For those who have seen the play "Happy Days" by Samuel Beckett

[KiwiZ]

This is going to sound stupid (unless you've seen it LOL), but what was it about?

I kept bouncing between a terminal illness, mental illness, paralysis (for the character, not me ), just couldn't make up my mind! I had the honor of speaking with the main character (Winnie) and asked her what it was supposed to be about and told her all my ideas. She laughed (wasn't offended at all) and said "My dear, that is for YOU to decide!"

What do you think?

[darlindeliasmom]

Hey: It's been years since I thought about this play, but my master's is in Anglo-Irish lit...that means basically Beckett Joyce Yeats...so we talked about stuff like this all the time in class. I think Beckett's subject is the human condition. You know, none of us get out of here alive, and what do we do with the time we have? Some of us make up little fictions of our lives, pretending that the unpleasant realities of death and loss aren't there. You know, whistling past the graveyard and all that.
So I guess that ALL of your answers were right, since they're all part of the human condition. I guess you have to figure out what sandpile you're sitting in, I guess...
It's fun to read a lot of Beckett all together and watch him get increasingly frustrated with any attempts to explain life and meaning...well, "fun" might be a relative term... ultimately, I think he just gives up, but that's jmo.

[KiwiZ]

Originally Posted by darlindeliasmom

Hey: It's been years since I thought about this play, but my master's is in Anglo-Irish lit...that means basically Beckett Joyce Yeats...so we talked about stuff like this all the time in class. I think Beckett's subject is the human condition. You know, none of us get out of here alive, and what do we do with the time we have? Some of us make up little fictions of our lives, pretending that the unpleasant realities of death and loss aren't there. You know, whistling past the graveyard and all that.
So I guess that ALL of your answers were right, since they're all part of the human condition. I guess you have to figure out what sandpile you're sitting in, I guess...
It's fun to read a lot of Beckett all together and watch him get increasingly frustrated with any attempts to explain life and meaning...well, "fun" might be a relative term... ultimately, I think he just gives up, but that's jmo.

Oh, thank you! I haven't run into many who have heard of this play; which is too bad, its so thought provoking. I went with 3 of my girlfriends and we spent the whole evening trying to figure it out! We were laughing cuz we all went to college and no one could come up with anything definitive! But maybe thats the point as you said! I told my friends mom (who played Winnie) that I was so impressed that she carried the entire play! Thats so much to memorize!

[darlindeliasmom]

Winnie

She's one of my favorite Beckett characters..sometimes I like her, sometimes I hate her. A difficult and challenging role. I'll bet your friend loooved the acting stretch that was!!
Try Endgame...a lot like, but more depressing...

Thanks for the chance to think about this stuff again...I am really being pulled back into this...lots of wierd coincidences in my life, and your question was one of them.

Time to shift sandboxes, I think!!