives of the people in post-wars period. The Caretaker deals with the tragedy created through the problem of accommodation. The Caretaker reiterates the futility of human endeavour to search basic needs for survival in the world. 229
Of all Pinter s early work, The Homecoming has produced the hottest critical debate what is critically questionable about this play is its emotional power. It taps areas of the human condition which, comes close to pornography, but when expressed with artistic judgement must rank the play as one of Pinter s major achievements. The Homecoming shockingly talks of sex and prostitution. The play works on two levels. On the realistic level, it is a socially accurate study of the tribal behavior of a family. On the metaphorical level, it is a fulfillment of the son s Oedipal fantasies. The play highlights the filthy and bestial surrounding in a family. Struggle for acquiring power and sexual mastery characterises this civilised jungle. The Homecoming embodies irrationality shockingly and disturbingly. In this play Pinter has unmasked the conventional and showed the naked reality. The play depicts the existential agony of the modern man. The quest for lust and luxury is well painted through the character of Ruth. The play reveals the dark, sub-conscious male attitude towards female. Pinter s plays express elements of human conduct. No Man s Land is about a duel of real or pretended memories. It projects and explores the fear of old age. Hirst s situation is that of an old successful writer whose marriage has failed, or who has never been married, and who is condemned to a lonely old age. He is the prisoner of his servants, with liquor as his only comfort. Spooner has also frown old, his marriage also having failed or having not taken place. But he is unsuccessful and poor. He is a free man longing for the bondage of a home, while Hirst is the prisoner of his domestic situation, trying to break out into freedom but helpless. Throughout a man s life there remains at least the possibility of choice as long as some of youth s flexibility is available. But with the 230
advancing old age, there comes a point when that possibility disappears. Then life freezes into the endless winter of the No Man s Land between life and death. The play insists on the futility of human endeavour to search freedom and fulfillment in life. Harold Pinter achieved the status of a major force in the modern theatre following the footsteps of the pioneers of the Theatre of the Absurd. His experience as an actor has greatly influenced his plays, particularly his stage techniques. Pinter s early plays did not receive a warm welcome because they were unconventional in themes, techniques and styles. They were quite different from the plays of Bernard Shaw, Galsworthy and T. S. Eliot. He wrote the type of drama associated with the names of Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Arthur Adamov, Jean Genet and number of other writers in France, Britain and the United States. The plays of Pinter are highly influenced by the philosophy of Absurdism of Albert Camus and the existential philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre. Pinter believes that we all are strangers in this world and every man is an island in himself. Pinter chooses characters from ordinary life speaking everyday language. Their joys and sorrows, laughter and tears are very simple but the characters are not without their singularities. The uniqueness of Pinter s plays lies in his peculiar way of using common man s language. His taperecorded fidelity to the language of ordinary conversation is quite evident in his effective use of verbal inconsistencies, incorrect grammar, which are so peculiar with commonplace conversation. Pinter is the first dramatist to 231
simultaneously exploit the vitality and raciness of common man s language and create an effective linguistic tool. The problem of communication is a common theme in absurd drama. In the plays of Beckett, Ionesco and Albee the nearly unbridgeable gap between man and man, and linguistic inadequacy to articulate perceived reality are the two important reasons for the failure of communication. But in Pinter s plays there is evasion rather than failure of communication. Pinter s characters maintain a non-communicative posture against all provocations, till they break down under pressure. Absurdity is manifest in the lack of purpose and direction, certainty and continuity, consistency and stability in human life. Pinter s characters exist at the dangerous edge of life and reality. It is the total absurdity of existence. In Pinter s world man is helpless due to his futile endeavour for survival. Edward Albee excels in depicting American life full of absurdity, uncertainty, meaninglessness and futility. Albee attacks the artificial values in the American society. He captures the entire hopelessness and confusion of existence and fruitlessness of endeavour to survive in the world. The characters in Albee s plays seem to be isolated from each other in little worlds of selfishness, impotence, and lovelessness. All the warmth of human contact, intimacy, and relationship seems to be lost. The techniques of the Theatre of the Absurd are ideally suited to the kind of social criticism Albee intends. His plays essentially satirise the human condition itself. He most obviously breaks with traditional satire. His plays are of social protest which unflinchingly reveals the pustulous sores of a society plagued with social ills. His first decade of playwriting has consistently displayed an unyielding social commitment as he experimented with a variety of dramatic 232
techniques. Realism served admirably for the shocking events of The Zoo Story, Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and A Delicate Balance. His early plays vastly differ in theatrical form but they are all protests in defense of those outcasts of society who have been victimized by the stupidity and bias of the successful elite. In Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Albee attacks the hypocrisy and corruption in some critics of the intelligentsia of our society. In A Delicate Balance there is the destruction of individual illusion. Harold Pinter expresses the experiences of man in transition. He expresses man in his fear, joy, humour, stupidity, ambition. Pinter is concerned with the human condition as it is. Dramatic criticism has often become obsessed with defining the meanings of plays but for a playwright such as Pinter the meaning is the play itself. His plays communicate feelings, emotions, experiences which he sees and which he then meditates for our perception as an audience. In this respect, his plays have an affinity with the nature of poetry. His plays mark a complete departure from the past and the practice of the dramatists of the old school. His theatre is essentially a poetic theatre. It is the preoccupation with the problem of the self that separated Harold Pinter from the social realists among the young playwrights of his generation. His plays deal with personal contacts but he deals with them impersonally. His interest is psychological. His plays are plotless and without characters. His is an illogical world with dreamy atmosphere. Because of his excellent craftsmanship, Pinter has achieved the status of a major force in the contemporary theatre. Edward Albee and Harold Pinter occupy a prominent position in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd. These playwrights have placed themselves in the world of drama with a less attention towards their themes. 233
After a consistent effort, these playwrights acclaimed a prominent position in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd. Their techniques, language, and the subjects which are perplexing as well as stunning, and the problems of modern urban people especially after two World Wars compel us to place these playwrights at a prominent position. While studying the select plays of both Edward Albee and Harold Pinter, the researcher categorises the futility of human endeavour in two facets. Firstly, the researcher noticed futility of human endeavour to establish social relationship, and secondly, futility of endeavour is to establish family relationship. The characters in the select plays of Albee and Pinter struggle either to establish their social relationship or family relationship to strengthen their ties with other human beings. Those who endeavour to establish social relationship are the mostly the outcast, neglected or suppressed by the system. Jerry in Albee s The Zoo Story, Davies in Pinter s The Caretaker, Spooner in No Man s Land, Stanley in The Birthday Party, are such people. Jerry is a lonely and dejected man. He is in search of someone with whom he could establish some sort of communication. He is an isolated person, entirely alienated from rest of the society. He tries to establish relationship with various persons including a dog. Peter ignores him. He even underestimates Jerry. Jerry is the victim of that social system which brutally eliminates such people and avoids them to make involve. Jerry s endeavour to establish social relationship is futile. Like Jerry, Davies in The Caretaker is a homeless, penniless, old tramp. He survives on the charities. He struggles for getting food, clothes and shelter. He is mentally disturbed. A sense of constant fear overwhelms his mind. He has probably concealed his real identity. Aston brings Davies to room 234
and provides him shelter. The controversial situations go against Davies and ultimately he is driven out. Davies is denied of shelter in the room. He comes as a homeless man and goes out as a homeless. His fear that the world is a hostile to him comes true at the end. His endeavour to establish social relationship through seeking shelter and the job as a caretaker remain futile. Spooner in No Man s Land faces the similar situation like Davies. Spooner has grown old. He is unsuccessful and poor. He is a free man longing for the intimate bondage of home. His hopes of gaining a foothold in a new home of Hirst are defeated. A contrast between the successful and unsuccessful person intensifies the agony of human beings. The old age minimizes the possibilities of choices as compared to youth. Spooner s endeavour to establish social relations prove futile. Stanley in The Birthday Party is also leading a life of aloofness from society. He is a disappointed and frustrated artist who has taken refuge in seaside resort of Meg. He feels that society has not treated him well. He feels disgusted with the prevailing customs and conventions of society. He finds it impossible to continue to live amidst such society. He prefers an isolated existence. He is brutally and inhumanly tortured by the intruders McCann and Goldberg who represent society at large. The society treats such an individualistic artist like Stanley as a danger and pulls him back from his isolation. Those who choose to be alienated thus can not have such right. Stanley s quest is for respectful identity as an artist which he sought to establish. His endeavour to establish a healthy social relationship is futile. Another aspect of human endeavour which proves to be futile in the select plays is concerned with family relationship. The family ties of intimacy seem to be broken like a glass which is difficult to rejoin. The 235
family members in the domestic plays of Albee and Pinter are scattered in the same sense. The intimacy between children and parents, between husbands and wives, and that between the kith and kins has lost its fragrance. The members of the family institution are isolated from each other due to a gulf created due to selfishness, self-centeredness, lack of love and understanding. Both Albee and Pinter attack the hypocrisy, hollowness and lack of warmth in family relations. Another shocking aspect is the lack of communication amongst the family members. Edward Albee s Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? A Delicate Balance, Harold Pinter s The Homecoming reiterate the same views. In Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George and Martha lack proper communication. Martha is aggressive and dominating to her husband. Martha married George because she was infatuated and she and her father saw in George a successor to the presidential chair. The serious commitment of their marriage was not fidelity or communion but expediency and games for achieving worldly success and ambition. The marital relationship of George and Martha is shattered into pieces. The only tie between them is their illusionary child which is also dead. With the dictatorship of Martha, the dream of American happy family is shattered. The endeavour of Martha and George to establish sound marital relationship and communion prove to be futile. Similar hollowness between family members is found in A Delicate Balance. In case of Tobias and Agnes the place of domestic love has been usurped by self-seeking and self-centered egotism. The normal relations of parents and children and of wife and husband are replaced by considerations of materially and practically useful arrangements. The Tobias family is tied together not by affection and filial love, but by force of habit and conventional opinion. Tobias and Agnes have been married for decades, but 236
they lack meaningful communication and essential intimacy. Despite of all possessions their lives are terribly unsatisfying, and uninspiring. The emotional and spiritual sterility is reflected in their sexual sterility. Tobias endeavour to establish intimate family relationship remains futile. Ruth in The Homecoming is longing for luxury and lust. The head of the family Max s late wife Jessie had illegitimate relations with MacGregor, Max s friend. Lenny, Max s middle son is a professional pimp. The family members propose Ruth to become a prostitute. The proposal is casually accepted by Ruth s husband and Max s eldest son Teddy, who is a professor of Philosophy in America. It is the homecoming of Ruth to her husband s family which had been living on prostitution for many years. Before her marriage with Teddy, Ruth seems to be a near-prostitute. Ruth s arrival in the bestial world of physicality is shocking. The family here is without moral values. Teddy s endeavours to make Ruth a sincere wife remain futile. The whole moral values of a family institution are shattered. The play depicts the existential agony of the modern man. The quest for lust and luxury is well painted through the character of Ruth and Teddy s family members. Her lust keeps her away from establishing good marital relations with Teddy. The Homecoming insists on futility of human endeavour to establish and implement morals and ethics in family life. The vision of life reflected in the plays of Albee and Pinter is optimistic. Despite the dark portrait Albee paints in his plays of the American society of which he is an inseparable part, the society presented is not entirely unredeemable. His immediate purpose in his work is not to condemn the man and the society, but to carry them to rehabilitation. By presenting the dark side of human nature Pinter seems to suggest a world full 237
of hope and meaningfulness, thus, by insisting on positivity, he assures a life worth living and loving. Thus, the selected plays of Edward Albee and Harold Pinter portray the realistic picture of contemporary American and European society. From a broad perspective, these two playwrights present the futility of the man of not a particular society but the picture they present has a universal appeal. It is the existential plight of all human beings. For the best integration of human society, there is an inevitable need of intimacy and affection, peace and understanding, and a communication in true sense which can express love between two human beings. Such an integrated human society will be definitely a friendly place to live in. When there is faith in other human beings, ultimately there will be faith in God. The Theatre of the Absurd seems to communicate the same message. 238