Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd

191 Pages·2012·4 MB·English

by  Michael Y. Bennett

Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd
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Reassessing the
Theatre of the Absurd
Camus, Beckett, Ionesco,
Genet, and Pinter
Michael Y. Bennett
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REASSESSING THE THEATRE OF THE ABSURD
Copyright © Michael Y. Bennett, 2011.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–0–230–11338–1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bennett, Michael Y., 1980–
Reassessing the theatre of the absurd : Camus, Beckett, Ionesco, Genet,
and Pinter / Michael Y. Bennett.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–230–11338–1 (alk. paper)
1. European drama—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Theater
of the absurd. 3. Absurd (Philosophy) in literature. I. Title.
PN1861.B44 2011
809.2(cid:1)04—dc22 2010041714
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: April 2011
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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To my parents
And in loving memory of
Julius Yudkovitz (1915–2010)
Leah Yudkovitz (1919–2007)
Mark Bennett (1944–2007)
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd 1
Chapter 1 The Parable of Estragon’s Struggle with the
Boot in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot 27
Chapter 2 The Pinteresque Oedipal Household:
The Interrogation Scene(s) in The Birthday Party 53
Chapter 3 The Parable of the White Clown: The Use of Ritual
in Jean Genet’s The Blacks: A Clown Show 71
Chapter 4 Berenger, The Sisyphean Hero 89
Conclusion: Theorizing a “Female Absurd” in Beth Henley’s Crimes
of the Heart as Means of Reassessing the Theatre of the Absurd 101
Addendum #1: Defining the Parable 109
Addendum #2: Parables in Drama 125
Notes 135
Bibliography 167
Index 177
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Acknowledgments
I have a number of people I need to thank who helped me over these
past five-plus years with this book project. First, I am indebted to a
number of professors who gave me a lot of their advice, support, and
time: my dissertation committee (Jenny S. Spencer, James Freeman, and
David Lenson), Joseph Donohue, Nicholas Bromell, Robert Combs, Adam
Zucker, J. Chris Westgate, and Mark Blackwell. I would also like to thank
my friends, who have constantly been there for me (both as friends and as
readers) and inspired me (both intellectually and emotionally) throughout
this long process: Eyal Tamir, Joel Anderson, Colin Enriquez, Shai Cohen,
and Madelyne Camera. And a special thanks to my parents and family: I lit-
erally could not have completed this without all of your love and support.
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