Molloy (novel)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Samuel Beckett |
|---|---|
| Translator | Patrick Bowles, in collaboration with the author |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Series | 'The Trilogy' |
| Genre(s) | Literary |
| Publisher | Editions de Minuit (French); Olympia Press (English) |
| Released | French, 1951; English, 1955 |
| Pages | 298 pages (1st French edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN : 2-7073-0558-X (Editions de Minuit edition) |
| Followed by | Malone Meurt aka Malone Dies |
Molloy is a novel by Samuel Beckett.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
On first appearance the book concerns two different characters, both of whom have interior monologues in the book. As the story moves along the two characters are distinguished by name only as their experiences and thoughts are, to say the least, similar. The novel is set in an indeterminate place, most often identified with the Ireland of Beckett's birth. It was written in Paris, along with the other two books (Malone Dies and The Unnamable) of 'The Trilogy', between 1946 and 1950. 'The Trilogy' is generally considered to be one of the most important literary works of the 20th century, and the most important in Beckett's oeuvre.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The Title refers to the first narrator, the elusive Molloy.
[edit] Plot summary
The plot, what little there is of it, is revealed in the course of the two interior monologues that make up the book.
The first is by a former vagrant named Molloy, who is now living "in my mother's room" and writing to "speak of the things that are left, say my goodbyes, finish dying." He describes a journey he had taken some time earlier, before he came there, to find his mother. He walks in no certain direction, from town to anonymous town and across anonymous countryside, encountering a succession of bizarre characters: an elderly man with a stick; a policeman; a charity worker; a woman whose dog he kills, and who he falls in love with (her name is never completely determined: "a Mrs Loy... or Lousse, I forget, Christian name something like Sophie"); "a young old man"; a charcoal-burner living in the woods; and finally a character who takes him in, to the room.
The second is by a private detective by the name of Jacques Moran, who is given the task by his boss, the mysterious Youdi, of tracking down Molloy. He sets out, taking his recalcitrant son, also named Jacques, with him. They wander across the countryside, increasingly bogged down by the weather, decreasing supplies of food and Moran's suddenly failing body. Eventually, the son disappears, and it appears Moran is going mad (to judge by the bizarre "questions of a theological nature" that occur to him). He eventually struggles home, and writes the report of his mission.
Due to the succession of the book from the first part to the second the reader is led to believe that time is passing in a similar fashion, however many readers believe that the second part is the prequel to the first.
[edit] Characters in "Molloy"
Molloy is a vagrant, currently bedridden; it appears he is a seasoned veteran in vagrancy, reflecting that "To him who has nothing it is forbidden not to relish filth." He is surprisingly well-educated, having studied geography, among other things, and seems to know something of "old Geulincx". He has a number of bizarre habits, not least of which is the sucking of pebbles, described by Beckett in an enormous and infamous passage, and also having an odd and rather morbid attachment to his mother (who may or may not be dead).
Moran is a private detective, with a housekeeper, Martha, and son, Jacques, both of whom he treats with scorn. He is pedantic and extremely ordered, pursuing the task set him logically, to the point of absurdity. He also shows an insincere reverence for the church and deference to the local priest, perhaps indicative of Beckett's perception of attitudes in Ireland. As the novel progresses, his body begins to fail for no visible or specified reason, a fact that surprises him, and his mind begins to decline to the point of insanity. This similarity in bodily and mental decline leads readers to believe that Molloy and Moran are in fact two facets of the same personality, or that the section narrated by Molloy is actually written by Moran.
[edit] Allusions/references to other works
Molloy includes references to a number of Beckett's other works, especially the characters, who are revealed as fictional characters in the same manner as Molloy and Moran: "Oh the stories I could tell you if I were easy. What a rabble in my head, what a gallery of moribunds. Murphy, Watt, Yerk, Mercier and all the others." (Part II)
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
- Quotes from 2003 Calder edition of 'The Trilogy'
- Information on editions (French)
| The Prose of Samuel Beckett |
|---|
| Novels : Dream of Fair to Middling Women, How It Is, Malone Dies, Mercier and Camier, Molloy, Murphy, The Unnamable, Watt Novellas : Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, Worstward Ho Stories : First Love , Fizzles, More Pricks Than Kicks, Stirrings Still, Stories and Texts for Nothing Non-Fiction : Three Dialogues (with Georges Duthuit and Jacques Putnam), Disjecta, Proust |
