MICHAEL Y. BENNETT is an Associate
Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He is the
auther of many books, mainly about absurdism and philosophy of Oscar wild.
‘Reassessing the theatre of absurd’ is considered as one of his best mater piece
published in 2011, deals with concept of theatre. He reviews the concepts of
Martin Esslin about absurdism, given in his book ‘The theatre of absurd’
published in 1961. He further narrates his concepts about absurdism by quoting
major absurdist writers and authors like Camus, Bract, Lonesco, Genet and so
on. I am here making an attempt to summarize Bennett’s book Reassessing the
theatre of absurd. This will be a detail chapter vise summary.
Introduction
to reassessing the theatre of absurd
In the beginning of introduction, Bennett
begins the tale with insisting the point that martin Esslin has misread the
Camus as an absurdist philosopher or writer. He insists that Camus most updated
writing got published in 1995, 35 years after his death that gives up to date
knowledge of Camus’s concepts. Esslin had analyzed Camus’s the myth of Sisyphus
in his book the theatre of absurd published in 1961.
While explaining the purpose of literature, Bennett
argues that literature not only aims at unfolding events, of history but
acknowledging them with causes and impacts. He insists that writer should not
portray world as absurd in his writing. While arguing further about absurd, he
insists that absurd is not simply absurdity but it’s about making meanings in
life. Rather you get success or remained meaningless.
while commenting about Esslin and Camus,
Bennett says that the reason of absurdity in the writings of these personalities
is the post WW2 scenario. It was the time when destruction had made everything
meaningless for masses. People had lost hope and the religion that always
played a vital role in life of people, also lacked in impressing people. Thus, Camus
suggests that the physical suicide could be the one way of escaping from such condition.
Camus also calls this situation of physical suicide as absurd. So, one can live
with revolt, with reasoning with philosophical suicide.
He defines absurd as, cut of harmony devoid as
purpose or cut from religion. Absurdity also gives space to sense of
meaninglessness or sense of senselessness in human mind. While quoting Enoch
Bracter he further elaborates the importance of death that ‘one must start with
Beckett when discussing the theatre of absurd’.
Esslin considers Camus as an absurd
philosopher. Bennett directly quotes here from Esslin that ‘man is lost, all
his action become absurd, useless’. While narrating the myth of Sisyphus,
Bennett highlights its importance that it is the most personal work published
by Camus. He says according to Camus committing suicide is a wrong answer to
absurdity. One should live with a revolt, of thinghood to existence.
He argues that according to Esslin, the progress
of post WW2 has become a regression. Man is devoid of religion, faith and is
badly indulged in destructed world. No civilization remains that can be a hope
for betterment. He resembles this situation with situation in Waiting for Godot.
He also insists that man has also lost language that is the soul of
civilization.
Bennett elaborated the reason of rereading the
absurd is to review the concept according to today. He insists that our life is
with contradictions, identity of man is illusioned but one can make sense of
life. He says that in order to re-read absurd he will analyze four plays: Waiting
for Godot, The Birthday Party, The Blacks: A Crown Show and Rhinoceros.
Chapter 1: The
Parable of Estragon’s Struggle with The Boot in Samuel Backett’s Waiting for
Godot
He begins the discussion on Waiting for Godot
with backett’s quote from the same play: Waiting for Godot ‘noting happens, nobody come, nobody goes, it’s awful’ Bennett
further raises questions about the title of the play, who is the Godot? He says
that the play depicts the falling of religion and destructed or disturbed life
after world war two. He insists that this play deals with the absurdity of
human condition. How miserable life human is living.
He further states that the major point of play
is not the identity of Godot but its about time, about Waiting of Godot. He says
that time changes us and our identity Is not stable, it changes from time to
time. But time in this paly has nothing to do with action of play. Esslin says ‘the ceaseless activity of time is
defeating, purposeless’. This play gives a sense of not safe in modern
world.
While arguing about the productions of Waiting
for Godot by New Orleans in 2007 named as Godot, Bennett insists that it
depicts the power of personal anonymity and power of freedom. He quotes here Camus:
‘meaning should not come from or imposed
upon people from false authority’ he gives a concept of hope of making
meaning from idle things. While commenting on 2009 Waiting for Godot production
by Broadway, is an attempt to move away from existential and absurd meaning of
play.
This play could be read with two perspectives:
first through a desolate picture and destroyed thing in unknown place. Secondly
with a hope that a road in play may leads to somewhere, to a city. But there is
no conformity that hope can bring any relief to desolated souls.
Chapter 2: The
Pinteresque Oedipal Household: The Interrogation Scene(s) in The Birthday Party
The birthday party by Harlod Pinter was first
published by Cambridge in 1958. The story is about the birthday of Stanley. His
two friends, MaCcan and Goldberg have planned a party for him. But the plot of
play was moved away with interrogation that was the result of an abusive act:
rape, done by Stanley.
Harlod Hobson labels play as absurd because
language has contradiction with actions. Schechner also insists that this play
lacks in conceptual completeness. Further the victims are shown unaware of what
is happening to them in the play.
The play shows that the language creates family
power that destroys the questioning power. The plot itself begins with
interrogation scene between Meg and Petey, interrogation about rape. But
unhealthy balance between subjective and objective speech results in poor
communication.
While Meg question Petey about herself, she
replies simply. This metaphorical conversation continues to four pages without
any direct question. Though this an absurd conversation because its lacks in
certainty of questions.
The play begins with dramatic realism. Pinter
has decontextualized the literal and figurative entrance and exist. Each character’s
intervention has no purpose. Audience are unaware of characters, about their
role and identity. There is a sense of tension shown in coming and going of
character. This all is portrayed as absurd.
Chapter 3: The
Parable of The White Clown: The Use of Ritual in Jean Genet’s The Blacks: A Clown
Show
The Blacks: A Clown Show is a story about backs
and whites and about a clown. This story also explores the concept of relation
between colonizer and colonized. The plot of play is like hall of mirrors,
which is made up of three rituals. A funeral, a sacrifice and a trail.
Commonly because of rituals, Bennett’s sees it
as absurd, here are the rituals that contribute to play in this sense of
absurd. There is absurdity of situation in the play. Further it depicts the
failure of communication between whites and blacks. W.f Sohlish argues that the
communication between the whites and blacks is impossible. And whites are
responsible for this situation. He further argues that there is no real crown
presented in this play.
This play also gives reading of colonialism and
Algerian war. He quotes here from Said and Bhaba’s writing for elaborating the
idea of colonizer and colonized. He insists that colonization is a western
style of domination and concept of otherness promotes this concept of
orientalism more vividly. Bennett argues that the more colonizer reveals the
colonized the more he uncovers himself. But in this play whites are shown
pessimist and blacks are active. Blacks bring progression in the play’s plot.
Further the rituals in the play give birth to contradictions.
The play is dominated by the concept of disorder, that reveals actions
destructed. This all depicts play as absurd. The scene of funeral, character
holding lower, placing on dead both and character debating the same time,
confuses the audience. The trail in court, disorder in court also depicts it as
absurd. Especially the hearing of blacks in white court makes it more ridicules.
Bennett criticizes production of play by peter
stein in 1983 that departures from thrice from concept. First the white
character who are supposed to play the role of blacks. This process of blacking
is absurd. Secondly the scene of fire crack is presented as a celebration scene
instead of ritual and lastly the end with presentation of African map with
three territories.
Chapter 4:
Berenger The Sisyphean Hero
This play has a simple plot that people are one
by one turning into rhinoceros. Only the one character of Berenger remains as
human at the end of the play. Berenger’s questions himself that he should
change himself or not, also makes things absurd to cope with.
The play consists of three acts and four scenes.
First act is depicted in outside world. Second scene of act two is presented in
an office and rest of scenes are portrayed in jean and Berenger’s department.
This play highlight’s the political condition of time that influences all the
men and makes them empty from emotions and feelings.
Bennett insists that the world is faulty
syllogism. There are contradictions in society. Though there are faulty actions
in society but one can figures out or corrects his actions by seeing the faulty
logic of actions. This play also shows the lack of orderness in daily life.
Every one turns into rhinos and Berenger at the end questions that should he
become rhinos also. But the ethical behavior of humanism restrains him to
become rhinos.
Bennett insists that Berenger is a super man
that he is the only character who could survive as human. In the beginning of
play, Berenger says that he wants to have a purpose in life that could labelled
as revolt or sense of reasoning by Camus. Though at the end of the play when he
is remained as the only human character he still carries on questioning or
reasoning about his existence and identity. The opening and end of play have
important in a sense that the play begins with the action at a public place,
between people butt it ends in a room, where Berenger is the only character
remained. This shows the tragic end of play.
Conclusion:
Theorizing a ‘Female Absurd’ in Beth Henley’s Crime of The Heart as Means of Reassessing
The Theatre of Absurd
Though male is a default body but women can
also serve as a major figure in absurd. This action shall not harm the role of
man. He insists that the jane genet’s the mads is a great example of universal absurd
situation and Beth Henley’s Crime of The Heart serves as the great example of
absurdity of a female. Bennett says that these two plays speak about gender
absurdity and he suggests these two pays, the maids and the crime of the heart
as respective gender absurdisms.
Jean genet’s the maids were first published in
1947 is a story about maids that metaphorically deconstructs the notion of
women hood. They dressed up like maids and madame but not certainty behave like
them. There is also an emotional release in play. This all keeps audience
confuse about reality. Bennett her quotes from Sarte that ‘the layering of appearances sets up the ultimate act of Brechtian
alienation’ he further argues that this performance will help audience to
understand the concept of actor and character.
Beth Henley’s crime of the heart also
deconstructs the notion of gender. Not how female is imagining the gender but
how it is felt or experienced by women. This is a story of three sisters, babe
is the younger one of three sisters, who kills her husband and have relation
with fifteen-year-old black guy. The elder sister is thirty and looking for a
guy and hopes for good partner and children also. The middle sister is 27 and
she has a desired to become a singer.
These three sisters are profound with their
desires. The supports one another throughout the play. The action in a kitchen
and desire that world cannot fulfills for them show an absurdist. But these three sisters advise one another
and at the end of the play, they all are shown happy and with their fulfilled
desire.
Bennett here makes different between this
absurd writing and with others that instead of having an outside worldly plot,
the story begins and ends inside the home. It does not have proper plot like
waiting for Godot or the birthday party. He ends his argument with an important
point that all male absurdist stories are so unsure about the end but female
absurdist stories are so sure about end. As it could be seen in the crime of
the heart and waiting for Godot or in other plays.
Student of Literature at RILL, Riphah International University, Pakistan.
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