i n the Deyarhen t

of

E n g l i s n

APPROVAL

N u e : David George Hadcock Anido

Degree: Master of Ar t s

T i t l e of Thesis: ~ u $ n e Ionesco m d 3Jormar. Frederick Simpson: S a t i r i c and I d e a l i a ~ i c Aspects of the Theatre of the Absurd i n France and Br i t a in

Exainining Comnit t e e :

---- 4

(professor Serry ZasloveJ Scnior ~ u p e r v i s o r )

-- -..-..- - (Mrs. A'ndrea Exmizing Co

- ( D r . Hari shar~na) -,_-I- -- - - - h x t e r r ~ a l Examiner

( A s s i s t a c ~ P T G ~ E S . ~ ~ )

(Departrqent of T o l l t i c a l Scienre, Sociology an6 Anthropology)

To my parents.

I wish t o acknowledge the cotlsidera'cle ass ls tance oi l D r . ~\!slcolni Pzge

i n t he preparaticn of the b ib l i og ra~hy ; cf ivlrs. A n d r e a Lekwi tz f w t h e

long houm spent i n reading the meLxscri~L,; or' D r . J. Z.aslove fir h i s

ins t ruc t ive ad- ice arA sugges~ions Tor new di rec t ions ; of Xiss K ~ z e ; LJr ighr

f o r her i n t e r e s t i n t h i s venture and helpfui c r i t i c i sw; a n d of Yiss V e r ~ a

Kazakoff f o r her kinciness i n t j p i a g he f i r a l d r a f t .

ABS'fPACr

Qne of t he m ~ s t s ign i f ican t d i rec t ions of the contemp~rary thea t re

has come t o be ct&l.ed %he Theatre of the Absurd, The purpose of t h i s

t h e s i s is t o i d e n t i f y t he major aspect of "absurdism" ( s o c i a l s a t i r e )

as It can be i so l a t ed i n the work of ~ u & e lonesco, r r l t i n g i n France,

and Dorman Frederick Simpson, w ~ l t l n g _in England, Beyond the s a t i ~ _ i c

elements the t h e s i s w i l l a l s o i l l u s t r a t e how Ionesco has achieved a

s i gn i f i c an t metaphysical l eve l i n h i s drama which presumes a personal

f a i t h i n the v a l i d i t y of human existence and endeavour.

Ionesco i s a p r o l i f i c wr i t e r having wr i t t en over twenty plays,

rtxI10 ecrlpt s ( ~ e salon de 1' - automobile) - , t e lev i s ion s c r i p t s ( ~ e Jeune -- -

Homme % ~ a r i e r ) , - -- scenarios ( ~ ' 0 e u f A - ~ u r ) , and a b a l l e t (Apprendre - &

archer). - Tn addi t ion, t he playwright has been much concerned ~ 5 t h

presenting h i s ideas about thea t re and h i s personal l i f e , The two

most important Jownals of Ionesco a re Notes - - and - -. - - * Counternotes, - - - - - . t h e

presenta t ion of ideas on thea t re , l ec tu res and interviews, and Fragments -

of --- a Journal , .. - some thoughts on t h e dramat is t ' s philosophy and reco l lec t ions

of childhood. - ~ u ~ z n e Ionesco was born a t S la t ina , Rumania, i n 1912 of a French

mother. He escaped the onslaught of the f a s c i s t I ron Guard and l ived

i n France wi th h i s family u n t i l 1925. I n t h i s year he returned t o

Rumania t o study a t the Universi ty of Bucharest, and l a t e r between

1936 and 1938, he taught French a t a Junior College i n the Rumanian

cap i t a l . I n 1938 Ionesco was awarded a bursary t o prepare a t he s i s i n

Pa r i s e n t i t l e d , "Themes of Sin and Death i n French Li te ra tu re since

Baudelaire . " The t h e s i s was never ccnpleted . I n 1953, Ienesco ' s ca ree r

as a dramat is t 5egan when h i s fir'st play, La Caa ta t r i ce ----, Ska~lve was

produced a t Le ~ h g g t r e a m N o c t u r ~ ~ l e s by Nicholas B a t a i l l e . Tke p lay

was only a p s r t i z l success because t h e au6ience expected t o se? a

"bald soprano" on t h e s tage and were sadly disapp,3it?ted. Bet a f t e r t h e

production of two more of h i s p lays , Lta Leqon, and - Les Chaises-, Ionesco .

receis-ed h i s g r c e t e s t boost t o d a t e v i t h t 5 e publicat ior! of ar, a r t i c l e

w r i t t e n by Jean Anouilh or_ Victimes dv I)z7roir. This p l ay a s w e l l a s - Tueur sans Gages, ~ h i n o c & o s , atid -----7 Le b L s e I-eurt a r e aas t e r? i zzes of

the modern t h e a t r e . "-

/ ' Ionesco has been ca l l ed ar. "ab~urd ' ,s t" , an "anti-playwrig'nt" ,

and an "avant-garde w r i t e r . I ' He has sls3 &en accused I;;. Kenne%h Tynan

i n t h e famous debate which tock pla.ce i : ~ ----- Thr, Cbserxr i a 1958 ES r,ct

I be ing on "the na in road" c f c c n t e q o r a r y d r a m . But :!--ere i s r . ~ d c ~ ~ b t I _ -

t h a t Ionesco i s l i k e Samuel Beckett , a fcr-rr?id&le w r i t e r wi th a novel

technique and 5- p a r n a s s i ~ n d i s rz spcc t f c r o lde r f o r a s of draca . 3is

metaphysical dilemma i s s i m i l a r t o t h e CanusLan view of e Sisyphien

humanity and the a b s t r a c t i o n s of h i s o n s i r i c world a r e rendered a s ccncre te

images on t h e l i v e s t ags . ,x Ionescc ' s _orogress from foci31 s a ~ i r i s t t o

e x i s t e ~ t i a l i d e a l i s t i s oae cf t he most s i g n i f i c a n t s u c x s s s t o r i e s

of t h e fiodern t k e h t r e .

N . F. S i m p s ~ n cannot be considered on the same 1 5 x 1 e s Icnzsco,

bu t he w i l l be considered a s exemplifying the " thea t re of t h e a-=surdf'

i n 3ngland. Simpson wl.1: be discussed as a 5ocia.l s a t i r i s t , who, like

Ior,esco thozgh l e s s capakle, presents b i z a r r e an6 out.rageous s i5u&tions

i n h i s p lays t o r e f l e c t a s imi la r Ciisjoirteiiness i n h i s subur'cm m c i e t y .

The chapter on Simpson is designed t o complement the chapters on Ionesco

shoving, f i r s t , t ha t the ava.nt -garcle thea t re , dei-iv-ed f r m the e s s e n t i s l i y 1

French Dada and Su r r ea l i s t revolutions, i s not l imi ted t o one language

or s i tua t ion . The second purpose i s t o compare the s t y l e s of Ionesco

an6 Simpson as a precedent i n determining the success and f a i l u r e of

s imilar techniques used by both men (eg: the "non-sequitur" and the

p ro l i f e r a t i on of niaterial objects i n a rapidly dehumanizing world. )

The main object of the t he s i s i s t o d e t e r ~ i n e %hat a r e the s e t i r i c

and i d e a l i s t i c elements of the dra:na of ~u$r.e Ionesco and Pi. F. Sirnpsorl.

Ioclesco might be speaking fo r both p l a p r i g h t s i n h i s own expressed

desi re : ,

{~eanwhile, meanvhile I have done vh;t I c m l d . . .I ha-,re passel the ( time. Rut we need t o know how t o cut oursei-ves off f ron m r s e l x s

a n d f ron other people, pow t s obser$re and hov t o lsugh, i n s p i t e o f . everything t o laugh.

1 Ionesco, ~ u g z n e , Notes and Couniernotes, t r ans . , Donald Watson,

Grove Press, Inc . ( ~ e w York, 1964), p. 12.

- v i i -

TABLE O F C O N m N T S I

PAGE

....................................... Abstract v

.................. Ionesco a s A k s ~ r d i s t S a t i r i s t 1

....... Ionesco's Subjective World.. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1

........................... The ~ & e n & e r Plays.. 38

Norman Frederick Simpson: Soc ia l S a t r r i s t of t he Absurd.. ....................... 61

Conclusion.. . . . . ............................... 102

Selected Sibliography .......................... 103

CHAPTER OhrE

IOfiESCO AS ABSUFDIST SATIRIST

The t i t l e "the Theati=e of the Absurd" would seem t o be more expediznt

than elabora.tive. It i s a t i t l e which conjures c.sr,cepts beyond tile r e a h

of reason, and i 3 sugg.?3tiv2 of an eso te r ic or u i k i l i s k i c philosop;l?r.

There i s a c e r t a in erncuct of t r x h i r r : thes? i n f e r ewes , 511t it i s f a c i l e

t o p resme that, such nomcccietlir$ ~ . s "&snd" , "want -ga~de" , or "mti-

theatrew--which aze ~ r e s e n t d ky d i f f e r en t c r i t i c s as synony~xxs--car: contain

a s t y l e of wr i t ing the t i s notably enigxatic i n i t s o r lg i ce l i t y .

Kartin Essldn, $he c r i t i c who pegularized the idea of "a5sur-d" thea t re ,

has succeeded i n placing many-vorks of the rr-odern thea t re in a helpful

perspective. Ir_ h i s book Tb.e Theatre -- of t,h? .AbsurZ., 3 s s l i n has placed the

works of Ariano;., Al.bee, Grzss, Beckett , S i ~ q s o n , Genet, Imesco , and P in te r , . .

as wel l a s severa l other wr i t e r s , under t he sarre banner. The result i s

some in t e r e s t i ng reading, but a l so an oversimplif ication since It s e m s

t h a t wr i te r s who cannot be considered Brechtian, r e a l i s t , o r express ionis t ,

m y be hmogenized i n t o the new category.

I n h i s preface t o the book, f i r s t printed i n 1961, E s s l i z notes that

11 t h i s book i s a n attempt t o define t.he convention t ha t has cone ts be

1 1 1 called thz Theatre of the Absurd. The s ~ g g e s t i o n i s t h a t t he works of

h s s l i l , Martin, The Theatre - of the Absurd, 1 s t ed i t i oc , Apchnr Books, Doubleday & Corripzng, Ir,c., (sew ~orkTl961), p. xii.

- 2 -

many diverse authors a r e the culmination of a long t r a d i t i o n t h a t hss

ac tua l ly exis ted since thea t re began. Ess l in ' s book, therefore , tecds t o

produce fabr icated s i m i l a r i t i e s or generalizations which, while icterest .cg,

are not always enlightening: ".. . there i s i n Shakespeare a very strong

sense of the f u t i l i t y and &bsurditty of the human condition."2 Tkz mznticn

of forerunners of contemporary "absurdists", with such conspicuocs ogissioris

a s Titus l a cc iu s ~ l a u t u a , ~ suggests t ha t Ess l in has chosen h i s premises

wi th care i n order t o channel h i s argumems. Within reason, thc-refore, o x

could invent new cakegoriea a t w i l l and dcfec5 t'ne choice by r e f e r r i n s beck

Li i n t o h i s to ry searching f o r witnesses. The motive behind inclus ive t i t l e s

i s good--when t he works of the thea t re a re placed i? perspective they czn

be judged a s t o t h e i r l i t e r a r y merit, s t y i e , i ~ g s c t on the mdience: and

po t en t i a l t o influence future playwrights. 2ut the danger ex i s t s vhere

conclusivit,y i s im?lied, and theatre xhic'n is impregnated x i t h t5e ele;crlts

of the philosophy of the absurd becomes simply "absurd" or "avant -gardew

thea t re . Ir, SL way, thAs equatlon of a philosophical sjrsimi en5 E, t h e a t r i c z l

s t y l e contradic ts the essence of avant-gzrh which "wculd s ee r t2 be sn

a r t i s t i c and c u l t u r a l phenomenon of a precursr~ry natu-e, which t a l l i e s with

i t s l i t e r a l meaning ... It wocld be a kind of ' p e - s t y l e 1 i n e i c a t i ~ g and

pointing the directlor1 of chszge.. .This cmourlts t o zaaykf thrt, the ~vsn5-

he comic plays of P1aui.u~ s a t i r i z ed the middle-class society- cf h i s day much as Ionesco and Sinpscn s a t i r i z e the bourgeoisie of aodern socie ty . His swashbucklirig heroes and rhe i r absurd an t i c s inake Plautus as much an absurdiss a s , f o r exarql-e, Arisi;o?hanes--also mentiocei! by Ess l in zs a%surd:st precursor.

4 An example of such a catcgcry I s Rsbert 2ruste in1a The Theatre of

Revolt where Ibsen, Strindberg, Cnekhov? Shzw, Erecht, P i r an i e l l o , C"Bei.11 and Genet, are discussed under the s a w t i t l e .

- 3 -

garde cannot generally be recognized u n t i l a f t e r the ever:t. 5

In the preface t c the secoc? ~ d i t i o r ~ of The Theatre o? the Absurd,

Ess l in c l a r i f i e s h i s posi5ion i n usicg the tit16 51it does cot Custify -:hs

impl ic i t conclrrsivity;

A term l i k e Theatre of the Absurd i s a working hypt 'nes i s , a device t o mdce ce r t a in fundamntal t r a i t s which seen t o be present i n the works of a number of d.ramatists accessible t o discussion by t rac ing the features they have i n cornor?. That m d rio more. Hm could t h a t have l ed t o the assuniption t ha t Beckett and Iorlesco should behave towsrds each other as meclbers of the stme club o r par',y? C)r

t h a t P in t e r subscribed t o t h z sane views cn pol i5ics o r law 2s Genet'? Only by a profound misur_derstsndir.g. A n 3 evetl l e s s j u s t i f i ed i s the view t h a t t he development of t'?e theatye 2-oceeds by a s e r i e s of su-5 movements, each oC which comes t o power as the previous o w zbdicates or i s overthrown. 6

Esslir i 's r e a l i z a t i on t h a t h i s "w~rk ing hypctkesis" has ceused soce

n i su~ders tand ing among readers, forces the expectation of fu r ther proof

the preface, the secctld e d i t i o ~ i s hsrd1.v k v i s e d o r d i f f e r e a t fror? t'Le

f i r s t . The c r i t i c , l i k e a diver c l ingins affectionate1.y t o a iesky s i~ i t , ,

maintains the same poise a,n3 technique i n s p i t e c f h i s recognitlor. cf

l t t he necess i ty fo r dis5ing~Lz'ning 5~csreer: carious abswd" p1ayi~rig'r:ts.

However, it i s necessary t o draw these d i s t inc t ions p a r t i c a i a r l y ir t5e

case of Ionesco.

I n h i s in t roeuct icn 'uc the f i i ' s~ , e d i t f w of ? i s imrk, Bssl in notes

they "do not f x m pa r t of anjr self-proclaimed or self-conscicus schocl or

novexent . " Secorid, 'leech of t h e u r i t e r s . . . i s ?n iridivid~rs I. who r e ~ a ~ c l s

hiniself a s a lone outs ider , cut off and isola ted i n h i s p r iva te iic~lC(.."

6 Ess l i a , l.la.rtin, op. c i t . , ;. 10. .

- 4 -

Third, " I f they a l so , very c l ea r ly and i n sp i t e of themselves, have a

good dea l i n common, it is becauseltheir work most sens i t ive ly mirrors

and r e f l e c t s the preoccupations and anxiet ies , the emotions and thinking

of inany of t h e i r contemporaries i n the Western World. 11 7

It i s most l i k e l y t h a t Ess l in uses the t h i rd point as the premise

for h i s revela t ion of "The Theatre of the Absurd." This i s a j u s t i f i ab l e

point of view s ince playwrights i n the Western World a r e indeed preoccupied

with major concerns, of ten more p o l i t i c a l than a r t i s t i c . The technological

revolution which i s p u t of Euroue and North America ( f a r more than t he

continents of the " th i rd worlci") has produced a unique kind of hedonism and

danger, a s wel l as an in te rna t iona l bourseoisie t h a t i s w i l l i ng t o subordinate

b a n emotions and fee l ing XI routine and mechanical control . While Jean

8 Genet and Jean-Faul Sa r t r e elnphasize the need f o r soc i a l revolution,

Beckett and Ionesco concentrate on a metaphysical revolution. Ecth

a r e revolutionary t rends , but L t i s a fa l l zcy t o suppose t ha t t h i s connec-

t ion can predominase over the differences; consequ2ntly the t i t l e of

"absurd" i s misleading, however convenient.

E s s l i n l s de l i n i t i on of llaksurd" i s based on a statement by Ionesco:

". . .1onesco defined h i s understanding of t he term as follcTds: 'Absurd i s

t ha t which i s Cevold of p r p c s e ... Cut off fron h i s re l ig ious , metaphysical,

and transcetlder,tal roo t s , mar, i s l o s t ; a l l h i s . ac t ions become senseless,

absurd, useless . ' l f 9 The idea of pvrpcse and action, f u r t he r delineated

i n tne plays, introduces the cu l tu ra l aspects of the abswd. Since

"purpose" forms a c r i t e r i o n fo r the v a l i d i t y cf existence the idea 2-f

8 Jean-Paul Se r t r e condemns the inflizeRze of the bowgeolsi? on the

t hea im i n an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d , "Tjeycnd E~urgeo i s Theatre," %lane Drama Review 5 arch, 1961) . -- ---,

absurdity seems t o be negative. Rut l a t e r i n h i s notes Ionesco s t a t e s

t h a t t he "absurd1' i s posi t ive i n i ts scope ra ther than negative. The

seeming contradiction of the "absurd" being both "devoid of purpose" and

It oos i t ive" a t t he same t i n e i s s e t t l e d i n Ionesco's statement:

... the absurd i s conceived a s being i n some way an i n t r i n s i c pa r t of existence. Now f a r me, i n t r i n s i c a l l y , everything t h a t e x i s t s i s log ica l , the re i s nothing absurd abgut it. It i s thz consciousness of being and ex i s t i ng t h a t i s astonishing ... And I believe I an a comic wr i t e r f h ~ p k s $3 t h i s facu l ty ... f o r being able t o starid out- s i de myself. 16"" -

Ionesco views himself lfoutside myszlf" x i thou t s ac r i f i c ing the "consciousness

of' being and exis t ing" which i den t i f i e s h i s hmani ty . Wif,hin the real111

of imagination, what man could 5e compared t o what he - i s m&es the l a t t e r

absurd by comparison, but the bas ic acceptance of man as he i s makes

human existence log ica l . i is subjective fantasj.es and qualms b e c ~ m

object ively l og i ca l when he accepts h i s "being" as the most bas ic prenise . )

So the pos i t ive c u l t u r a l aspect of absurdity i s t ha t which i den t i f i e s the

human being as the basrc v a l u s i n an march ic cosrr.r,s. The enarchy derives

from the e-~asiveness of absolutes i n a universe where man i s the only

kn~wn bss re r of consciousness.

It i s i q o r t a n t t o separate the idea of the thea t re a s c r e a t i ~ g a

s t y l i s t i c a l l y "abs-ud" draria and the "absurd" as t he ref leckion of the

human condition. I n an interview v i t h Claude Ronnefoy Ionesco elaborates

on h i s opinion of "absurdityf1 as par t of the hum2 c o ~ d i t i p n befors

applying it a s a theme of the theatre :

- lG1onesco, ~ u $ n e , l o t e s and Ccuotxrnotes, Grove Press , Lnc. (?lev

York, 2.964.) , p . 121.

Prenez l e s the& du th&tre de Beckett OE dtAdamov qui expriment l a condition absurde dz l'hcmne: Lthc?mme va mourir; l'hcmme a des l im i t e s ; l 'honne n'accepfe pas son des t i n e t pourtant il a un des t in ; que l le e s t l a s ign i f icz t ion dk ce des t in? Quelle e s t 1s s ign i f i c a t i on du f a i t que l1homxe ne peut donner une s i gn i f i c a t i on son tiestin? e t c . . . ce ne sont pas des t h b e s ze ne sont pas des prcfl15mes uniquement contemporsins; i l s sont devenus plus a i w s , plus percept ibles cause de cer ta ines s i t ua t i ons , de ce r ta ins evenements contemporains. 81

Ia the t hea t r e , "absurd" i s a catch phrase l i k e l y t o mislead. It represents

t h a t which i s opposed t c t h e a t r i c a l realism. The shock t o an axlience

t h a t d id not see a bald soprano i n e pl.ay e n t i t l e d Ll- Cantat r ice Chezve -

probably produced the react ion -;hat ca l l ed su.ch foolery "absurd" o r "an t i -

theatre" because, i n i z s iconocLaslrl, it Cisobeyed the corfor table conven-

t i ons of realisn? which observed che "unit:-es" of s t ruc ture and c h z a c t e r .

I o n e e c ~ 6ist inguished between " l e th&,tr.e du boclevarrll' and " le

t & t r e contemporain de l 'absurde." Tne boulevard thea t re "oe se ?ose pas

l e probl$me de l a condition hm-aine ou des f i n s d e r n i b s a lo r s que l e

thggtre de Beckett n ' e s t que ce la . "12 Here Ionesco e q l i c e t e s the coanectioc

of "absurd" t o a thea t r i ca l s t y l e which Xsslin has 3.:scribed. I n addi t ion

the attempt of the pedestrian th&tre du boulevard t o simpiy r e f l e c t ;hz

assu?stlons of i t s audience has been abandoned.

Ionesco draws an inportant d i s t i r c t i c n ketve3fi t5ea t r2 ' ; perception

of t he world and l i f e i t s e l f . T'eatze as a r t att+e!qts t o preser't l i f ?

a e s the t i c a l l y and .ict marely r e f l ex l \ e ly . I n tbc d r e m of Towszo, ideals

a re conveyed ae s the t l c a i l y through t3e medium of the abci=d which e x i s t s

withir! t he a x t e x t of r e a l i t y . The posi t ive eieme:it of Ionescs 's pcrcr2p';ion

i s h i s presenta t ion of h i s innernos: tkct~ghts as l i v e act ion.

~ n , Claude, "Entretia;is zvec ~ u & n e Ionesco, " Edit ions -- Pie r r e Eelfond (1965) , 1S1. --

12E30nnefoy, Cla~d-e , op. cit., 14.2.

- '( - subjective ins igh ts permit him t o conceive o? absolutes and t h e i n t r i n s r c

value of existence when they can by real ized on the stage. E i s r e a l world

i s inescapable, 5u t the thea t re a l l ev i a t e s anxiety by providing z vehicle

f o r t o t a l freedom of expression. I n the thea t re , Ionesco transcends

r e a l i t y and f inds the sc lace which mitigates h i s despair .

Ionesco's s t reng th as a netaphysician l i e s i n h i s a b i l i t y t o see

nightmares t o t h e i r b i t t e r end without yielding t o the most devastat ing

of human emotions--Pear of death. Hisl 'oneiric universe" i s the source of

ideas where imagination ar_d anxiet ies about existence are brought t o g e t h a

and h i s nightmares 8xe stimulated by the fee l ing t ha t a l l the accepted

( i e : cu l t u r a l ) explaqations of man a ~ d the world may be l t t t l e ncre than

fabr icated nonsense.

Ionesco's coficern and stimulat.?on t o wr i te i n aq 3.va.nt-garde' s t ,y le

der ives from the predicment of man as he tn te rpre t s i t . Man, se~a i -a ted

from h i s cultura.1 roots k2s becme l o s t , and, since these :-cot? a re , in

Cmus' words, "espl-ained by r e s s o ~ i n g , " it 5s hard t o va l idz te t h e i r bas is :

A world t h a t can be explained by reasoning, however f m l t y , i s a famil iar wcrld.. But i n a universe t h a t i s sudd-enly deprived of i l l u s ions snd of l i g h t , marl ?ec:J.s a s-cranger. 5i.s i s en irremediable ex i l e , because he i s deprlved of memories of a 3.cst l~orr_ei.anii as m c h as he lacks the hope of a prmised 1a::d t c come. This divorce between m m and h i s l i f e , the actor and h i s s e t t i n g , t r u l y const i tu tes the fee l ing of Absurdity.13

Ionesco's strength as a pla,ywright l i e s i n h i s a b i l i t y t c a l legor ize

the fantas ies of h i s mind and extend h i s "mental chaos" in*o the actior: and \

1 ~ka :~ac te r iza t ion of h i s plays. Tku.o.~g'n h i s ~ b i l i t y t o "deta.&" h i m e l f , i

t Ionesco allows hlmaeif t o present the nebulous conccczs of biz subjective

world as concrete images on the stage.

2 s l i Martin, q?. c i t . , p. 23.

- 8 -

In a sense, then, it can be argued that Ionesco's plays a re h i s t r i m i c

realism. Nightmares f u l l of nonsters and t e r r o r have a shocking r e a l i t y

about them since they ckrive from the synthesis of the external world and

t h e imagination. There I s nothing strange, f o r example, or even abs::rd,

about ~ g r e n g e r ' s confrontation x i t h the K i l l e r ; t he personif icat ion of

death amid the utopian l i f e of the Radiant City. The r e a l l t y of Death

as an icdividual experience has nothing intangible o r abs t rac t about it.

The plajwright i s obligated t o presect h i s ideas on the l i v e s tage and i s

subservient to t he confines of t ha t scage. 3ut t5e ixportant point i s t h a t

Ionesco's t hea t r e i s derived from snd i s app5cabl.e t o the r e a l world

outside h i s imagination.

I n h i s plays, Ionesco expresses the "aku_rdl' thr0agt.l various

11 s t y l i s t i c means, Paul Surer r e f e r s t o absurd" expression t b o x g h langnsge:

" l e langage, d6sar t i cu l6 e t inadapt; l a ?ens& e s t un moyen e f f icace

d'exprimer 1'a,bsu1.de. "14 A more f u l l eccourt of the litr,gilaga c f tke absurd

has beer! p r e s ~ ; ~ t e i i by Shei la \ l i l l i son i n an m t i c l e d i s t i n g ~ i z h i n g the

techniques of Artaud and Iotlesco. She f inds t h ~ t the Absurdists "%ant

t o renew i n the audience a sense of' mystery and awe i n fece of the

1115 r e a l i t i e s of the humm posi t ion vis-k;vis t he Universe. Again the

idea of "real i ty1 ' 1-eferred t o i s the supposition that absurd dram& does

not devia te fron; r e a l i t y but ccncentrates it i n a fcrm t h a t i s grotesque

but recognizable.

Miss Will ison cc2tinues tha,t "the Absurd d r m a t i s t s a re equ..ally

lli. Surer, Paul, Le ~ h & ~ r e I raccs?s ~ c c i 6 t k d ' ed i t i on -

-7- e t d'enseigneaent cv.pr ieur ( ~ e s i s , 1964)~ p

l%ill.ison, She i la , "The Lsnguage of t t e Absurd: Artmid and Ionesm," New Theztre Nagazine, $, i (1966), 9.

- y - aware of the power of thea t re t o renew a sense of l i f e and t o convey t h s

r t 16 r e a l i t y of the human condition. , But because each individaal l i v e s t h e

whole r e a l i t y of human existence, the thea t re must t r a ' n s l ~ t e t h i s r e a l i t y

of everyday existence i n t o something it in t e rp re t s rather. than mirrors.

And a s soon a s such an in te rpre ta t ion takes place, a messagz i s derived

a pos t e r i o r i - however d i s c r ee t l y it i s conveyed. The tecncique t h a t a l b l i s

t he audience t o cornpehend a meaning from a ' p l a y affords t h a t p lay a

c a t a l y t i c qua l i t y promoting the r e x t i o n betveen r e a l i t y and an a1rarer:ess

c f t h a t r e a l i t y . T'nis, b r i e f l y , i s Ioneseo's tecl~nique: he presents h i s

personal ideas and obsesstons through the medim of thea t re and r e l i e s on

t h e audience t o w t i v a t e I t s 0x1 s e n s i b f l i t i e s .

. '& . Par t of the " r ea l i t y " of the huna8n zorl.ai~lon i s the soc l a l context

of which Ionesco i s an ardect c r i t i c . Through scch empty acd s t e r i l e

characters as Choubert, the Smiths and Martins, Ionesco ? i t s h i s s a t i r e

against the xed iocr l ty o l the p e t i t 'tourgeois worlu i n h ~ h i t e d by an

alarming nunber of human beings. Richard Coe uses an e f f ec t i ve de f in i t i on

of the bourgeorsie--a type t ha t Ionesco cor1slde:s t o be both colourless

Ionesco understands by the term 'bcnrgeois ief- - thet aspect 04 kar~ani ty~whlch accepts and culti-"rates tke illv.si.on of rnatertal realism as kei-ng t h e equivalent of the >:,:hole of r z s l i t y , which renounces the prece2tion ~ f ' ' t o t a l real iLyt ( t h e ' inner l i f e r ) and prei 'ers the superficial . comfort of rat iofiai b g i c as displayed i n tke vis ik , le forms of social- zrder ; whl.ch i s theref ore hollow within and e n c r ~ s ted withou%, acd. i n ccnsequence, e l e n e ~ t a l l y skqid--a.nci elementelly .:omit. In t h i s sense, the p la t i t u fk i s a weapon of socia.1 and _uollt,ical s a t i r e , a s wel l as of ~ h i l o s o p h i c a l c r i t i c i sm of the h u l ~ ~ n ecd . i t i on . 17

1-7 Coe, Ric:?ard, H., ~u.&ne I ~ c e s c o , G r w ~ Fress, Inc . ti Ycrk, 1961), p. Iq.

I n the bourgeois mental i ty Ionesco f inds the bas ic i l l n e s s of h i s

con t e~po ra ry soc ie ty a s we l l a s a 6oncrete subject a t which t o z i x h i s

d isdain . me coaedy of t he f u t i l e bourgeois world i s both absur-c? arid

t r a g i c because it i s meaningless and renders the hurm.n being l i t t i e more

tharl a machine responding t o rriechanical and cybernetic impulses ( c f :

Simpson's Or,e Way ~ e n d u l ~ u n ) . The subservience c f the bourgeois t o

control led systems i s i l l u s t r a t e d by the f i r s t p k y s of Ionesco, nctably

La Canta t r ice Chawe. The plhy has f c r i t s ifllse en sc$ne an "int&i&r

bourgeois anglais" where the act ion arid r5diculous dialogue take place .

The dis1ogu.e of the play was influenced by. an A s s i r n i l English s e i f -

teaching grarmar book t h a t the plap-r:ght wcls sing t o l e a rn Ecglish. Be

immediately noticed t h a t th? banz l i ty cf t he examples was only to: r e s l

and t h a t some people a c tua l l y spoke t h a t wey. The cu r t , s impl i s t i c $irases

of Mary's opeuing speech a r e tj-pical of the p1a.y and cf t h e langxage of

Ionesco's s a t i r i c a l sub;ects:

Narv ( en t r an t ) J e su i s l a bonne. J i a i passe' u r ~ apr:s-midi t r $ s 7"-

agreable. J ' a ' 6-L; au cinjma sl:.ec un ho~me et, 5 ' a i vu u.1 i'ih avec des fenmes.. . 18

This speech i s a,l examp12 of Ionesco's hy2erbolic p-resen~at ion of the

s i q l l s t i c , bar,al, ar.d ~nea ni-nglesa ut terances of manjr people. Such

speech censures the : ixchaical socie ty where ideas a r e e q ~ r c c s e d i n clichEs

and thought i s abzi,scd t o r ou t i r e ar-a programmed respoase.

Ar,ot,her cha r ac t e r i s t i c of %he bou.rgeois trorld t h a t sooc c l r~gs i t s

awe.ren2ss i s i t s m t e r i a l i c n . To sh~iq t ha t s e r i o l ~ s de.rnage t o the ixi:ian

o rga~ l am can be wrought wken nan snrrounils himself wit,h m t e r i s l . p x ~ e s s i o r . ~ ,

Iouesco hos w r i t k n such ef fec t ive pieccs 3s Le Nouveau Locataire i n vhich ------..--

18 #A

Ionesc:~, Ev&ne, Theatre, Gallimwd, 1 (?aris, 195!:), p. 25.

- 11 - the p ro l i fe ra t ion of ,m.terial becomes so extensive t h e t it chokes o f f l i f e

and mobility. And there i s an i nev i t ab i l i t y about t h i s destruction--

t he apartment of t he new tenant becomes completely f i l l e d with Furniture,

o r i n L'Avenir e s t dans l e s Oeufs the stage collapses under the weight

of the eggs. The outward "eccrusting" of which Richard Coe speaks beconea

the f i n e s t de f in i t i on of a tomb.

Jean-.Bul Sa r t r e , an anti-bourgeois i n t e l l e c t u a l , "recognizes vhat

i s human i n the bourgeoisie by what i s bai . "19 It i s Sa r t r e ' s contention

t h a t the bourgeoisie has control not only of the world of commerce--

through which it can exploi t other men for i t s own ends--but a l s o of the

t hea t r e where it wishes t o se2 the subjective image of i t s e l f , demanding

not t o see t he object ive . The bourgeois audience i s a f r a id of ob j ec t i v i t y

i n the t hea t r e because t h i s implies c r i t i c i sm and s a t i r e :

... the bourgeois thea t re does not want any dramatic act ion. It des i r e s , more precise ly , neo-dramatic action; but it does not want t he act ion of man t 3 be represented, it wants the act ion of the author comtruc%ing everhs. I n t r u th , the b o u r g e ~ i ~ i e nnnts t o have an image of' i t s e l f represei~ted, but--ana here one underst.ands why Brecht created h i s epic thea t re , why he went completely i n the other direction--an image which i s pure p a r t i c i p a t i ; it a b s o h t e l y does not want t o be represented as a quasi-object.

The a t t i t u d e of the in t .e l lec tuals tcwards t'x bou-geoisie has been

one of repulsiori a.nd der i s ion because t h i s "ciass" i s unthinking and

cybernetic. And from t h i s refi;zlsim b r m ~ t e e l x e n t s of Iot-iesco's

s a t i r i c s t y l e where language i s subordinated t o slogan ( " ~ o n g l i v e the

white race! "; the Cetective i n Victimes du ~ e v o i r ) , non-sequitur (". . . i t ' s

nigMtime, my dar l ing. / There are s t i l l shadow ." Old Elan and Old Wcma:i

' 1 11 i n Les chaises) and c l iche ( S G ~ of' a pig in a poke," Father Jack i n

Jacques cu l a ~ o ~ i c s i o n ) . L a r i ~ a g c i q l i e s co~munication wherz cne side

19sar t re , Jean-Fsul, "Beyond Bcurgcois Thestre," t rans . R i m Dre l l Reck, The Tulane Drma - Re'Giez, Vol 5 (March, 1961), 5 .

20 Ib id .

- 12 - speaks and t he other l i s t e n s , but the bourgeois cannct l i s t e n because of

t he "encrustation" wi th which he protects h i s narrow and s e l f i s h viex of

t he universe:

... t he p e t i t bourgeois was fo r me a t m e of being t h a t e x i s t s i n a l l soc i e t i e s , whether they be cal led revclutionary o r reactionary: f o r me the p e t i t bourgeois i s jus t a man of slogans, who no longer thinks f o r himself but repeats the t r u th s t h a t o t t e r s have inpased q o n him, ready-made and therefore l i f e l e z s . I n shor t the p e t i t bourgeois i s a manipulated man. 21

I n order t o escape froin the confines of the bourgeois world of

manipulation and "encrustat ioc" Ionesco turns t o the subconscious as a

bas i s f o r h i s t h e a t r i c a l invest igat ion i n to the phenomenon of man and the

p o s s i b i l i t y of haman l i be r a t i oc . Tha concept of man a s "phenomenon" i s

applicable t o the techniqae t h e t the playwright employs. Mar, i s an

"object of perception" wi th a "re~flarkable" 22 qua l i t y t h a t de f ies m t i c n d .

investigation--only t he subconscious ( the a p r i o r i - qua l i t y of each indi-

vidual) can give the experience and perception needed fo r what xust

eventually becoine an objective invzst igat ion. Primarily, however, it i s

the subjective consciousness which conceives of t he ex i s5en t ia l r e a l i t y .

The creat ive process through which Ionesco produces h i s plays i s re f lec ted

i n the act ion of t he drama.

I n Victimes du Devoir, f o r example, Ionesco presents the corLtradlc-

t o ry forces of "mental subjecsive act iv i ty"-- the inner real i ty--en3 t he

encroackqent of the objecti;re attachment--the outer r e a l i t y . The o ~ e n i n g

speeches of t h e play present the pizywright at h i s metaphysical bes t :

Madeleine: (s ' interromyant dans son t r a v a i 4 Quoi de nouveau sur l e journal?

'\onesco, ~ u ~ ; n c , Notes -- aod Counternotes, p. 66.

2 2 ~ a n i s "object" when he views himself f r o ~ a detached posi t ion, but t h i s " a l i e n a t i o ~ " coes not preclude t.he m~taphysica.1 subject ive .

Choubert: I1 ne se passe jarnais r i en . Des com$tes, un bouleversenent cosmique, quelque pa r t dans l 'univers . Presque r i en . Des contraventions pour l e s vois ins parce que l eu r s chiens font des s a l e tg s sur l e t r o t t o i r . . . 23

A conversation ranging from cosmic disorder t o canine ordure develops

i n t o a discussion on thea t re . But the t a l k about thea t re gradually becomes

t h e a t r e . i t s e l f as the Detective humbly makes h i s way onto the scene. The

Detective becomes more m t h o r i t a t i v e when he hesrs t h a t the man he i s

looking f o r has a name which ends i n a "t" ra ther than a "d" a allot)

as he had previously presumed. Thwarted i n h i s o r i g ina l supposition and

duly corrected by Choubert and Madeleine, the Detective becomes a l e g a l

intermgator i n order t o j u s t i f y h i s posi t ion and reassure h i s rec t i tude .

The Detective questions Choubert and Mad-eleine a s t o the reasons fo r t h e i r

very existence without being aware of why he i s asking such questions. His

pos i t ion i s one of an automaton responding t o "orders" from h i s superiors,

and, i n t h i s sense, the Detective i s s imilar t o t he k i l l e r i n Tueur sans -

Gages who ~ o t only questiocs t he reasons f o r &rengerf s existence, but

a l s o i s programed t o deprive him of t ha t existence. It i s sigtzif'icant tha t

the Detective, having asked t he fundamental question ( "~uand l ' a s - t u

connu e t qu'est-ce q u ' i l t e racontai t?") , adds l a t e r , "Ce n ' es t pas &

moi de donner l a rgponse. 24 I n a sense, Choubert i s Ionesco 'I' and

t he Detective i s Ionesco '11'. Ionesco 'I' grapples with ult imate questions

with the anguish o r an honest man i n a f u t i l e quest f o r t r u th . Ionesco

'11' presents t he very questions he cannot ansxer as orders t c an audience,

demanding t h a t the audience request no "me~sage." The "message" of

Ionesco i s i n the question, as i s a d i f f e r en t kind of mess6ge i n the

23~onesco, ~ u & n e , ~ h & t r e ; ~ a l l i m a r d , (?axis, 1954), p. 184.

24 Ionesco, ~ u $ n e , op. c i t . , p. 193.

- 14 - curtness of the Detective (au thor i ty ) OF the ominous callousness of

t he K i l l e r ( r e a l i t y of death). ,

Choubert proceeds on a voyage through h i s subconscious where he

r e c a l l s t he adven tues of h i s childhood and h i s present des i re t o f ind a

11 magic c i t y . 1'25 I n despair , Choubert c r i e s , "mes jouets.. .en morceaux

. . .mes jouets b r i sg s . . .mes jouets d 'enfant . . . 26 as he r ea l i z e s h i s

d a i l y approach towards death. These recol lect ions of childhood form the

"fr@gments of a universe" t ha t Choubert sees a s b r i e f shadows impressed on

h i s subconscious fo r a t an t a l i z ing noment, but they disappear before he

czn discover t h e i r s igci f icanee. Choubert and Madeleine a re becoming old

and impotent l i k e t he old couple of Les Chaises, and nust face death as

personally as must King ~ ( r e n g e r of - Le Roi se Meurt. Choubert, the

vict im of h i s mortai duty xhich i s t o d i e , seeks the innocence and uncon-

scious mirth of childhood. I n t h i s way he i s much l i k e Ionesco h i m e l f :

There i s a golden age: the age of childhood, of ignorance; a s soon as one knows one i s going t o d i e , childhood i s over. As I said , it ended very soon fo r me. So one can be grown up a t seven. Then, I be i i eve .mos~ human beings forget what they have understood, recover another s o r t of childhood tha t , fo r some of them, f o r a very few, can l a s t a l l t h e i r l i ve s . It i s not a t r u e childhood but a kind of fo rge t t ing . Desires and anxiet ies a re the re , preventing you from having access t o the e s sen t i a l t rufh.27

The Detective makes an important statement on the theme of "forgett ing"

but it i s ambiguous and spoken for the wrong reason. To the Detective

"forgett ing" s i g n i f i e s a premeditated blindness t o the metaphysical

predicament of man. He subordinates man's hope t o a world of materialism

2 5 ~ h e idea of a "magic" or "radiant" utopian c i t y occurs i n both Victimes du Devoir and Tueur sans Gages.

26 Ionesco, ~ u $ n e , ~ h 6 g t r e I , Gallimard ( p a r i s , 1954), P . 209.

27~onesco, ~ u ~ $ n e , Fragnznts of a Journal , 'rans . J e m Stewbrt , Grove Press , Inc . ( ~ e w ~ z k , 1968): p. 20.

and impervi.ousness t o mortal i ty. "Remember the s o l i d a r i t y of the

28 human race" i s , i n the Detective" case, impl ic i t of both the "rhin-

ocerization" of humanity ( t h e sense of the ~ e t e c t i v e ) and the brotherhood

of humanity i n the face of death. Both types of s o l i d a r i t y a re defences

against childhood but are diametr ical ly opposed i n t h e i r r e l a t i v e

significance t o existence. "Rhinocerization" i s dangerous and hmanly

inval id , while "brotherhood" i s evasive when men l i k e ~ 6 r e n g e r must

stand -- -- alone. That i s Imesco ' s t he s i s . J

I n his ' a r t i c l e on "detached committal", Ross Chambers i so l a t e s

the "fundamental themes of the play." These are "the antagonism of the

soc i a l and the individual , and the irony t h a t individual values them-

selves cannot be asser ted without becoming soc ia l , and as such a danger

t o the individual . "29 It i s i n Yictimes du Devoir t h a t Ionesco presents

himself a s an expert metaphysician: Choubert i s a human being i n a

famil iar environment surrounded by car icature people. But around

Choubert are a l so the laws of r e a l i t y , personified by Madeleine atld

the Detective. Madeleine i s the human being, i n a l l i ance with whom

Choubert f i r s t attempted t o abolish hLs lonel iness , but , as they wrest le

e r o t i c a l l y on t he f l oo r , t h e i r c o n t o r t i o ~ s become l i t t l e more t h m a

meaningless exercise of f u t i l e and insensible rhytl-m. The Detective i s

a man of regula t ion f o r whom allot" nust end i n "t" ra ther than "d"

f o r no other reason than t ha t it i s the law. Choubert i s always an

icev i tab le subject t o the laws of r e a l i t y , however u n r e a l i s t i c these may

be, end h i s only s a t i s f ac t i on i s i n continuing t c question h i s ccn-tiiigent

2 8 Ioneszo, ~ u & n e , Three Plays, t rans . Donald Wa.tson, Grove Press, Inc . ( ~ e w York, I-958), p. 149.

29~hsmbers, Ross, ''Detacted Committal: ~ug%ne Ionesco's 'Victims of Duty' . " , Mean - j i n Quarterly, 22 (1963), 26.

- 16 - s i t ua t i on . This i s , i n pa r t , the metaphysical content of the play,

and the dichotomy and contradiction' can only be dea l t with through the

act ion of the play.

Ionesco's presentation of the "theatre of the absurd1' r e f l e c t s

h i s detached perception of the world. He allows fo r an anarchy of ideas

t o lead h i s thoughts from an i n i t i a l doubting of the value of existence

t o a f a i t h i n t he v a l i d i t y of man i n a t e r r e s t r i a l environment.

Br ie f ly s ta ted , the hopeful elelnent i n Ionesco's work i s h i s implied

f a i t h i n a uciverse t h a t i s i n t r i n s i c a l l y absurd when the dreams of the

mind c lash with the r e a l i t i e s of existence. ' I n order t o exten2 h i s

perception beyond the confines of h i s mind, and hszard a lateri t optircisrn

a3out the v a l i d i t y of human ex i s t eme the playwright allows f o r extensive

in t rospect ion. This "subjective investigation", the subject of the

next chapter, gives freedom t o the most bas ic anxie t ies ( i e : f e a r of

dea.th ard the m?chanical 'mbits GI' m n controlled purely by reason and

response) from which he cat1 gsln greater understanding cf the " r e a l i t y

beyond1'--the "ob>ective investigation."

The pos i t ive elements o f ~ I o n e s c o f s absurdism arz not an inposi t ion

by the playwright on h i s a r t . His p e r s o ~ a l opposition t o d idac t i c

drama precludes the "glvina, ~f a aessaqe" or the advocation of an

ideohgy . I n f a c t , the posi t ive elements of hope and f a i t h i n humanity

only developed slowly ir! the two decades i n which I o ~ e s c o has been

wri t ing. These elements are as yet simply bearings on the apocal&%lc

not conclilsive statements or a5solutes.

Ionesco wr i tes t o iden t i fy the t e r r e s t r i a l human condition and

- 17 - s t r i v e s fo r an ordered philosophy amid the metaphysical chaos of h i s

awn perception. His passionate des i re not t o define but t o discover

the meanings of existence from h i s own consciousness gives t o h i s thea t re

t he personal q u a l i t i e s of h i s philosophy. As w i l l be discussed i n the , "\ next chapter, Ionesco's wr i t ing i s subjective and personal, and the most

obvious d i r ec t i on from the f i r s t plays t o the l a t e r ones i s a progression

from s t i r e t o idealism. P\ Ionesco's a r t i s honest because it makes no attempt t o fabr ica t?

answers t o the dilemma of existence. It i s a development t h a t gradually

f a c t s and uses these f a c t s a s the foundation of a

philosophy. For example, the f a c t of death i s t he most d i f f i c u l t f c r

s6renger t o grasp i n Tueur sans Gages or Le Zoi s e Meurt. But, once

accepted a s inev i tab le , the f a c t of death Secomes only an elemect of

time i n Le pigton de l l A i r as t he hero r i s e s above h i s s i t ua t i on , through

h i s own w i l l power, i n the i ~ t e r i m between b i r t h and death.

Ionesco has been very frank i n discussing h i s motives f o r wr i t ing

I plays and revealing h i s personal philosophy through drama:

I

i When I am a s k ~ d the question: "Why do you wr i t e plays?" I always f e e l very awkward and have no ?&a what t o answer. Some- times it seems t o me tha t I s t a r t ed wr i t ing fo r the t hea t r e because I hated it .30

What bothered Ionesco about theatre was the physical presence of actors

on the stage who presumably represented " i d e ~ s " ra ther than merely the

r e f l ec t i on of the famil iar world:

30~onesco, ~ u ~ \ e n e , Notes -.--- and Counternotes , t r a c s . Donald Watson, Grove Press , Inc . ( ~ e w York, 1964), 2 . 15.

I think I r ea l i z e now tha t what worried me i n the t hea t r e was t he presence of characters i n f l esh and blood on the stage. Their physical presence destroyed the imaginative i l l u s ion . It was as though there were two planes of r e a l i t y , the concrete, physical , impoverished, e m ~ t y and limited r e a l i t y of these ordinary human beings l iv ing , moving and speaking on the s tage, and the r e a l i t y of imagination, face t o face, overlapping, i r reconci lable : two antagonis t ic worlds f a i l i n g t o come together and ~ n i t e . 3 ~

The ideas of Ionesco's mind or the fan tas ies of h i s dream world

("oneir ic universe") seemed too complicated and evasive t o pern i t

representa t ion on a stage confined t o physical laws. Ionesco was used

t o productions of t he "boulevard theatre" which were exercises i n realism

and were more s l i g h t entertainnients t ha t the vehicles of profound

philosophies.

But the "human" element of the theatre acd i t s a b i l i t y t o present

a " l ive presence" before an audience convinced Ionesco of the t hea t r e ' s

po t en t i a l v i t a l i t y and i t s power i n the transmission of ideas which a -2

implici? ra ther thac imposed on the action:

Drama i s one of the oldest of the a r t s . And I: can ' t help thinking we cannot do without it. We cannot r e s i s t the de s i r e t o people a sthge with l i v e characters t h a t are a t the same time r e a l and invented. We cannot deny our need t o make them speak and l i v e before our eyes. To bring phantoms t o l i f e and give them f l e s h and blood i s a pmdlgious adventure, so unique t h a t I myself was aksolut.ely mazed dwing the rehezrsals of my f i r s t play,

I when I suddenly saw, noving on the stage of the 'Noctambules', characters who owed t h e i r l i f e t o me. It was a t e r r i f y i n g experience. What r i g h t had I t o do a th ing l i k e t ha t ? Was it allowed?.. . It was almost dia.501ica1.3~

No doxbt the personal fascinat ion of Ionesco with t he dmxa of h i s

own creat ing was exaggerated by h i s cha rac t e r i s t i c magnification of

the ideas which obsessed h i s nind. This exaggeration became the ur,c7,er-

ly ing force fo r Ionescols thea t re , and it formed the bas i s of h i s s a t i r s

i n the f i r s t plays, La Cantatr ice Chauve and La Le~on:

So i f the essence of the thea t re l ay i n magnifying i t s e f f ec t s , they had t o be magnified s t i l l fur ther , underlined and s t ressed t o the maximum. To push drama out of t h a t intermediate zone where it i s nei ther t hea t r e nor l i t e r a t u r e i s t o res to re it t o i t s own domain, t o i t s na tura l f r on t i e r s .33

The hyperbolic expression of Ionesco's f i r s t plays i s f a i t h f u l t o

t he playwright's asse r t ion t ha t "drama l i e s i n extreme exaggeration of

feel ings , an exaggeration t h a t d i s loca tes f l a t everyday r e a l i t y . ,134

By such "dislocation" the r e a l i t y of the represented world i s made more

s t a r k and impressive. The "dislocation", however, i s not des t ruct ive .

Rather it i s the premise t o a c lea re r e x i s t e n t i a l awareness. That i s ,

the r e a l i t y of the world or socie%y i s i l l u s t r a t e d through i t s

magnification. It i s t h i s magnification which ca r r i e s Ionesco's drama

above the l eve l of realism where the absurdity of s i t ua t i ons , "underlined

by farce," makes these s i tua t ions the object of s a t i r i c invest igat ion,

a r e s u l t realism cannot a t t a i n .

When the i n i t i a l "dislocation" has achieved i t s purpose of ran i fes t ing

r e a l i t y , what Ionesco c a l l s "reintegration" occurs. This "reintegration"

i s the creat ive face t of the playwright's a r t . While the content of

the plays i s steepsd i n farce , the underlying seriousness of the

dramat is t ' s work i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n h i s concern t ha t the audience achieve

a higher l e v e l of awareness than before:

Without. a f resh v i rg in i t y of mind, without a new arid healthy aTdareness of e x i s t e n t i a l reality, there can be no thea t re and no a r t e i t he r ; the re21 must be i n a way dis located, before i t czn be r e i n t 35

The "reintegrated" elements of natural r e a l i t y and exaggerated

r e a l i t y therefore conbine t o form ihe absurd r e a l i t y which, however

paradoxical, i s the substance of Ionesco's testimony t o a r t . His pro-

gression from the s a t i r i c plays of h i s e a r ly years as a w r i t e r t o the

l a t e r humanistic ~ g r e n g e r plays i s i t s e l f an example of philosophical

"re integrat ion. "36

36~l though Ionesco has only mentioned the idea of "reintegration1' i n passing ( ~ o t e s and Counternotes, p. 15) the concept, b r i e f l y s ta ted , i s the synthesis of the playwright's subjective ins igh ts and h i s objective rea l iza t ions of these insp i ra t ions on the stage. ~ i k e t he method of Descartes, it i s the gradual formulation of a philosophy a f t e r a premise of universal doubt.

- IONESCO 'S SUBJECTIVE WOFLD

... i n r e a l i t y , the existence of t he world seems t o me not absurd but unbelievable, yet i n t r i n s i ca l l y , wi thin the framework of existence and the world, one can see things c lea r ly , discover law and e s t ab l i sh "re t ional" rules . The incomprehensible appesrs t o us only when we re turn t o the very springs of existence; when we take u a pos i t ion i n the s idel ines a n d obtain a t o t a l p ic tu re of it. P Ionesco's "oneir ic uni-;ersel', or dream world, i s the fascinat ing

bas i s fo r h i s a r t . The investigation of dreams becomes a metho? f o r

presenting the oneiric.panorama a s act ion on the sta,ge. "The dreams'

enchantment- -sometimes joyous, usual ly f ru s t r a t i ng or t e r r i f y ing - - i s

replaced by a factual it:^ reminiscent of Kafka. The specta tor m2y f ind

the flow of events incoherent o r disconnected and the dialogue i s of ten

a s e r i e s of paralogisms o r automatic puns, but the characters--whether

surprised, indignant o r frightened--accept such phenonena a s r e a l . 112

It i s t h i s "dream method" which forms the bas i s f o r Ionesco's

idea of " r e i n t e g r a t i ~ n " froc: which der ives , i n n i s l a t e r plays, the idealism

which the playwright i s gradually expounding. Ionesco' s de s i r e f o r

Ionesco, ~ u & n e , Notes and Counterriotes, Grove Press , Inc . ( ~ e w York, 1964), p. 217.

'~uicharnaud, J., Modern French Theatre, Yale Univ. Press ( ~ e v Haven, 1967), p. 217.

3~onasco ' s "idealism" i n the d e f ~ n c e of hmanity i s the subject of the next chapter en t i t l ed he ~ g r e n g e r Plays."

"a f r e sh v i r g i n i t y of mind" wi th which t o "re integrate" a r e a l i t y reduced

t o i t s lcwest terms by "dislocation" i s reminiscent of Lockets "tabula ,

rasa" o r the Car tes ian premise of universal doubt. The idea of a new

premise o r s t a r t i n g point i s precursor t o a "reintegrationf ' of experience

and s e n s i b i l i t y . I n o ther words, Ionesco attempts t o make some coherence

the "outer r e a l i t y " of the world by f i r s t exploring the "inner r e a l i t y "

h i s own mind.

The t ask facing Ionesco--his self-imposed t ask- - i s the i n t e rp r e t a t i on . object ive f a c t through subjective ins ight . His subjective inves t i -

gation of Death, f o r example, i n Tueur sans Gages and Le Roi se Meurt

i s a complete personal preoccupation w i t h the individual ' s confrontation

wi th the avatar of e x i s t e n t i a l absurdity. Once accepted as inevi table :

Ionesco "re integrates" h i s rea l i za t ion of the power of Death wi th the

c rea t ive power of the w i l l which enables ~ g r e n g e r t o f l y above h i s

s i t ua t i on and transcend the world i n - Le pigton de 1 ' A i r .

Ionesco's plays are more than t r ag i c farces because of t he two

major works which present ~ ( r e n g e r ( ~ v e r p a n ) face t o face with the

physical tyranny of the rhinoceros and the metaphysical tyranny of the

k i l l e r (Dmth) . Because the p l a y n i g h t accepts the Camusian asse r t ion

t h a t "happiness and thz absllrfi a re the scns of the same ear th" (E

Mythe de s isyphe) , he car, acccnunodate i 5 the sape play man's contingency

and h i s w i l l t o overcome t h i s contingency (however f u t i l e ) . The inherent

paradox i s perhaps the most s ign i f i can t r e s u l t of Ionesco's "accornmodatior~."

Were it not f o r t he c l a r i t y of the bas ic dilemmas he l uc id ly portrays

through h i s hero, Ionescc 's a r t would be l e s s than f a i t h f u l t o i t s p roc la imd

testimony. S t a r t i n g with the dilemma between r e a l i t y ar?d imagination;

subjective and obJective; comic and t rag ic ; Ionesco "re integrates" , tkrcugh

-

h i s plays, h i s inner perceptions in to ' concre te images such as t he

maturing ~ 6 r e n g e r or the empty artificiality of the Radiant City. It

i s not c l ea r whether Ionesco seeks a "utopia" of body and mind ( t h e

Radiant Ci ty i l l u s t r a t e s the f a i l u r e of concrete utopias) , but it i s

c l ea r t h a t he refuses t o ignore h i s anxiety or the p o s s i b i l i t y of s a l -

va t ion.

The most reveal ing study of Ionesco's "inner r ea l i t y " has been

presented by Richard Schechner. Schechner c a l l s the playwright "an

abs t r ac t expressionist" and then quotes Ionesco's own words concerning

the subjective or one i r ic experience:

I t r y t o p ro jec t on stage an inner drama (incomprehensible even t o myself) t e l l i n g myself, nevertheless, t h a t since the microcosm i s the image of the macrocosm, it may happen t ha t t h i s torn up, d i s a r t i cu l a t ed inner world i i n some way the mirror or the syrr~bol of universal contradictions, T;

The c r i t i c continues by s t a t i n g t ha t Ionesco's "work i s romantic and

subject ive , mirroring h i s own anguish and inner s t ruggles , t r ans l a t i ng

them i n t o symbols and pat terns t h a t have been emphatically embraced by

audiences throughout the world.115 To Schechner "the outer world i s the

s e t t i n g and the inner world the act ion of Ionescc's plays." This

substant ia tes the opinion of Guicharnaud and i s an explanation fo r the

of ten inexpl.ic3ble act ion of Ionesco' s characters. For example,

Choubert of Victimes du Devoir passes through many contort ions on the

s tage i n h i s f u t i l e search f o r Maillot. The movement which f i n a l l y

places him on top of a chzir i s ac tua l ly an adventure through h i s sub-

conscious mind. J u s t as a dance can express the inner emotions of the

dancer, Choubert's an t i c s a re the outward signs of an inner excursion

4 Schechner , Rlchard, "The Inner and t he Outer Real i ty ," Tuiane

Drama Review, 7 ( ~ e ~ t e r n b e r , 1963), 187.

through memory and imagination. To the people around him, Choubert's

absurd act ions a r e signs of madness, but Choubert, engrossed i n h i s own

sub jec t iv i ty , i s unaware of the strangecess of h i s an t i c s . Moreover,

while he i s under the s p e l l of h i s subconscicus, Choubert cares l i t t l e

for t he opinions of e i t h e r Madeleine or the Detective.

Ionesco i s the supreme ind iv idua l i s t i n t h a t he i s preoccu?ied

wi th h i s own i n t r o s p e c b i o ~ . His "detachment" from the world i s the

separation wi thin himself of r e a l i t y and h i s v is ion of r e a l i t y . It i s

an "inner" detachment besrirLg on the subjective experience and carriet i

i n t o t he "outer" r e a l i t y m e r ~ l y 5y the hope t h a t t h i s i s possible t o

achieve. The hope derives from the fea r t h a t man i s an emotionlessshell

impotent t o combat the absurdity of the world yet conscious of a "beyond

r e a l i t y " or cosmic sigilificance. The one i r ic world i s one of absolutes

and t ru th . The in tu i t iveness of fantasy and imagination, based on r e a l i t y ,

and d i s t o r t ed by the s i l e n t ac t ion of dreams during s leep, provides

revela t ion. "I d r 2 a t h a t I a m told: 'The revela t ion, the answer t o

a l l your questions can only come t o you i n a dream. You must have a

dream.' So, i n my d r e m , I f a l l asleep and I dream, i n my drezm, t ha t

I'm hwing the absolute d r e m . O n wakinz, t h a t ' s t o say on r e a l l y waking,

I reinember having dremed that I ' d dreamed, but I can remember nothing

about the d r e m wit,'c.,in a L r e a ~ , the dream of &bsolute t r u t h , the d r e m

tha t explai ned e ~ e r ~ h i n g . ,,6

The d i l e x m facing Ionesco i s t h a t the "drezn of absolute t ru th"

i s evasive i n r e a l i t y . Man i s al ienated from the universe through no

f a u l t of h i s o m , and it i s the "divine spsrk" of consciousness t h a t

6 Ionesco, ~ u ~ k n e , Fra@r~ents -- of a Journal , Grove Press, Inc. (Xew

York, :968), p. 23.

causes h i s anguish, a s t he de s i r e t o order chaos, both psychic and cosmic,

i s cont inual ly thwarted by contradictions and absurdities. It i s t h i s

cosmological f ru s t r a t i on t h a t prompts Ionesco t o zxplicate the absolutes

of h i s one i r ic universe and t o dream "the 6ream t h a t explained everything."

Ionesco's quest fo r absolutes i s evident not only i n h i s journals

but a l s o i n h i s severe c r i t i c i sm of ideologies. The playwright con-

sc iously s t r i ved t o avoid the h y p ~ c r i s i e s t yp i ca l of dogmatic a n t i -

ideologis ts , who oppose ex i s t ing ideologies with a n t i t h e t i c a l ones. I n

Ionesco's opinion, d i a l e c t i c a l synthesis i s an unacceptable concept

s ince the p o l a r i t i e s on which it i s base6 may both be based on f a l s e ,

unjust , i r r e l evan t , o r e v i l notives. While ideology might be t e ~ p o r a r i l y

constructive i n opposing the e v i l s of to ta l i t a r ian i sm o r t he rhinoceriza-

t i o n of human beings, Ionesco refuses t o embrace spec i f ic ideologies or

t o accept apparently complete and s a t i s f ac to ry answers t o permanent

and omnipresent problems.

David Grossvogel discusses the idea, of "absolute" a s it appl ies

t o the t hea t r e cf Iotiesco. I n general, "since the mind. cannot grasp

absolutes shor t of p r iva te revela t ion, re l iance upon them m s t be an a c t

of faith.'17 Grcssvogel r e f e r s t o A13ert Camus who would not accept

t h i s "fa i th" , sonething "which sensory evidence mocks." To Camus, a *

leap of f a i t h avoids the bas ic c eta physical question about the ~ a l u e

of existence. "The way out of t h i s dilemma has been the acceptance of

some transcendental reference, an absolute such as Truth or God. lf8

7~ ros svoge l , David, The Blasphemers, Cornell Universi ty Press . ( ~ e w York, 1965), p. 58.

81bid.

- 26 - But even if the philosopher cannot accept t h i s "reference", Ionescc

has a l a t e n t hope t h a t such a fai t ,h w i l l br ing i n i t s reward, and he

t r u s t s t h a t "nevertheless ... some fundamental pr inciples may remain

upon which I can lean consciously and ins t inc t ive ly . n9 ~ o n e s c o i s

prejudiced against h i s f a t e , and h i s vivid imagination, tempered with

nightmares and the hope of revela t ion, forces him t o revo l t against h i s

condition. For Ionesco, "the only posi t ive statement of which man i s

capable i s . . . t i ed t o the absurd. rt10 I n other words, an acceptance of

absurd r e a l i t y i s e s sen t i a l before there can be hope of coming t o terms

with psychic chaos or cosmological f ru s t r a t i on . By exploring the

anarchic l abyr in th t h a t i s h i s mind, Ionesco believes t h a t discoveries

can be made which can stand as f ixed or absolute as the world arourid

f luc tua tes t o the absurd syndrom?.

Spared from the categor ical conclusions of Dada pessimism or

Leibnizian optimism, Ionesco remains as a man of hope who, a f t e r two

decades of playwrit ing, has found values end possible answers through

h i s art. As h i s dreams explore h i s fantas ies and the ideas of h i s

img ina t i on , Ionesco's ?lays explore the p o s s i k i l i t y of act ion i n a

world where ac t ion seems f h t i l e . The scope of h i s work i l l u s t r a t e s a

gradual r i s e from the cynicism of La Cantatr ice Chauve t o the posl t ive

humanism of ~h inocg ros . Also, the ~ 6 r e n ~ e r plays i l l u s t r a t e the pro-

gression of a human being Prom naive& t o i n i t i a t i o n . Ionesco's work

i s an example of progression from s a t i r e t o idealism, and, althouz3

fa rce remains, the playwright allows the ideas impl ic i t i n h i s work t o

pass f r e e l y a s pa r t of the act ion.

9~onesca , ~ u ~ ' e n e , notes and Counternotes, p. 39.

10~rossvogel: D . , op. cit., p. 59.

- 27 - Ionesco implies t h a t h i s subjective aberrat ions form par t of h i s

quest f o r absolutes. He i s a Cantesian i n h i s be l ie f t ha t introspection

i s the door t o perception and t ha t observation can best be ~ a d e through

what i s given t o the individual: t ha t is, a mind and a posi t ion i n the

universe. This r e t i o n s l i s t i c approach causes the playwright t o accept

an i n i t i a l doubt, o r anarchy, a s the desi rable means of discovering

some Platonic order of the good. From the intense subjective experience

of 'his one i r ic world, Ionesco derives clbjective insight t ha t r e su l t s

from h i s self-questioning; "I hope a time f o r r e l a t i ve ly absolute

ob jec t iv i ty , i f I may so express myself, w i l l one day come when a l l

storms have passed. I t 1 1

As a playwright, Ionesco i s "mgage'" i n a d i f f e r en t way from

Sar t re or Brecht. Ionesco allows h i s imagination t o conceive of a t r u t h

t h a t i s constant and immutable even though it may be imperceptible.

H i s objection t o ideology stems from h i s d i s s a t i s f ac t i on with the tem-

poral expediency of such theories which perhaps fabr icate order from -d

chaos without being sure t ha t t h i s a r t i f i c i a l order has foundation.

Ionesco i s not opposed t o order--his technique a.rd s t y l e shcw an obsession

fo r i t - -but he opposes order based on log ica l fa l l acy . Ionesco believes

t h a t order i s 50 5e discovered x t h e r than imposed. I n other words,

h i s order i s synonynous with absolutes, and absolutes are more objects

of h i s spezulatioa than established f ac t s . Ionesco b i t t e r l y s a t i r i z e s ?

v t f s l l a c ious order i r , h i s most fanous anti- ideolcgical" play ~h inoc6ros .

J u s t a s the Sergeant Musgrave of John Arden's play choreograp'ns h i s

l og i c t o an ar i thnie t ical ly va l id , but humanly preposterous, conclusion,

'?tonesco, ~ u & n e , op. c i t . , pp. 79-80.

so the human beings who become pachyderms i n Ionesco's p lay a r e condemned

f o r twis t ing the l og i c of t h e i r ideology beyond a l l value. Logic

i t s e l f i s not the answer a s f a r as Ionesco i s concerned. I t s laws i- - - -

a re designed r a the r than real ized, and the por t rayal of the Logician

i n ~h inoc6 ros supplies an i l l u s t r a t i o n of the playwright's disdain

fo r l og i ca l conclusions.

While h i s a r t i s frequently s o l i p s i s t i c , Ionesco i s not a t r ue

s o l i p s i s t when the ex te rna l references of h i s plays a re considered.

As hzs been mentioned, h i s sxb;ectlve invest igat ion i s preliminary t o

an objective reference and does not stand alone. Jacques Guicharnmd

ta lks of "the tension betweeri a superabundance of being and the absolute

impossibi l i ty of Jus t i fy ing the f s c t of being."'* This "tension" of

which he speaks corresponds t o the bas ic dilemma of the absurd expressed

by Camus; it cannot be resolved, merely accommodated. A t times, Icnesco

appears t o be una3le t c achieve such accommodation:

A f i n i t e universe i s unimaginable, inconceivable. An i n f i n i t e universe i s unimaginable, inconceivable. Doubtless the universe i s nei ther f i n i t e nor i n f i n i t e , s ince the f i n i t e end the i n f i n i t e a re only man's way of thinking about i t ; i n any case, t h a t f i n i t e - ness and inEinit3ness should only be vays of thinking and speaking i s a l so inconceivable, unimagimble. We cannot take a simple s tep beyond, u r owr! impotence; outside those wal ls I f e e l s i ck and giddy. 3

It i s i n h i s "impotence" as man tha t Ionesco f inds both a f i n i t e m d

an i n f i n i t e universe unimaginable. He f ee l s "sick and giddy" when fa.ced

with the m o c ~ t e r s of h i s imzginaticn t ha t t an t a l i z e h i s exsectat ion

while allowing f o r only a very l imited perception beyond the s e l f .

"~uicharrraud, J. , op. c i t . , p. 221.

13~oaesco, ~ u & n e , - Fmgnents of a Journal, p. 25.

But Ionesco's s t o i c courage i s eveqwhere evident end po ten t ia l ly

strong enough t o overcome h i s metaphysical depression: "Death alone

can, and w i l l , c lose my mouth." Death, therefore, i s the only absolute

negative known, and before i f s t r i ke s , the h m n being has the a b i l i t y

t o a c t a s long a s h i s f ree w i l l allows him t o forget h i s anxiety about

the world. Ionesco admits the permanence of the dichotomy between

r e a l i t y acd the image of t ha t r e a l i t y : ".. .history, i n i t s a t t e ~ p t

t o ' r e a l i z e ' myth, d i s t o r t s it, stops half'way: when h i s to ry claims t o

have 'succeeded', the re i s nothing but humbug and mystif ication.

Everything we dream i s ' r ea l i zab le ' . Real i ty does not have t o be: it

i s simply what it i s . It i s the dreamer, not the thinker or the s c i e n t i s t

who i s revolutionary: it i s he who t r i e s t o change the world. "14

The question, therefore , i s one of perception where thought ar,d

act ion become being, and where cne s e n s i b i l i t y conceives of a certair!

r e a l i t y , another may think d i f fe re rLt ly without disagreeing with t he

previous conclusion. "I can believe as natural ly i n t he po t en t i a l

r e a l i t y of f i c t i o n a s i n my owa dreams." ( ~ o t e s ------ and Couater-otes,

p. 16). T'ce s ig r~ i f icance oP ionesco's philosophy l i e s i n the playwright's

a b i l i t y t o conceive of other r e a l i % i e s than h i s imnediate experience,

without a c tua l l y perceiving them. This i s reminiscent of Xantiin the

Western World or <he passivism of Zen i n the Eastern. But beyond the

philosophical content of t h i s rea l i za t ion e x i s t s Ionesco's histrionic

o r i g i n a l i t y whicn takes the abstractions of h i s one i r ic world and

dramatizes them as concrete e n t i t i e s on the l i v e stage. So, f o r example,

14 Ionesco, ~ u $ n e , -- Notes and Counternotes, p . 16.

~ C r e n ~ e r i s the personif icat ion of human f ree w i l l , and the K i l l e r i s

the personif icat ion of the absolute which "can, and w i l l , shut my mouth."

But while these "abstractions" a re made concrete, they never lose

t h e i r i n i t i a l i n t s g i b i l i t y as Ionesco searches fo r the meaning of ex i s t -

ence. The l i be r a t i on of h i s mind through the fantasy reminiscent of

the s u r r e a l i s t philosophy affords the playwright the a b i l i t y t o transcend

the cofitrollitig conformity spbo l i zed by the bourgeois nen ta l i ty .

Ionesco's development since La Cantatrice Chauve emanates from the - 11 re in tegrat ion" of h i s subjective insight and h i s objective experience.

H i s progress i s a jowney from doubt and apprehension t o hope and

expectation, and h i s plays are testimony t o t h i s advance.

It is incorrect t o c a l l Ionesco an e x i s t e n t i a l i s t :

I n contras t t o the so-called e x i s t e n t i a l i s t thea t re , according t o which man has the freedom and indefeasible power t o make himself and make the world, Ionesco's theatre i s one of disenchantzent. His vi-sion may be s imilar t o the ear ly stages of the e x i s t e n t i a l i s t philosophy--the isola t ion ' of the individual consciousness i n our absurd universe, the unjust i f ied presence of things, and the a n - bearable f a c t of existence i t se l f . . . - -bu t while both Sa,rtre and Camus developed t h e i r themes i n to reasons fo r act ion, Ionesco, one l i t e r y generation younger, marks the f a i l u r e of any such ambition. E

Ionesco's thea t re i s exemplary of a personal disenchantment with the

world, acd, i f Le pigton de I I A i r i s any indication, he yearns t o

transcend t b e t e r r e s t r i a l prison. As c r i t i c Guicharnaud suggests,

Ionesco ' s "iso!.ation of the i n d i ~ d u a l consciousness1' i s s i ~ i l a r t o

ex i s ten t ia l i sm 's "ear ly pbases." But, a t t h i s point , Ionesco pa r t s

company with the " ac t i v i s t s " Sar t re and Camus.

15~uicl~arnaud, Jacques, Modern French Theatre : -- From Girau.6ov.x to Genet, revised eci., Yale Ziciversity Press (new Haven, 1967), p . 223.

Sar t r e has been

ment i n France whose

- 31 -

the i n f l uen t i a l leader of the

idea of 'pr&is l (act ion) and

E x i s t e n t i a l i s t move-

membership i n such

notable bodies a s the Stockholm war-crimes Court i s common knowl.edge.

Camus w a s a journa l i s t , a pa r t i san during the German occupation of

France, and an ed i t o r of the revolutionary publication 'Co~ioat.' But

Ionesco has never considered activism a s par t of h i s quest . I n f a c t ,

h i s f l i g h t from the I ron Guard and h i s search fo r t r anqu i l i t y i n France

i s representa t ive of the playwright's des i re t o seek a metaphysical

revolution ra ther than a p o l i t i c a l .

Icnesco's metapllysical revo l t i s thus primarily personal. That

i s , he i s a s in te res ted i n bringing order t o h i s own psychic chaos as ,, , '

he i s i n c rea t ing tes t imonial plays fo r h i s audience. Ionesco i s the a

~ 4 r e n g e r who stands alone i n t he rhinoceros world of confornity.

A l t h o ~ g h it i s incorrect t o c a l l Icnesco an e x i s t e n t i a l i s t , the re a re

e x i s t e c t i a l i s t eizments i n h i s wr i t ing . ( 1 t a l so can be argued that.

the re i s Chr i s t i an philosophy i n h i s i d e a l i s t quest f o r the "absolute

good" and Marxistv philosophy i n h i s pursui t o f humanitarian i dea l s ) .

His a r t i s preoccupied with dreams and hag ina t i on i l lL l s t ra ted t h r o ~ g h

the rnediixn of' t hea t r e , whereas "it r e q u l ~ e s o~1.y 2, rapid glance over

the philosophy of the l a s t hundred yaars t o discover i n i t s development

a remarkable enlarge men^ of content, a progressive o r ien ta t ion tcvard the

immediate and the cpa l i t a t i ve , the exis tent and factual--"concreteness

and adequacy," t o use Whitehead's pregnant words. J 6 SO, while

ex i s ten t ia l i sm i s "orientedt ' more toward the "inmediate" srd th?

16 Barre t , W i l l i a m , What i s Existeatial isn??, Grove Press , Inc .

( ~ e w York, 1965) , p . 22.

"existent", Ionesco i s oriented toward the metaphysical and transcenden-

t i a l .

I n h i s book on the experimental thea t re i n France, Leonard C .

Pronko notes "four pr inciples of exis tent ia l ism whrch are re f lec ted i n

one o r more of the major avant-garde wr i t e r s today. 1117 Pronko, by

r e l a t i ng these p r inc ip les , does not presume t o suggest t h a t Ionesco i s

an e x i s t e n t i a l i s t , "it i s simply t h a t the school of Sar t re sums up a

ce r ta in a t t i t u d e t h a t prevailed i n France i n the f o r t i e s and continues,

i n ce r ta in respects , t o prevai l . ??I8

Ionesco's philosophy substant ia tes the f i r s t point made by Pronko.

That i s , "absurdity i s the underlying fabr ic of man's existence. Man,

i n h i s moments of honesty and l uc id i t y , i s aware t ha t h i s l i f e has no

absolute meaning, and t h a t he must l i v e as i n a void. Nonexistence con-

s t a n t l y threatens hid119 This idea of an "unbelievable world" ( see footnote

#I) appears f requent ly i n the playwright's works and journals, and h i s

f ea r of "nonexistence" forever plagues h i s mind:

... when I was four or f ive years old I real ized I should grow older and older and t ha t I should d ie . A t about seven or e igh t , I said t o myself t h a t my mother would d ie some day and the thought t e r r i f i e d me. 20

The four ~ 6 r e n ~ e r plays, discussed i n the next chapter, a re deeply

concerned with the idea of death as the negation of l i f e . Tueur sans

17pronko, L . C . , Avant-Garde, Univ. of Ca l i f . Press ( ~ e r k e l e y and Los Angeles , 1966) , p . 19.

l81b i d .

20~onesco, ~ u $ n e , Fragments of a Journal , op c i t . , p . 10.

Gages and Le Roi se N e w t --

over death, an anxiety he

are dramatic re f lec t ions of Ionesco's a m i e t y

f i r s t f e l t a t "four or f i ve years old."

Pronko's second pr inc ip le concerns man being "bogged down i n h i s

physical being, a t tsched t o a pat tern , a fixed idea of good, a conception

of himself, which denies h i s humanity. He ceases t o chacge, ts becone,

i s turned i n to a thing. The overabmdence of things i s nailseating, f o r '*

it l i m i t s our freedom. 112' The "fixed idea of good" pa ra l l e l s Ionesco's

term " ra t iona l rules" ( see footnote ff-1). It i s a defence by soc i a l man

who, admitting t h a t t he r s a re elements on the universe beyond h i s under-

standing, fabr ica tes an order fo r h i s l i f e t ha t appears most expedient.

Sy c l inging t o t h i s "order", man a c a ~ s t h e t i z e s himself f rox a concern

fo r develcpment, a development t ha t ~ d r e n ~ e r i s able t o a t t a i n i r , h i s

non-capitulation. The Logician of ~h inoc6 ros i s the c lea res t example

of an ordered n:ind ",hat i s iinable t o -zansfe r the mental for!r.ulae i c t ~

the surroundir~g world cf r e a l i t y . The "overabuiidance of t3ings1' i s

Ionesco's p r eoccqa t i on of the e z r l i e r plays. Ma.n becomes m r e a3d

more niechznized as ke r e f l e z t s the "overa5mdaace 3f things" -that he hes

created around himself. This i s t t e theme of lihir,cc&os w'riers man has

become an autom+,cn f s t a l t o himself'. Ionescc canrict bear the p ~ s s i b i l i t y

of rr,sn destroying h i a se i f by a choking materialism, and, ra ther than

sanction a soc i a l revolution as does Sar t re , he believes i n man's

natural a b i l i t y t o "f ly" as ~ g r e n ~ e r i n Le ?i;ton de l l A l r . For

Ionesco, the answer t o t he e x i s ~ e n t i a l predicament i s a metaphysical

awakeni ng .

*'~ronko, L. C., op. c i t . , p. 19.

Pronko's t h i r d pr inciple ; "Jus t a s man and h i s values may congeal

through hab i t , so may ~~~~~~ge becoine dead and inoperative, paralyzing

our thoughts. With such an instrument no comunication i s poss ible ... 1'22

#

The idea of language reduced mzrely t o a mdiun of meaningless c l ich?s

i s instrumental i n the themes of Ionesco's e a r l i e r plays--especial ly

La Canta t r ice Chauve and La Le~on . It was the meaningless jargon of

the Assimil l a z g ~ a g e primer, with w k l c h Ionesco hoped t o learr , the

~ n g l i s h language, that, f i r s t p r o q t e d the ~ l a y w r i g h t t o wr i t e an

"anti-play" where words ar,d ac t icns becane meaningless. The mention

by M r . Martin, f o r example, of a woman who a t e chicker, i n a wasp's

nest i s incongru~us enough t o be musing acd i s s t r o ~ g enough 50 s a t i r -

i c a l l y r e f l e c t the s t e r i l i t y of the l i ve s of the two niddle c lass famil ies ,

the Smiths and t he Martins. The play concludes with t'ne Lnccherent

babblings of these people who reverse t h e i r ro les only t o recomence

the whole f u t i l e exerc ise . Ionesco's play Is a strong condemnation of

"congealed h&bits7' and "dead, inoperative langdage . " The f i n a l p i n c i p l e c i t ed bj. Pronko i s especia l ly relevant t o t e

four &renger plays whi_cE?, SO f a r , culminate Icnesco's progression from

s a t i r e t o a specultztive idealism i n humanity. "There i s no hma? na t -oe .

Man i s only what he makes of himself; therefore the re i s no such t h i cg

, a s a f ixed character i n the us-,x,l sense. Man i s an ex i s ten t i n a s i tuat5on. t t 23

The se l f -asse r t ion of ~ $ r e n g z r i n ~h inoc&os or -. Le ~ i & t o n de l ' A i r , f o r

example, i s an a c t of s e l f - w i l l vhich i s a s tep forwsrd f r m the sub-

( missive ~ d r e n ~ e r of Tdeur ssns Gages. ~ g r e n ~ e r i s not r e s t r i c t e d by h i s ',

humanity t o the point where he i s helpless t o a t t a in freedom from h i s

predicament. Catherine Hughes substantiates t h i s idea of se l f -wi l l i n

action:

With ~ 6 r ~ e q e r ( s i c ) , he (~onesco) kcows tha t mn i s sliperior to the rhinoceros: he i s deprived o f some par t of his e s sen t i a l humanity--his d ' gn i t y as man--in bowing t o the contemporary e th i c of conformity. 2$

The achievement on Ionescofs par t i s h i s development from a playwright,

preoccupied with the anxiet ies and perplexit ies of h i s subjective

consciousness, t o a playwright who knows "that m m i s superior t o the

rhinoceros." He i s no l e s s preoccupied with the subjective world, but

he has expanded h i s perception into the "outer rea l i ty . "

Pronko i s adamant t ha t Icnesco i s an absurdist and not an existen-

t i a l i s t - - " I do not mean t o suggest t ha t Beckett, Ionesco, or Adanov

a r e e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s , or would even acknowledge a debt t o existential isin. ,125

The point i s t h a t the premises of both Ionesco and the e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s

a re e s sen t i a l l y the same as Pronko has outlined..

Another di f ference between Ionesco and the e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s apar t

frm the a t t i t udes of "engag;" and ffd6gag$' are the separste d i rec t ions

of the two individus; philosophies. Ionescv progresses t ~ v c r d s the

nmani ty and t raxcer iden ta l freedon of ~ & e n ~ e r t h o u g h the imaginetion

of h i s "oneiric universe." An existcrl t ;al ist slaywrig'n~ such as Sar t re

i s corrmitteci more t o imnizdia~e concerns. For example, Le Dizble e t l e

bon 3 ieu , an epic httack on i n s t i t ~ t i o n a l Catholicism, shot-s a spec i f i c - ---

ideological cmni tnen t . Ior?escols plays an3 Jmrna l s r e ~ r s a l t h a t lie has

2 4 Hughes, Catherirle, "Ionesro's Plea fo r 1dat-1," Tienascezce, 14

( 1952), 12L~-125.

25~.ronlco; L. c . , op. c i t . , F. 19.

no equivalent comnitment.

I n an interview published i n Les Cahiers Libres de l a Jeunesse,

Ionesco admitted the following about the possible "engagement" of

... Let us admit t h a t you have caught m e i n the a c t of contradic- t i o n and t h a t I have been tenpted t o wr i t e "committed drama," t o plead a cause and prosecute. But we a l l contradic t ourselves more or l e s s i n l i f e . The most eminent philosophers contradict themselves wi thin the body of t h e i r system. But what of the poet, who creates f i r s t one work and then another? I do not believe we need overcome and rssolve contradictions. That would mean impoverishment. We must allow contradictions t o develop f ree ly ; perhaps our conf l i c t s w i l l resolge themselves dynamically by counterbalancing each other. . . '12

Ionesco's acceptance of inherent contradictions i s the opposite of the

attempt of t he e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s t o form a consistent philosophy. Led on

by the anarchy of h i s imagination, Ionesco attempts t o order h i s sub-

jec t ive aberra t ions only a s f a r as h i s personal scepticism allows.

I n t he depths of h i s mind he i s constantly aware of the fea rs t h a t

t e r r i f i e d him i n h i s childhood., above a l l the f ea r of death.

It i s unl ikely t h a t I o ~ e s c o himself f u l l y real ized the i n i t i a l

s t ep taken ~ i t h presezta t ion of La Cantatrice Chauve. From t h i s p'oint

on, h i s perception ir-fo l i f e and society, and h i s stage r e f l ec t i on of

the synthesizei! ideas of h i s dreamworld enabled the playwright t o present

t he 11~1rian testimony of t he ~ k r e n g e r plays. From the former play t o the

l a t t e r plays, Ionesco moves from a personal fee l ing of strangeness and

bwi lder r t i e~ t t em~ered wi th scepticism (expessed i n h i s s a t i r e ) t o a

"reintegrated" posi t ion. This "reintegration", or synthesis of h i s

subjective ins ights , I s expressed most admirably i n t he humanity of

26 Ionesco, ~ u g g n e , Notes and Counternotes, op. c i t . , p. 11.5.

~ g r e n ~ e r . It i s i n the four plays about h i s "everyman" hero t ha t

Ionesco "has t ransla ted h i s d r e a d i n to the speeches of h i s conscicus

mind . ,127

27~eightman, John, "Death and the Dream," (a summary of Fragments of a ~ o u r n a l ) , The Observer Review arch 24, 1968).

THE. B $ ~ G E R PLAYS

The four ~ g r e n ~ e r plays ( ~ u e u r sans Gages, R'ninoc&os, Le Roi se

Meurt, -- and Le pigton de ~ ' A i r ) make concrete on the stage the abstractions

of Ionesco's mind. Writ ten within f i ve years of one another (1959-1953)

the plays represent the gradual maturing of the "everyman" hero B6renger

from naivet; t o an averecess of h i s cocdition.

Tueur sans Gages, f i r s t produced i n Pa r i s i n February, 1959, - presents a "horr i f ied and dis i l lus ioned B&engerW w i t h the opposition of

"a rutLLless k i i l e r who murders two or three persons every day. "' This

k i l l e r , the personif icat ion of Death, i s the only flaw i n the utopian

perfect ion of the Radiant City, brainchild of the omnipotent Architect

who ru les 2 2 . Within the bureaucratic order of the c i t y , the K i l l e r

tempts h i s victims with a photograph of "the colonel" and tken drovns

them i n the "ornamental pool" while they a re engrossed i n th? p o r t r a i t .

Only the mmbers of the c i v i l service are immune from the onslaught of

the k i l l e r because they axe nore the cogs i c the wheel of an interminable

system than they a r e human beings. Tueur sans Gages prepares the way

be l lwar t i i , George E . , The Thezt De~eloumer~ts i n the Avant-Garde Dram:

;re of Pro tes t and Paradox: t , Mew York Universi+,y Press - --

(New York, 1gG4), p. 65.

f o r tne next two &renger plays, ~h inoc&os , f i r s t prduced i n Januarj.,

1960, and Le Roi se Meurt, produce@ i n December, 1962.

~h inocg ros i l l u s t r a t e s the ultimate mechanics1 tyranny deriving

from human blindness, tke f e t i s h fo r so l idar i ty , and the des i re fo r

nob iden t i ty . Rosette C . Lamont describes t h i s philosophy of ''the

pol ice state1' as "the supreme achievement of the conformist a t t i t ude . 11 2

Like the c i v i l servants of Tueu sans Gages the rhinoceri are inpervious

t o human feel ings , and t h e i r grotesqueness foresees the annihi la t ion of

the human race. Le Roi se Kel.;lrt once again presects ~ g r z n g e r corfronki i -

with the ~ i l l e r / ~ e a t h i n a lonely personal way. King ~e ' renger nust

suddenly come t o terms v i t h the fac t t ha t he I s dying. There i s no

personified k i l l e r i n Le Koi se Meurt, only the thought of death ra ther

than the p e r s o n i f i c a t i o ~ of the Ki l l e r . Ionesco external izes the

ind iv idus l l s fea r of death by demonstrating the ~ o c t o r t i o c s of s rran

who once ru-led h i s r i c h an6 powerf-~l kingdon, a kingdom now deter iora ted

t o a hellhole of freaks and zombies. The remants of what was on~ce the

ex t e r i o r g lory of h i s i n t e r i o r h u n a ~ d ign i ty are v i s i 3 l e as tbe shards

of h i s reelm,(and E&endar must wait fo r death i n hcpelessness an2

des t i t u t i on reassured only by the f ac t t ha t he has f i n a l l y cone t c terms

\ with afi z'Dsurd r e a l i t y .

,.*/

The four th ~e*renger pley, Le ~ i e ' t o n de l l A i r , produced i n Februarg,

1963, proclaims ~ e * r e n ~ e r es master of h i s t e r r e s t r i a l s i tua t ion . Firmly

s i t c a t ed i n the contingznt condition of h i s l1pedestria.n1l exLsf?cce,

~ 6 r e n ~ e r . i s capable of ri_sit?g t o heights of s p i r i t u a l freedom (SF-bolized

'iamont, R. C . , " A i r and Matter: Ionemco's 'Le ~ i e t o n de 1 ' P - i r ' acd 'Victir:ies d-k Devoir1 :" French Revj-ew, xxxvii i ( ~ a n u a r y , 1965), 351. -

by h i s f l i g h t above the ground) where a c t i v i t y a l l ev i a t e s t he anx ie t i es

about e x i s t e n t i a l problems. ~ g r e n ~ e r i s the "re integrat ior" cf aksurd

r e a l i t y a d k ~ r n ~ r ! t r a c scede rxe . 1: other words, ~ k r e c ~ e r has t ke

capacity t c l i v e azd ac t without succ~m'cing t o despondency camed 3:r k i s

comprehension of t h e zhsurdity of existence. The posi t ive ehment of the

four 36renger plays i s t he hero's a b i l i t y t o survive the a p o c a l y ~ t i c

f i n a l i t i e s of the f i r s t three plays ( i e : Death and "rhinocerization") --

and-reach the transcendental l i b e r t y of the fourth.

It i s d i f f i c u l t t o fathom the significance of Ionesco's progression

from Tueur sans Gages t o Le ~ i e ' t o n de 1 ' A i r . The lack of a "message"

and the o b s x r i t y as t o what elements are po ten t ia l ly enlightening

testimony nake Ionesco's thea t re d i f f e r en t from t h a t of " le the'gtre

du boulevard". h he "boulevard hero", child of the bourgeoisie, i s always

defined as the outstanding force anid powers t ha t unsuccessfully attempt

t o denigrate or destroy him. He i s recognized 2s a type of "superkero"

capa5le of overcoming "evilf1 elements, the clear-cut d i s t i n c t i on bet-t~eer.

"good" and "evil" b e i ~ g s inp le r fo r the bourgeois mentality. The

"boulevard hero" thus becomes the farce! of "good". )

~ 6 r e n ~ e r i s no e a s i l y - d e f i n e f i e r ~ . Ye i s e man Seset wl5h d i s -

illuslot;, fatalism, m c ' , a n incredlbiz naivet; that i n i t i e l i j ; ~ e t i 3 ~ r s hLn!

- 41 - by forces 'ceyond "is control . The G t i e e l e m ~ l t i n h i s command by which

he i s a51e t o ex t r i c a t e hiirseif from his own ie jec t io t l i s the f r ee xi11

he exercic,?s a: We coaclusion cf Ilhinoce'r~s w i t h t he wcrds " i e n?

ca2i tule pa; - " A t t i l l s e3.rly stege i r , &re-g?rls develorj~ent (the

seconC ~ 6 r e n ~ e r ?lay) t t ~ hero kes not y e t rea l ized the rsriifica.tlons of ,'

h i s exgression of f ree choice. I n f ac t , &engerl s con-ca-itulatioc I s

par t la . l ly due t o ? is Lmbilit;. t o conform w i t 5 thz m2b of ~ lcas te r ; h a t

has swallowed hi? zssoci?tes, h i s fr-er .2~: a d 3aisy.

I n --- ~ n l n o c & ~ s 36re,lger has r e a c k d a s t a t e cf se l f -z i s re r~ess t h s t

i s on a higher lev21 :,k.s,r. hi: a-hrcness i n Tueur sans Gages. I n Tueur --

sans Gages &renger i s the c lass ic " l iberal" vac i l l a t i ng from one point

of vie?? t o another without consideration of t he bas ic i s sues . Ic h i s

case, the issue i s cne of personal survival , but he submit,^ t o the k i l l e r

simply because he has not the w i l l t o r e s i s t . A t f i r s t ~ { r e n g e r ga l l an t l y

opposes the k i l l e r i a ar! impassioned defence of' h i s hwianity and a

se l f -deterxinat ion t o overcome the mt i s t ros i ty of the k i l l e r ' s duty.

~ 6 r e n g e r : ... Oh, you r e a l l y alre ra ther puny, a r en ' t you? Too pulny t o 3e e criininrl! I ' m not a f r a id of you! I,ock ~t me, lcok how rr-uch sLronger I run. I could knock you dcwn, knock you f ly ing with a f l i c k of my fi:igers. I could put you i n rry _oo:ket. Do you r e s l i z e? 3

But &renger soon conviaces hixsel f t h a t there i s i n f a c t a righteousness

i n the k i l l e r ' s duty, ar,d he s f i n i t s t o h i s adversary who stands mrac lng ly

before him.

2 "Ionesco , ~ug;?:le, The Ki l l e r and Other Plays , t r a c s . Donald. Vatson, ------

Grove Press , Icc. ( ~ e w York, 1960), ED. 98-99.

Berenger. . . .I don' t know. It may be my f a u l t , it may be yours. It may not be y o u p or mine. It may not be anyone's f a u l t . What you're doing may be wrong or it may be r i g h t , o r i t may be neither r i gh t nor wrong. I don' t know how t o t e l l . I t ' s possible t h a t the survival of the 'numan species i s of no importance, so what does it m t t e r i f it disappears . . . p erhaps the whole uciverse i s no good and you're r i gh t t o want t o b l a s t it all, o r a t l e a s t nibble a t i t , creature by creature, piece by piece ... or perhaps t h a t ' s wrong. I don' t know any more, I jus t don ' t know. You may be mistaken, perhaps mistzkes don ' t r e a l l y ex i s t , perhaps i t ' s we who a re mistaken t o w a ~ t t o exisf say what you believe, can ' t you? I can ' t , I can ' t . & ' -

B&enger seeks a "message" t o assuage h i s anguish. He i s prepared t o

believe t he worst but masochist ically des i res t o hear the k i l l e r specify

t h a t "the surv iva l cf the human species i s of no importance." But the

re t icence of the k i l l e r has one constructive element--it does not push

Bgrenger t o an i r r eve r s ib l e pessimisn. As long as the hero struggles

t o discover t he k i l l e r ' s motive he i s , i n a sense, f igh t ing t o prove

t he v a l i d i t y of existence by questiouing the absurd f i n a l i t y t o l i f e .

George Wellwarth wr i tes tha t :

Ionesco's theme i s the moral spinelessness of socie ty , personified i n men l i k e ~ g r e n g e r , the perfect types of P l i o t ' s "hollow nen." B&engerls powerlessness against the k i l l e r i s , as Ior~esco says, due t o h i s ows "ra ther commonplace morality." B6renger has nothing t o stand on; i n s p i t e of himself he keeps f inding arguments t o j u s t i f y the ! s i lk i - ' s actions. Yaving ;lo be l i e f of h i s o m , he represents a soc ie ty t ha t no longer has atly r i gh t t o defend i t s e l f agains t e v i l beca se it i s not convinced t ha t it i s b e t t e r than the e v i l opposing it. ?

B&enger ' s guignolesque submissiveneas i s due p a r t l y t o h i s soc i a l

her i tage. Because he has never been informed of values other tkan

mater ia l ones, he ca? see l i t t l e reason for taking a stand against the

k i l l e r . &renger i s a "hollow man" inasmuch as he wants t o bemme par t

4 Ionescc, ~ u & n e , op. c i t . , p. 107.

%ellr iarth, George, op. c i t . , p. 67.

- 43 - of the cybernetic and depersonalized mediocrity of the Radiant City.

H i s morali ty i s " c ~ ~ o n p l a c e ' ~ because he has g d l i b l y accepted the norms

of n i s soc ie ty i n wishing t o l i v e i n an environment governed by the

calcula t ing Architect .

&engerl s a t t r a c t i on t o Dany i s more a temporary realizatiocl of

the power of h i s humanity than it i s a sexual a t t rac t ion . I n Dany,

~ g r e n g e r recognizes a rebel l ious i n s t i nc t which forces her t o leave the

s t s f l i n g environment i n search of a "nev world". The area% of t h e

tt new world" i s something t ha t ~e ' renger too has imagined, but i n h i s

impetuousness t o r e a l i z e it i n concrete form he has been hoodwinked i n to

bel ieving t ha t the Radiant Ci ty i s the object of h i s dreams. ~ g r e n g e r

cannot understand Dany's e x d u s because he i s naive t o the valuce of

/ freedom he l a t e r r ea l i z e s i n Le ~ i e * t o n de l l A i r . ~ 6 r e n ~ e r . h s 'cezr,

i \, program!-& by c, confarxic;; socie5y to rczcyt a packaged c x i c e ~ t of I

i , i / free2om wnizt, i s i r , a2 tua l l t y t:le ciisgulsed t.yr2.m:- o; E! p d i c e s a t e - -

a disguise r t p p d w s y i n ~ k l c o c & o s . "Once acre I x ? s c o Ls cmcero?d ----- 116 with the prcblem of the i ;u~~ress:icr, cfr' i!-:div.id~elltj- i n mcdem s ~ c i e - b y . ,.

The important cha rac t e r i s t i c of the k i l l e r i s t ha t he i s not an

element of the soc ie ty t h a t ~ 6 r e n g e r d e s ~ a r a t e l y wishes t o join. I'he

k i l l e r "sans gages" (unhired) i s a l i en t o the soc i a l s t r ~ c t v i r e of the

Radiant City. The ~ y s t e r i o u s n e s s of t h i s inexplica~ole p3ecomenon has

rendered t h s c i - ty ' s people s i ler l t and the k i l l e r unopposed. i n t z k k g h i s

11 prey by means of the "colonel 's photograph. The pa the t ic physiqw of

t h i s the s t rcnges t force i n the c i t y sends ~ 6 r e r i ~ e r ree l ing i n h i s de-

f iance ariZ t h r e a t s . B~1.t t he p i s t o l s 'ne aims a t h i s opponen% t r n t o

stone i n h i s hands. His dramatic monologue a t the conclusion of the

play i s an example of ~ g r e n g e r ' s perplexity a t h i s seemingly ins ign i f ican t

adversary. I n the k i l l e r ~ { r e n ~ e r sees, not a magical opposing force

against whict there i s r,o Cefence, but "yonr cold determination, your

ruthlessness. " ~ k r e n g e r , though armed with the weapons of society

discovers t o h i s dismay, "...what good are b u l l e t s even against the

res is tance of an i n f i n i t e l y stilbborrl w i l l " h he K i l l e r , p. 108). It - i s 'a s imilar "stubbornness" t o t ha t exemplified by the k i l l e r t h a t

~ g r e n g e r l a t e r i nhe r i t s i n ~h inockros refusing t o cap i tu la te t o the

surrounding soc ia l t unamy . But h i s f i n a l words i n Tueur sans Gages - amou.nt t o complete submission ar,d re fusa l t o struggle against the onslaught

of death. "There' s nothing we can do. What can we do.. . What can we

do ..." His words are not a question, they are a submission.

The k i l l e r of Tue71r sacs Gages is, i n a sensz, l e s s l e t h a l than

Death i n Le Eoi se Meurt. The unhired k i l l e r of the Radiant City i s r,o

worse than the deadly conformity of the Arch i tec t ' s s t e r i l e icon. The

Radiant City i s an institution run by mechacical ru les where an individual

is l o s t i r , the group. Life i n t h i s c i t y k i l l s ~e ' renger t o h i s individ-

u a l i t y so t ha t he must conrorm t o the PieL Piper t a c t i c s of the k i l l e r

with the colonel 's photograph. Dan;- r e ~ u d i a t e s the mob control t h a t

n &renger wishes t o enter . ~ e l f _ m s e cI' his "de2"Jn" in t he end a t t h e

hands of the k i l l e r , & r e ~ l ~ e r I s able t~ "live" sg2in v l t ' n the i:?ividualit :r

he as se r t s ic ~ h i r ~ o c & - o s . ------

impl ic i t ly reaffirmed h i s hope tha t the human being h ~ s the wil-1 and the

courage t o r i s e abo~re the terrors , of the ex i s t en t i a l world and reasse r t

himself. I n other words Ionesco i s implying t ha t humanity i s of suff ic ient

value i n i t s e l f t o contirue i t s existence no matter what the odds are

against it. So Ionesco "...has come t o have a sense of sa t i s fac t ion with

l i f e and a love of a l l i t s aspects, without a t the same time r e l i n -

quishing h i s deeply rooted pessimisn."7 This i s f a r from being e

hypocr i t ica l stance but ra ther a ~ a r a d o x i c a l ref lect ion of man's absurd

condition. What obsessed Ionesco i n h i s e a r l i e r plays such as L'Avenir

e s t dans l e s Oeufs and Jacques ou l a Soumission - was the meaninglessness

of interminable human existence aingled with the strange a r t i f i c i a l

fabr icat ions of society. Sut i u h i s l a t e r plays ( e spec i a l . 1~ the ~ 6 r e n g e r

plays) Ioneszo gradually placed h i s clestre t o nake more sense of l i f e

above h i s de s i r e t o de t rac t from it or negate it. Ionesco, l i k e Cams,

presents man a s a r ebe l against h is s i tua t ion . Menrsmlt i n L'Etranger -A

as se r t s h i s i den t i t y through murder; 2grz;ger i n ~ i l i x & r x i;;rough ncn- 4-

--- ----

capi tula t ion. Both men i n t h e i r rebel l ion repudiate the idea of a

nonsense ex i s tmce and make t h e i r actions r e l e v m t t o t h e i r idealism.

This idealism i s s inply a n asser t ion t ha t there i s v a l i d i t y I n existence,

an idealism r a i s i ng man above the bana l i t i e s of t e r r e s t r i a l experience.

Man, though firmly rooted i n the ;bsurc! wwld, t h i l ~ Seccmes a type 0i' --

Aris to te l i an t r a g i c hero, doomed i n i t i & l l y , yet forever f ishtir ig agzinst

the forces of doom:

'i4ellwerthJ George, op. c i t . , p. 69.

. . .~hinoc&os about i t ~ L I . re f is de tous l e s syst&es e t s e termine sur une itr-age de l 'home debout e t s o l i t a i r e . Par tou t , l a meme dgtresse e t l a ~e^i;;e langoisse, nais i c i , pour'la ~ r e rn i z r e f o i s , l ' a f f i rmat ion que 13 noblesse de l'hcmme consiste e r ce q u ' i l

I p e w Gtre un rg f r ac t a i r e .

I It i s ir?_ h i s rebe l l ion t h a t ~ 6 r e n ~ e r finds strength t o overcozie the

previous l x i t y which characterized h i s p r s o n a l i t y . A t the S e g i ~ n i n g

of ~ i n o c 6 r o s ~ 6 r e n ~ e r confroms thp, cold c a l c u l a ~ t n g orthcdoxy of Jean:

Jean: My dear man, everybdy has t o work. I spen6 elght, hours a day ir: the o f f i c e the snme as everyone e l se . And I o22.y get th ree weeks off a yew , 'cut even so you don't catch me... Will-power, my good man!g

~ & e r , ~ e r i s ii?32e l a t e r i n the pls;y tt; asse r t h i s "will-power" i n a more

c rez t ive d i rec t ion , 3ne of self--afr"iraation rs.ther than subservience.

. Before he has been s n outs ider from scc ie ty but t k i s l a t e r becomes h i s

salva.t,ion. Within the cc\nt.ext of society be i s a f a i l u r e without txe

i n i t i a t i v e t o ea:w a decent l.ivir,g, but as an_ individual ~ 6 r e n g e r senses

ti12 f u t i l i t y of ordered fzbr ice t ion and the mechanical res$onse t o accepted

norxs. The ~ { r e n ~ e r cf ??.01rr s;;ns G;.ges vanteci t o ,ioir~ the very socie ty ------

l a t i c n . a ~ . $ h i s f ree ~ i l l i s not exerc i se j u n t i l t k i s nun-czpitxlat iot~

. a t the eed sf the pl5.y.

~ 6 r e n ~ e r ' s a t citud:? t e~ra rds k;ureanity i s c l a s s i c a l snd aeive:

~ 6 r e n ~ e r : Well a t any r a t e , we have our own moral standards which I consider ;nc~mp:ttible with t h e stiindards cf these anirilzle . 1 0

8 Bonnef'oy, Claud,

Belfond (1966) , 206.

'~onesco, ~ u & n r , Derek Drouse and Donald

" ~ n t r e t i e n s avec ~ u ~ g n e Ionesco, " Editions P i e r r e

~h inoc&os , -- The Chairs, The Lesson, trms. Watson, Deflg-uin Books (1965), 1;. 12.

- 47 - But h i s sense of the monstrosity and inhumanity of the rhinocer izat ion

of h i s comrades i s strong enough t o control h i s opinion and f i n a l l y h i s

ga l lan t stand.

Be'rer.ger e s t l e dern ie r $ mesurer La noci6t8 e t l a gravite' du v i rus , il l u i oFposere par l a s u i t e une r6volt.e e t un de'gout i n s t i n c t i f s q u ' i l se ra bien oblig6, plus tard , d2 fonder en raison, sur un humanisme un peu vague mais ferme. 11

~ 6 r e n g e r ' s "de'gout i r rs t inct i f" i s human as opposed t o the "virus" whica

i s animal is t ic . ~ g r e n g e r has achieved i n h i s person the one basic

di f ference between man and the l e s s e r forms of l i f e . I n other words, I

Bgrenger r ea l i z e s t h a t it i s t h i s "raison" which i s t he foundation of

h i s "hmanism." That t 'nis "humanisme" i s vague i s not surpr is ing becazse

~e ' r enge r ' s mind i s unsophisticated and he i s ofily able t o obey the natural

inst i lzcts of h i s humanity. The super io r i ty 3f ~ g r e n g e r over Botard o r

Jean i s h i s z b i l i t y t o recognize the "nocivli6" (harm) of stepping o ~ t s i d e

h i s human nature whether it be t o conformity with the work e th i c of a

pur i tannical soc ie ty or the mechanisms of the rhinocer i . X M n T.

Williams expresses i n a psxsgraph both ~ d r e n g z r ' s " inar t icula teness"

and h i s r e fu sa l t o conform:

It i s only o s i t i v e i n the sense t hz t he recognizes the hxman element t h a t 53,s bsec l o s t . ~ g r e n ~ e r nzTrer s sse r 'x hirnself. EIe simply stands a d quietly refuses t o joi? the ot!?ers in t k e l r bl ind submission. He i s not a r t i cu l a t e . H 2 f a i l s i n t r y ing t o comnucicate with Daisy, who hn loves and who deser ts him perkaps kecsuse of t h i s lack of comunica tiori. What Berezge? preserves i s the humnity which has been destroyed i n the others . Slo-trly, it r i s e s t o %he surface of h i s consciousness, never iri a de l ibera te way, b ~ t hes i t an t ly , stop,-ing of ten i n eddies of uncertainty. Wkec it does appear, it Is a bubble ra ther than a so l id , but a t l e a s t a buhble which remains ir?tr,ct, f l oa t i ng p r e c a r i x a l y amocg t5e violence GI the surrounding turmoil. This i s as well as he ever describes i t : 11 ... I f e e l it inst inctively--no, t h a t ' s not what I mean, i t ' s t h e rhinoc6ros which has i n s t i nc t - - I f e e l it in tu i t i ve ly , yes, t ha t ' s

I1lerreau, ~ e n e v i b e , Iii s t o i r e du Nouvezu ~ h g z t r e , Gallixar-3 (pa r i s , 1966), 2. 65.

t he word, i a t u i t i v e l y ." ~ 6 r e n g e r l s l ~ i c t o r y consis ts i n giving expression t o t h i s i n tu i t i on through action, or a t l e a s t i n "nct capi tula t ing. "12 ,

~ g r e n g e r ' s i n t u i t i o n Ls 211 tha t stands between him and cer ta in assimilat ion ,

with the pachyderms. I n a sense ~ 6 r e n g e r personifies Ionesco's i n tu i t i ve I

f a i t h t ha t humanity i s worth h i s concern. While it is possible for the

human being t o becone animalist ic it i s a l so possible fo r human creatures

t o a s se r t t h e i r humanity through f ree w i l l :

~e ' renger : ... But they won't get me! You won't get m e ! I ' m not joining you; I don't understand you! I ' m s taying as I am. I ' m a human belng. A human being.13

I n an in te rv tcv with himself, t h e "transcendant satrap"14 Ionesco

expresses a posit ive view towards humanity by counterpointing h i s d isgust

at tha dehumanizing soc i a l elements he hopes h i s audience w i l l recognize:

... the heroes of my play, a l l except one, transform themselves i n f ron t of the publ ic ' s very eyes ( fo r t h i s i s a r e a l i s t i c piece) i n t o wfld beasts , i n to rh i~oce rose s . I hope my audiences w i l l be disgusted wi th them. Disgust a l ienates more completely than any- th ing e l s e . h d sc J sha l l ha-~e aclileved the "distaticiation" of t h e pu3l ic frola t he performance. Disgust i s luc id i ty . i5

Ionesco lev ies h i s "disgust" a t heroes vho metzmorphose i n t o wild beasts , and, by contras t , inakes a statement i n favour of the humanity of the one

non-conformist. Avare t ha t t h i s implied "pro-humanity ~ e n ~ a g e " i s contrary

t o h i s self-professed technique of testimony i n place of dogma, Ionesco

'%illiams, E . T . , "Cer~rantes and Ionesco and Dr%natic ~ a n t a s y , " Hispania, 45 (1962), 677.

13~onesco, ~ u $ c e , op. c i t . , p. 122.

14 In Piotes and Counternotes (p . 200) "Satrapt" i s defrned a s "th? highest d ign i ty conferre2 by the.. .College (of ~ a t a p h y s i c s ) . . . " ~ a t a - physics i s , the science of sciences and the ult imate philosophy."

1510r.esco, ~ u ~ ' e n e , Notes and Counternotes, Grove Press , Inc. (1964), p. 234.

ex t r i c a t e s

A l t e r Ego:

A l t e r

Ego: A l t e r

Ego:

A l t e r

Ego:

A l t e r Ego:

himself with a hmorous dialogue between h i s Ego and h i s

Ego: You say t h a t i n your play only one of the characters i s not transformed.

Yes, he doesn' t catch rh icocer i t i s . Ego: Does t h i s s t i l l mean t ha t the audience shouldn't

i den t i fy themselves with the hero who remains hm.an? On the contrary, tney should ident i fy themselves wi th

him absolutely. Ego: Then you yourself are s t i l l committing the s i n of

iden t i f i ca t ion . That's t r u e ... But as the play a l so has the v i r t ue of

nonpart icipation or a l ienat ion, we can claim t h i s p lay has rea l ized a synthesis of drama tha t i s both bourgeois arid anti-bourgeois, thanks t o an ins t inc t ive s k i l l which i s my own.. . Ego: You're t a lk ing rubbish, old mgn. I know! But I ' m not the m l y one.lo

While h i s i n t en t i s camouflaged i n t h i s twist ing of ideas, Ioneseo i s

not t a lk ing rubbish because ~h inoc6ros has carried the trend begun i n

Tueur sans Gages t o a higher l e v e l of pro-human testimony. This trenii

of the B6renger plays i s the presentation of humanity a s the c r i t e r i on

of value i n the t e r r e s t r i a l s i tua t ion . That t h i s conclusion i s not

unique t o the author i n no way de t rac t s from i t s importance nor from i t s

evolution. Ione,sco, with the B6renger plays, reveais himself t o be both

a humanist and an i d e a l i s t .

With exper t ise Imesco , i n Le Roi se M c ~ r t , ?resents rm-i as an

individual squarely wi thin h i s subjective Ptolemaic dilemma. s&enger,

the king, who has been the centre of h i s world and who has given f b t i l e

commands t o the sun, nust now face death. Le Roi se Meurt, l i k e Tueur

sans Gages, confronts t he very core of the metaphysical dilemma where the

power of a man's mind has no ac tua l strength i n a physical context:

- 50 - Guard : ... The su ' s l a t e . And yet I heard the King order him

t o come out. f7

Like a body racked with age And perishing by degrees, the Palace of

Bhenger I i s crumbling. The cen t ra l heating w i l l not work, end "there 's

a crack i n the wall." (p. 13) The characters besides Bgrenger serve

as messengers of the r e a l i t y t ha t the king wishes t o escape by f a l s l y

presuming a royal immortality. Unlike the B&enger of Tueuzr sans Gages

Be'renger I does not have the a b i l i t y t o c a n v i ~ c e himself of the f z t i l i t y

of h i s s i tua t ion . While h i s fr iends t r y t a c t f u l l y (and not so t a c t f d l y )

t o inform him of h i s "ultimate fate", and while h i s very surrour?dings

r e f l e c t h i s bodily decay, Be*renger cl ings t o h i s i l l u s ion of i m o r t a l i t y .

The f'urther depths of Ionesco's metaphysical wr i t ing a re roached i n

the Doctor ' s descr ipt ion of the cosmic disorder which p a r a l l e l s ~ ( r e n g e r ' s

slow decline t o death. Ionesco presents a universe brought t o conf3sion

by the anguish of a man facing death alone. From B&enger's point of

view, h i s death s ignals the end of the universe because he canpot accept

the f a c t t h a t h i s minute l i fe-span i s merely a t i n y mark on the h i s to ry

of an "inconsequential planet" hur t l ing through an i n f i n i t e void i n a

f l a sh of time.

From the throne room, the stage of Berenger's anguish, the audience

can be convinced t h a t "anarchy i s loosed on the ~ ro r ld " as re2or ts from

the Doctor and B&engerls b o wives t e l l of a fu r ther decline i n tine

Kingdom's s t a t e . The room imprisons King ~ g r e n ~ e r as does h i s closed

mind which can th ink of nothing beyond

doom. The pecple around him want only

17~onesco, ~ u & n e , Exit the Ring, Inc. ( ~ e w York, 1963), p. 9.

the depressio? of h i s impending

t ha t the death should "take

t rans . Donald Watsori, Grove Press,

place decently" and should be "a success, a triumph." They care l e s s

for B:rengerls in tensly personal' feeling of f i n a l i t y and lack of con-

prehension i n such a cruel s i tus t ion .

The king i s not wi l l ing t o accept h i s mortal posit ion as a 2% i n

the wheel of humanity. Apart from the procreative duty, existence i s

absurd i n h i s eyes and he blzmes h i s parents for giving him l i fe--a

timespan only long enough t o allow a painful consciousness of an absurd

r e a l i t y , yet too short t o allow fo r immorta l i ty .

s&enger : Why was I born i f it wasclt fo r ever? Damn my parents! What a joke, what a farce! I came in to the wor d f ive minutes ago. I got married three minutes ago. 18

Among Ionescols female characters Margueri.te and Marie are two of

the most in te res t ing . It i s questionable why ~ e ' r e n ~ e r has two wives,

but t h e i r polar differences serve t o show tha t the king was once a man

of mixed t a s t e s . O f a l l the characters i n the play it i s Marie who comes

c loses t t o explaining t o Be'renger the trauma which confronts him:

Marie : My dar l ing King, there i s no past , there i s no future. Remember, t he r e ' s only a present t ha t goes r i gh t on t o the end, everything i s present. Be present, be the present!19

It might be t h a t Marguerite and Marie are two aspects of the same person.

The idea of two wives instead of one i s charac te r i s t i c of Ionesco whose

technique i s of ten t o present paradox personified. There are two "egos"

i n the ~ g r e n g e r who faces the unniercenary k i l l e r , and there are two i n the

Bgrenger who w i l l not ( o r cannot) succumb t o the rhinocerization of h i s

comades. ~ 6 r e n g e r I i s wi l l ing t o exchange the annihi la t ion of the

world fo r h i s own immortality:

King: ... Let every human creature d ie2~rovided I can l i v e forever, even alone i n a l im i t l e s s deser t .

- 52 - BJrenger thus expresses an ult imate ex i s t en t i a l argument of so l ipsFs t ic

individual i ty , introverted beyond,reali ty.

King ~ & r e n ~ e r has progressed t o a greater maturity than the Ingenu

Be'renger of Tueur sans Gages. The &renger who faces the k i l l e r can

only u t t e r words of submission ("There's nothing we can do") p r i o r t o h i s

death a t the hands of h i s antagonist. This ~ 6 r e n ~ e r has not accommodated

t he idea of death before h i s personal confrontation with the personif icat ion

of t h i s idea. He i s unsophisticated e n o ~ g h t o presume tha t he can f i gh t

o f f h i s avatar with the weapons of society, and when these f a i l he has

no recourse but t o submit. But the royal E&enger becomes the epitome

of the Ar i s to t e l i an t r ag i c hero. A man of high b i r t h i s brought "down"

by the r e a l i t y of h i s mortal i ty. The play i s a. r i t u a l , o r as c r i t i c

Ceci l Smith c a l l s it, "a soaring hpm t o existence." The King has pre-

viously believed t h a t h i s royalty e n t i t l e s him t o cosmic powers over the

universe. His dream of Empire an4 e t e rn i t y i s marred only by t he personal

morta l i ty he i s forced t o face:

King: The Empire ... has there ever been another Empire l i k e i t ? With two suns, two moons and two heavens t o l i g h t i t . And there ' s another sun r i s i ng , and there ' s another! A t h i r d firmament appearing, shooting up and fannir.g out! As one sun s e t s , others are r i s i n g ... dawn and twi l igh t a l l a t once . . .Beyond the seven hundred and seventy-seven poles. 21*

Le Roi se Meurt i s an ex i s ten t ia l parable i n which the everyman hero i s

eleva.ted t o the soc i a l l eve l of kingship. But, r e f lec ted i n the rubble

of h i s once-magnificent kingdom, the king faces a k i l l e r a s r e d as t ha t

which faces the commoner ~ g r e n g e r i n Tueur sans Gages. Society i s 2.

i r re levan t t o both men. The one attempts salvation by using h i s p i s h l s ,

and f a i l s . The other attempts t o conquer death by royal decree, and f a i l s .

- 53 - The f a t e of both men i s sealed by t he i r individual mortality. King

~ g r e n g e r ' s ~ v c i e t y i s more intens; than that of the commoner ~ 6 r e n g e ~

because the l a t t e r fee l s defeated by the ref lect ion of h i s humanity,

the runted k i l l e r . The King f ee l s defeated by immense forces he once

naively thought he could control by f i a t being the cen t ra l power is the

universe.

Le Roi se Meurt synthesizes what Catherine Hughes c a l l s "Ionesco's

p lea for man. " The play acknowledges the individual 's "royalty" 22

i n a temporal existence and concludes with the emphasis on the conclusion

of l i f e . 1onesco faces the r e a l i t y of death by admitting i t s absurdity

and by revealing i n the character of the king the destructive force of

anxiety about death. With t h i s r e a l i t y faced, the decay of the "kingdom"

need be regarded only as a natural phenomenon.

One paradox facing the king i s tinat, while h i s body deter iora tes ,

h i s mind remains ag i l e thou.gh clouded with apprehension. This paradox

causes him t ' o wish for the incarnation of an i m a r t a l minc:

King: when I ' v e gone, when I ' ve gone. They'll laugh arid s tuff themselves s i l l y and dance on rriy tomb. As i f I ' d never existed. 3h, please clake then! remerbel* me! Make them weep and despair and p e r p t u a t e my memory i n a i l thei r h is tory books. Make everyone learn my l i f e by hear t . Make them l i v e it again ... Let my likeness be on a l l the ikons, me on fke mill ions of crosses i n 911 our ckxrches. Make them say Nass fo r me and l e t me be the Host . . .Let them my name throughout e te rn i ty , and beg me and implore ne.

gy

The irony of ~ { r e n ~ e r ' s statement i s i n h i s des i re t o embalm h i s " l ike-

ness" ra ther than r e f l e c t h i s hmani ty i g the faces of h l s chilaren.

His i m o r t a l i t y i s i n a sense a death-wish becaidse it im?lies

2 2 ~ w h e s , Cztherine, "~onesco ' s Plea fo r Man," Renascence, 14 (19021, 121.

2 3 ~ b i d . , pp. 48-49. -

" p r e ~ e r v a t i ~ n " of a worn-out forn ra ther than the continuation of l i f e .

~e ' renger cannot accept h i s future 'role as a memory of the past becsuse

to him time i s of t h e essence and he attempts t o incorporate time i n to

h i s own actions. The king's f i gh t against capi tula t ion cannot succeed,

but shows a noble des i re t o l i v e i n the face of Death. I n comparison

with the commoner Bgrenger of Tueur sans Gages the king has r i s e n t o a

new l eve l of non-capitulation real ized a l so I n the Bgrenger of ~h inoe6ros .

Unlike Lear, B6renger the king refuses t o f o r f e i t h i s kingdom, and f i na l l y ,

fading i n to the m i s t of the unknown, he d ies seated proudly atop h i s

throne. It i s t h i s image t ha t remains fixed i n the minds of the audience,

an image of the Sisyphian hero accepting h i s contingency, get contin-

uously f igh t ing against it i n the hope of transcendence or salvation.

It i s i n t he four th s&enger play, Le ~ i 6 t o n de l r A i r , t h a t Ionesco

pI=sents a B6renger capable of transcending h i s t e r r e s t r i a l s i tua t ion .

The t i t l e of the play incorpor$tes tile bas ic dilemma cen t ra l t o Ionescols

e a r l i e r works. The "pedestrian" i s man, contingent on h i s environment,

and the "a i r" i s t he means of escape from t h i s p r e d i ~ a m e ~ t . Like

Daedalus inprisoned i n t he labyr inth ~ ( r e n g e r wishes t o escape by f l i g h t

even though hi-s na tura l a b i l i t y i s t h a t of an earthbound creature. He

believes i c h i s s p i r i t t h a t f l i g h t must be an innate human f a m i t y 2nd

not t h e property of a machine:

~Grenger : ... Tout l e monde cublie. Comment en a i - j e oubl ier l e proc6d6? C jes t simple, pou r tmt , lu r ineaw: enfantln. Quand on ne vole pas, c r e s t p i r e que s l

nous gtions priv6s de nourritxre. C re s t pou cela sans dou.te que nous nous senteons malheur'el~~. 2 t

Wary of the mechanization t ha t was responsible f o r the rhinocerization

of a small French t o m , the reade? of Le ?igton de l l A i r can understand

~ 6 r e n g e r ' s informed apprehension of the power o f machines :

~ g r e n ~ e r : ... L1engin remplace llhomme e t ses fonctions. Retrouvons l a fonction authentique k t r avers ses dgformations . 25

It i s i n " l a fonction authentiquel' t ha t ~e ' renger can escape h i s ea r th ly

labyrinth.

I n her a r t i c l e , " A i r and Matter: Iot..escols 'Le ~ i e ' t o n de l l A i r '

and 'Victimes du Devoir, ' " Rosette C . Lamont in te rpre t s ~ 6 r e n g e r "s f l i g h t

i n t o the a i r from one of Ionesco's judrnals:

I n llMes ~ i s c e s e t Moi" ~ u g z n e Ionesco suggests t ha t a fee l ing of l ightness , a i r iness , sometimes accompanied by the discovery of a g i f t of l ev i t a t i on res tores the l o s t paradise of youth and innocence, whereas the p ro l i fe ra t ion of matter consti u tes a concretizatior, of man's imprisonment i n the material world. 26

The f e d i n g of "lightness" as opposed t o the g rav i ta t iona l burden of

"matter" i s the quintessence of Le ~ i e ' t o n de l l A i r . It i s a l s ~ an

explanation of Ionesco's capabi l i ty of accommodating a world he found

clogged with useless objects and obselete words and ideas. His testimony

t o acceptance of the worlC! i s real ized i n the l a s t &enger play which

i s a culmination of the adventures of the previous three .

The idea of the prolifera, t ion of matter i s cen t ra l t o the playwright's

work. F i r s t , matter i s the corporeal substance which. makes a man a

"pedestrian" ra ther than a pure or f r ee "sp i r i t . " Second, matter i s

inhurwn, o r ra ther "ahunan", and i n snch plays a s Le Nonveau Locataire

represents death t o the l i f e force. This death i n the play of the tenant

26 Lamont, R. 2 ., French Review, xxxvi i i ( ~ a n u a r y , 1965), p. 349.

- 56 - a r i s e s out of h i s immobility as the perennial furni tare i s paraded

i n t o h i s apartment and f i n a l l y forms an interminable l i n e down the

Per i s s t r e e t s and along the r iver . Even the eggs i n LIAvenir e s t dans

l e s Oeufs, symbols of nzw l i f e , become so numerous on the stage tha t the

f loor and the e n t i r e company of actors "sleffondrent." Because the

egg is t he incarceration of l i f e and must be broken before it can become

l i f e -p ro6uc i~g It i s primarily a deeth symbol before a l i f e symbol

because, unless destroyed, it forms a prison. Lilcewlse i n Les Chaises

the old man and the old wornan a re forced t o jump from t h e i r l i v ing

room window as the ever increasing rows of chairs take away a l l t h e i r

f ree space and, l i k e the eggs and the furniture, cause t h e i r destruction.

Perhaps the most s t a rk example of the danger of prol i fera ted n a t t e r

occurs i n ~mddge ou comment s1en ~ g b a r r a s s e r where a corpse expands

mater ia l ly u n t i l it reaches grotesque proportions and ha l t s mobility.

It i s i n the a i r t h a t mobility i s therefore unres t r ic ted.

I n the "upper void" B6renger can find a personal freedom . But

even i n h i s temporary s t a t e of anarchic suspension he i s made aware of

the mater ia l world Seneath him.

Be*renger : J1 a i vu des colonnes de gui l lo t in6s marchant. sans t&s , des colonnes de gci l lo t in6s . . . sur d ' immenses &endues. E t puis, e t puis, je ne s a i s pas, des s au t e r e l l e s ggantes, des anges dgchus, des archanges caincus . 27

The objects beneath &enger a re death symbols while h i s a b i l i t y t o

f l y "sans hdlice e t sans a i l es l ' i s a v i t a l a c t .

Miss Lament mistakenly c a l l s Le pigton de l l A i r one of the "darkest

tragicomedies of Ionesco. I? 28 The play i s only a "tragicomedy1' insofar

27~onesco, ~ug\ene, op. c i t . , p. 195. 28

- Lament, R . c . , op. c i t . ; p. 361.

as it r e f l e c t s the predicament of a humanity born t o d ie . If the play

represented only t h i s f a c t it would be l e s s than s ign i f i c an t . . What the

play does represent i s a testimony t o the act ion and a b i l i t y of the

hero ~ ( r e n ~ e r , a hero capable of a s p i r i t u a l ex t r i ca t ion from a harsh

r e a l i t y t o the transcendental realm of the "air ."

B&enger: S i , l a plupart du temps, je ne s a i s plus m'envoler, j 'ai gardg conscience qu' il mlest ngcessaire de l e f a i r e . J e s a i s de l'absence de quel le chose je souffre. C ' e s t une a f f a i r e de sant; . S i ous ne vouions pas, c ' e s t que nous somrnes infirmes. 2$

Be'renger's f l i g h t i s "a matter of healthff and s ign i f i e s h i s a b i l i t y t o

make an attempt a t va l ida t icg h l s existence. His f l i g h t i s a s t a t e of

mind which gives t o a human being a motive fo r prolonging h i s ear thly

ex i s t eme . This condition as re f lec ted i n the play could hardly be

considered as t he "darkestff expression of Ionesco. Without vac i l l a t i ng

t o a blind optimism, the play culminates Ionesco's quest t o grant

~ g r e n ~ e r h i s "raison d ' Etre . I 1

I n the conclusion of her a r t i c l e , Miss Lamont makes a summation of

Ionesco ' s "compoundedff a r t which contradicts her previous statement of

"darkest tragicomedy: "

Compounded of a i r and matter, Ionesco's plays never allow us t o forget the t r a g i c qua l i ty of l i f e made bearable only by a Dionysian explosion of laughter, coupled with a deep respect f o r the t r ans i en t , evanescent combination of mind and f l e sh which i s our e x i s t e n t i a l c 0 n d i t i o n . 3 ~

The "evanescencef' of the mind/flesh combination i s the pos i t ive r e s u l t

of Ionesco's subjective investigation. Having reduced the " ex i s t en t i a l

condition" t o the paradox betveen s p i r i t u a l and physical existence,

Ionesco chooses t o laugh ra ther than succumb t o a dest ruct ive despondency.

29~onesco, ~ug;ne, op. c i t . , p. 167.

30~amont, R. C., op. c i t . , p. 361.

~e ' renger ' s f l i g h t i s not merely an escape, it i s a l so an adventure of

discovery, a personal "~panouissement." Faithfbl t o the Bergsonian

theory, Ionesco's laughter I s not t ha t of derision but that; cf a man

r i s en above h i s predicament. This r i s e i s a s t a t e of mind f o r t h e

11 f lesh" remains constant i n i t s contingency and f in i tude. His laughter

i s an objective ac t s e t t i n g the subjective anxiety i n a personal per-

spective. "Objectivity means being i n h a r ~ o n y w i t h one's own subject iv-

i t y , not ly ing t o others or t o oneself. "31 Both hope and d i s i l l u s ion -

ment a re born of the same fa.cu.lty: the one ex i s t s i n the "slough of

despond", the other i n the "transcendental realm." Ionesco himself

s t a tes :

Meanwhile, meanwhile I have done what I could.. .I have passed t he time. But we need t o know how t o cut ourselves o f f from our- selves and from other people, how t o observe and how t o laugh, i n s p i t e of everything t o l a ~ ~ h . 3 ~

Ionesco's laughter i s h i s "deep respect for the transient ' ' and h i s des i re

t o overcone "a vas t wezriness" which "overwhelms me." Often h i s laughter

i s an expression of sadness: "I cannot help laughing b i t t e r l y when I

see a l l around me believing they believe, and being engulfe2. ,133 ,is

bi t t e rness , however, i s re la ted t o h i s f a i t h that "belief" i s possible:

it i s not cynical or dejected.

The four ~ e * r e n ~ e r plays reveal the playwright ' s unmistakeable

expectation of a "be t te r world:"

31~onesco, ~ug;oe, Fragments of a Journal, t r ans , Jean Stewart, Grove Press, Inc. ( ~ e w York, 1968), p. 30.

32~onesco, ~ug;ce, Notes and Counternotes, op c i t . , p. 12.

3310nesco, ~ u & n e , Fragments of a Journal, op. c i t . , p. 19.

I a.n coqstantly waiting fo r things t o change fo r the be t te r : amid a l l the conf l ic t ing pa r t i e s , I have chosen none. I am i n the

i posi t ion of someone who hopes t o w i n a f i r s t m i z e i n a l o t t e r y / without having bought a t i cke t . I I am not su f f i c i en t l y absorbed i n the human comedy. I don't

\ belong wholly t o t h i s world. I cannot quite detach myself from t h i s world nor from the other. I am neither here nor there.

\ Outside it a l l . I 'm a f ra id of making a wrong choice, so I choose ' neither re l ig ion nor po l i t i c s . The fea r of f a i l u r e i s what makes one f a i l . I f Grace should not come, t ha t would be the 'coup de grgce . 34

It i s i n these plays t ha t the uncertain Ionesco, through h i s l a t e n t

idealism, makes impl ic i t the remedy for the seeming lack of Grace. His

implicaticn i s t h a t a c t i v i t y i n the wmld (eg: the f l i g h t of ~e ' renger)

takes avay many of the anxiet ies which abound. Act iv i ty fo r ~e ' renger

is not a cure f o r anxiety, it i s simply a therapeutic pastime by freeing

h i s mind from i t s preoccupation with the absurdity of existence.

George Wellwarth makes the following conclusion about Ionesco' s

~ g r e n g e r plays :

I n the plays of h i s second period h he Ki l l e r an2 ~h inocg ros ) Ionesco abandorled the view of pessimistic fa ta l ism i n which man is a helpless puppet f u t i l e l y and despairingly hammering against incomprehensible forces t h a t always overwhelm him. Instead cf the doc t r ina i re determinism which he derived from Antonin Artaud, Ionesco gave man a ce r ta in amgunt of f ree choice within the context of h i s terxporal i l f e . He thus made man mora1J.y responsible for h i s act ioas . With moral respons ib i l i ty human existence once more took on meaning. Human actions once again became s ign i f ican t because they could be ,chow11 t o have forseeable r e su l t s . Ionesco made the t r a n s i t i o n f ro3 preoccl~pation with ult imates, which i s So cha rac t e r i s t i c of abso lu t i s t s such as Artaud, t o a concern for immediate, if re l a t i ve , resul ts - - in other words, t o the l imited rebel l ion of Albert Cam~~s, which concentrates on an individual e t h i c a l p ro tes t desigced t o br ing about a r e l a t i v e + , l l ev i e t i on of the human condition within the foreseeable f ~ t u r e . ~

Man's f ree choice, a s t a t e of mind, becomes the constructive force

34~onesco, ~ugbnn , Fragmects of a , ~ou rna l , op. c i t . , p. 28.

35~e l lwa r th , Gaorge E . , The Theatre of Pro tes t and Paradox: De=lop ments i n the A-iant-Gar3e Drana, New York Univ. Precs (New York, 1964), P. 72-

- 60 - i n h i s actions. It i s i n the a b i l i t y t o rebe l %gainst absurd it,^ t h a t

- I

man finds the " r e l a t i ve a l levia t idn" from h i s anxiety. - Ionesco' s

offering t o h i s audience remains f a i t h f u l both t o h i s personal philosophy

of subject iv i ty and h i s idea of "testimony." Tueur sans Gages, ~ h i n ~ c & r o s ,

_Le Roi se Meurt, and Le ~ i & o n de l t A i r , t e s t i f y t o the a b i l i t y of one

man, ~e ' ren~er / Ionesco , t o overcome h i s predicament while a l l the time

being aware of i t s absurdity.

~ 6 r e n ~ e r i s a t r a g i c hero, but he m a i ~ t a i r s i n th? end, as the

r e s u l t of h i s apocalyptic adventures, h i s nok i l i ty and d ign i ty as a

member of the human race.

CHAFTEil FOUR

N O W FREDERICK SIMPSOE SOCIAL SATIRIST OF THE ABSU1R.E

L i t t l e s ign i f ican t c r i t i c i sm has been wr i t t en about the plays of

Norman Frederick Simpson. With the exception of Martin Ess l in , most

major c r i t i c s of t he contemporary theatre d i sn i s s Simpson as a secocdarg

playwright overshadowed by h i s fellow wr i te r s .

Allardyce Nicol l , i n h i s book Br i t i sh Drama, notes Sirrrjson's

maturing s t y l e by a b r i e f reference t c two plays: "N. F. Sirrpson wri tes

h i s nonsense play, A Resounding Tinkle (1957)--with an almost 'sophomoric'

cleverness r e f l ec t ed i n the character-names of Mustard Short, Denzil

Pepper, Miss S a l t and Miss Vinegar--and follows t h i s with the more mature

cleverness of One Way Pendulum (1959). . . "I This nebulous, and probably

s a r ca s t i c , cognizance of Sirrpson i s placed wfthin a discussiori of ' the

thea t re of the absurdf--a s t y l e t ha t Nicoll could only have known

exiguously when h i s book was wr i t t en i n 1962 ( ~ s s l i n had f i r s t coined

the term i n 1961). John Russell Taylor, wr i t ing i n Anger and After ,

presents an unworthy abs t rac t of Simpson's work: 'mhether one l i ke s

or d i s l i ke s N . F. Simpson's work, it seems t o me, there i s very l i t t l e

h i c o ~ , A . , - B r i t ? sh Drama, Barnes and Noble lnc.(New York, 1962) 9

P. 33b.

- 62 - t o be said about i t . l f 2 I f Taylor's opinion i s t o be accepted, then it

would, with the exception of Pinter , censure the writ ing of the absurdists

i n England. There i s no doubt tha t Ionesco i s a f a r greater a r t i s t than

Simpson, but the s imi l a r i t i e s between Simp,ronf s work and lonescol s ear ly

wri t ings Suggest a po ten t ia l renown f o r the author of The Hole and the

One Way Pendulum.

Miss M. C . Eradbrook, i n her book English Dramatic Form, makes

scant reference t o Simpson's preoccupation with the pr ivate fantasies of

h i s characters i n nonsense plays. "His One Way Pendulum i s se t pa r t ly

idea of the metaphysical predicament of man expressed by Ionesco. The

"subtopian and model of the Old Bailey a re examples of an automaton

soc ie ty pregnant wi th i n s t i t u t i ons and an impulsive des i re t o seek

immortality through mater ia l possessions. Taylor f inds such elements

of Simpson's plays unsuccessful but f a i l s t o give any convincing evidence

t o support h i s claim: "His plays, aspiring t o be considered i l h s t r a t i o n s

of the Absurd. . .end up as a ru le with absurdity i n a much humbler form, and

one which very rap id ly loses i t s charms i n a l ife-and death struggle

11 4 . with the law of diminishing re turns .

'~aYlor, J. R . , Anger and After , Penguin (Aylesbury, 1966), P. 58-

4 Taylor, J . R . , op. c i t . , p . 64.

- 63 - Martin Ess l in i s the most favourable c r i t i c of Simpson, and

I

Ess l i n ' s theor ies and writ ings on the theatre of the absurd a&e him the

most i n f l uen t i a l author i ty . Ess l in makes the necessary obsert-ation t h a t

Simpson's work i s "philosophical fantasy strongly based on r e a l i t y . 115

He adds, "Simpson's world bears the mark of the fantas ies of an eminently

sane, i n t e l l i g e n t man with deep learning and a delicious sense of

h~~,c72r. " 6

Fina l ly i n h i s appraisa l Ess l in describes Simpson's wri t ing as

"proof t h a t the Theatre of the Absurd i s by no means unable t o provide

highly e f fec t ive soc i a l comment. It i s the provision fo r soc i a l comment,

usual ly s a t i r i c and outrageous, which presents the constructive elements

of Sirpson's drama. On the metaphysical l eve l he has so f a r been unable

t o reach the l e v e l of Ionesco, and, while h i s soc ia l s a t i r e lacks the

in tense subject ive perception of h i s French contemporary, Sinpson's

absurdis t technique presents a s ign i f i can t exposition of the Theatre of

the Absurd i n Br i t a in .

Nevertheless i t i s evident t ha t Simpson has remained on tke circrun-

ference of i n t e l l e c t u a l favour, deserving mention but seldom accolade O r

even de t a i l ed c r i t i c i sn ; , It would be wrong t o c a l l Siinpson one of t he

foremcst dramat is ts of our time, because, under the accepted c r i t e r i o n

of "greatnessw--the aiiount of commentary wr i t t en on an author and the

volume of an zuthor 's work--Simpson i s ~vershadowed by severa l of h i s

B r i t i s h Contemporaries, notably John Arden, ~ a r o l d P in t e r , and John

Osborne. But the re i s no reason to claim t h a t be i s any l e s s s ignif icant

than

( ~ e w

Arnold Wesker, Ann J e l l i c o e , o r David Mercer. Apart from h i s major

5 ~ s s l i n , Martin, The Theatre of the Absurd, Doubleday & Co. In? - York, 1961.) , p . 2i7.

- 64 - plays he Hole, A Resounding Tinkle, One Way pendulum, The Form, and

The Cresta ~ u n ) Simsson has wr i t t en several shorter plays (Gladlx

Otherwise, OJ, and One Blast and Have Done) and a book of three television/

s tage plays e n t i t l e d More Ta l l Tinkles. Recently, hcwever, he has

published l i t t l e of s ignif icance and appears t o be more in teres ted i n

t e lev i s ion dramas than stage plays. It i s i n h i s major plays t h a t

Simpson presents himself as a dramatist with po ten t ia l an6 a philosophy

derived from the medium of theatre . These plays show the development of

a pos i t ive t h e s i s a s w i l l be shown following a br ie f comment on Sim;;sonls

idea of the Absurd.

'"Absurd' o r i g ina l l y means 'out of harmony', i n a musical context.

Hence i t s d ic t ionary d e f k i t i o n : 'out of harmony with reason or propriety;

incongruous, unreasonable, i l l og i ca l . ' I n common usage i n the English-

speaking world, ' absurdf may simply mean ' r idiculous ' ."'l Ess l in ' s

de f in i t i on of 'absurd' appl ies t o Sinipson ( a s it does t o ~onesco ) whose

plays are , i n a very B r i t i s h sense, r id iculous . The use of the weighing

machines as singers i n One Way Pendulum combines the musical connotation

of ' absurd' with t he incongruity, unreasonableness, and i l l o g i c a l i t y .

10neSCo's in te rpre ta t ion of absurdity is more cynical than i s S i ~ p s o n ' s

dramatic nonsence. Nowhere, f o r example, does Simpsoa present Death

personified as does Ionesco i n Tueur sans Gages, or the monstrous and

grotesque c rue l ty of the rhinos i n ~h inoc6 ros . But both Ionesco and

Simpson a re wr i t ing from unique personal experience; the i n t ens i t y of

which i s dissimilar. Ionesco was forced t o leave h i s native Rumania t o

7 ~ b i d . , p. x ix .

- 65 - escape the " rh i~oce r i z ing" tyranny of the f a sc i s t I ron Guard whose

,

anti-semitic t e r ~ o r swept the country fo r nine years. Simpson, however,

l i v e s i n a country where a prevail ing sense of humour and a r e l a t i ve ly

s tab le p o l i t i c a l s i t ua t i on characterize the national i den t i t y and prevent

t he type of pessimism t h a t Ionesco experienced. I n t h e i r respective

contexts Ionesco and Simpson are comparable yet they a re individually

d i s t i n c t ; and t h e i r juxtaposition should demonstrate ins t ruc t ive pa ra l l e l s

of soc i a l and metaphysical awareness.

Ionesco's first plays were dubbed 'ant i -playsr by the c r i t i c s , but

they es tabl ished the form of a simple p lo t with cybernetic characters

and c1ich;d absurd language. Later , Ionesco made a gradual t r ans i t i on

from the dehumanization of h i s characters t o the pathos of the ~ g r e n g e r

of -- ~h inoc6 ros . Ionesco made no commitment t o "give a message" t o h i s

audience as he considered such preaching detrimental t o individual

in te rpre ta t ion . A negative message permits choice on the pa r t of the

onlooker, while a pos i t ive message suggests the playwrights absolutism

i n regards t o r e a l i t y . "A playwright simply wri tes plays, i n which he

can offer only a testimony, not a d idac t ic message. 11 8 TO avoid the charge

of nihil ism imputed t o him (espec ia l ly by Kenneth Tynan i n h i s a r t i c l e s

i n The ~ b s e r v e r ) - Ionesco added t ha t "a work of a r t i s the source and the

raw material of ideologies t o come" 9

Simpson s imi la r ly uses mechanical characters ( t h e Paradocks, for

example) and simple p l o t s , but h i s plays show no progression from

mechanical t,o pa the t i c character . His characters a re nore nearly car icatures ,

g~onesco , u e , Notes and Counternotes - , Grove Press , Inc . (New Yorky 1964), p. 93

- 66 - which a re not enpathy-provoking l i k e &renger i n t h e i r representation of

the f u t i l i t y of the human conditibn. Simpscn's characters exci te sympathy

and cur ios i ty because t h e i r s i tua t ions are more comic and r id iculous

than f u t i l e . Consequently the t r ag i c qua l i ty of the Ionesco character i s

a l l ev ia ted i n Simpson's less-intense para l l e l s .

Simpson complies wi th Ionesco concerning posi t ive messages. I n

an interview with Gordon Reece printed i n the New Left Review (10:

July-August , 1961) Simpson i s quoted as saying t ha t "I have never wr i t t en

anything ' that wasn't 'tongue-in-cheek' and I can ' t imagine myself taking

any other a t t i t ude . One of the reasons i s t ha t I d i s l i ke 'author i ta t ive

statements ' . I f e e l t h a t everything Man can say about the Universe i s

sc woefully inadequate t h a t the attempt t o be au thor i t a t ive and take

oneself ser iously a t the same time i s so p i t i f u l l y arrogant t h a t I

can ' t help t r e a t i n g it wi th a ce r ta in ammount of der is ion. ??I-0

Ionesco and Simpson both r e l y on the vehicle of comedywhich

s t imulates , through laughter, detachment from the act ion acd an

ob j ec t i v i t y t ha t lends t o a necessary se l f -c r i t i c i sm. I n h i s interview

with Reece, Simpson gaxe h i s reasons fo r using comic detachment. "For

me, the a r t i s t has more i n common with the s c i e n t i s t i n t h a t he addresses

himself t o Man 6 s t he seeing animal than with the preacher, who addresses

himself t o Man as t he doing ani-mal. The a b i l i t y t o wri te a play does

not confer on anyone the r i g h t t o educate--which would presuppose t h a t

he alone had sccess t o t he answers. rr 11

10 Reece, Gordon, " ~ a l k i n g t o N. F. Simpson," New Lef t Review, 10

(1951), 59.

- 67 - Simpson's comedy presents a unique personal s t y l e d i s s imi la r from

t h a t of h i s contemporzries. The playwright has been accused of super-

f i c i a l i t y and extreme lev i ty : ".. . the gags a re a l l very much the same

type; deprived of any possible foundation i n character they rap id ly

reduce themselves t o various forms of the same obsessive verbal doodling. ,112

The only hyperbole evident i s t o take a joke "and run it r i gh t i n t o the

ground by overexplici tness and r i g i d application of log ic instead of

l eb t i ng it get i t s laugh and then go. "I3 But Simpson avoids a p i t f a l l

of the Theatre of the Absurd which Laurence Kitchin describes as being

" infect ive ra ther than therapeutic." It i s Kitchin 's opinion t h a t "one

of the dangers of communicating below the l e v e l of consciousness i s t o

l e t loose primitive forces beyond the control of the playwright. It

happens every time a f i ln ; intending t o condemn concentration caEps gives

t he audience a s a d i s t i c t h r i l l . "14 This implies the t h i n l i n e between

harmless laughter a t another 's temporary misfortune and the s a d i s t i c

laughter a t another 's injury. Kitchen r e f e r s t o Artaud who, as fa ther

of the so-called "Theatre of Cruelty" took the absurd condition of

humanity t o a more negative and b i t t e r depth than was necessary. Simpson

however succeeds i n presenting a t r ue medium of laughter t h ~ t has the

a b i l i t y t o be therapeut ic because it i s not devastat ing enough t o be

in fec t ive . I f t h i s technique i s mere l e v i t y then it suggests t h a t the

audience i t s e l f might be looking for infect ion ra ther than an expsnsion

of consciousness s t inu la ted by the humourous twis t ing of famil iar s i tua t ions .

12T'aylor, J. R., op. c i t . , p. 64.

1 4 Kitchin, Loaurence, Drama i n the S ix t i e s , Faber & Faber Ltd.

o on don, 1966), p. 32.

- 68 - Simpson i s more c losely re la ted t o the Bergsontan theory of coE3dy

than he i s t o t h a t of Artaud or Cemus. Bergson defines three elements

t o which comedy appl ies . The f irst i s the hman element instrumental

i n a l l comedy: "Several ( p h i l o s q h e r s ) have defined man as "an animal

which laughs." They might equally we l l have defined him a s an animal

which i s laughed a t ; for if any other animal, o r some l i f e l e s s object ,

produces the saiie e f fec t , it i s always because of some resemblance t o

man. . . "15 By t h e i r very r idiculous actions Simpson's characters produce

the fascade of humanity which has a close "resemblance t o man." The

suburban existence of the Paradocks and Groomkirbys i s based f i rmly on

the r e a l i t y of suburbia, but the d i s t o r t i on makes t h e i r s i t u a t i o n

t r u l y laughable.

The second element of comedy i s the "appeal t o in te l l igence" which

allows f o r the "laughing animal" t o ob jec t i fy h i s laugh-ter . I f . . . the

comic Zeniands something l i k e a momentary anaesthesia of t he hear t . I t s

appeal i s t o in te l l igence , pure and simple. "I6 The cerebral qua l i t y of

Simpson's comedy derives f r oa h i s a 3 i l i t y t o i s o l a t e a s i t ua t i on he f inds

t o be r id iculous and t o exaggerate it beyond a l l proport ions. None of

h i s characters revea l s pathos o r much substance i n t h e i r personalities,

because they a r e designed t o be as l i f e l e s s as the l i f e they lead. The

three main male characters of The Hole, Cerebro, Endo, and Soma, a r e

merely sounding boards f o r famil iar cl ichgs and have l i t t l e r e a l i t y

themselves as pcople. Simpsonts comedy s a t i r i z e s t he ways of pecple

and t h e i r d i f f e r en t character-types but underneath t h i s presumes the

15~ergson, Henri, -- Comedy, ed. Wylie Sy-pher, Doubleday & Co., Inc. (~ew York, 1956) , p. 62.

%bid., pp. 61-64. --

basic s p i r i t u a l

caricatures of

- 69 - v a l i d i t y of the human bei.ng despite the depersonalized

individuals he presents on the stage. The depersonali-

zatior; a r i s e s simply i n the caricatures on the stage but leaves the

object of t h i s car icature (people) i n t ac t .

The t h i rd element of comedy i s the "group appeal" where humourous

s i tua t ions are shared by individuals who see a l l men as capable of s i n i l a r

predicaments. " ~ a u g h t e r appears t o s t a ~ d i n need of an echo. "17 The

suburban s e t t i n g of mwy of Simpson's scenes i s famil iar t o a bourgeois

audience as are the many implements (ranging from f i r e poles t o c o q o s t

heaps) which rind themselves i n places on the stage where they would

not usual ly be discovered. Simpson airrs h i s plays d i r e c t l y a t h i s audience

s ince the characters on the stage mirror the individuals i n the audience.

One element of the comic described by Bergson as "mechanical

ine las t i c? ty t1 i s the most relevant t o Simpson's plsys. It i s the

presentation cf ~ a r a d o x which upturns the familiar while leaving a

continuity of mfarn i l i a r i ty . For example, a l l objects found i n the

home of Bro and Middie Faradock (nutcrackers, elephant, snake) a re

fami l ia r , but t h e i r posi t ion i n the household i s ludicrous beceuse they

a r e e i t h e r o ~ t of context or are used fo r purposes for which they were

not designed. Simpscn terms t h i s contextual d i s t o r t i on "a s l i g h t nudge

t o the frame of reference" which i s , i n many instances, an understatement.

Further t o the "mechanical" element of comedy a l so applicable t o Simpson,

Bergson describes how routine as an in tegra l pa r t of an individual.'^

co l lec t ive existence can be used t o comic purpose:

. . . take the case of a person who attends t o the pe t ty occupations of h i s everyday l i f e with mithematical precision. The objects around him, however, have a l l been tampered with by some mischievous wag, the r e s u l t being t ha t when he dips h i s pen i n to the inkstand he draws it out 211 covered with mud, when he fancies he i s s i t t i n g down on a so l i d chai r he f inds himself sprawling on the f loor , i n a word h i s ac t ions a re a l l topsy-turvy o r mere beating the a i r , while i n every case the e f f ec t i s invariably one of momentum. Habit has given the impulse: what was wanted was t o check the movement o r de f l e c t it. He did nothing of the so r t , but continued l i k e a machine i n the sane s t ra igh t l ine . The victim, then, of a p r a c t i c a l joke i s i n a posi t ion similar t o t h a t of a runcer who fa l ls - -he i s comic f o r the sane reason. The laughable element i n both cases consis ts of a ce r ta in 'mechanical i n e l a s t i c i t y ' , jus t where one would expect t o find the wideawake adap tab i l i ty and the l i v ing pl iableness of a human being. 18

The "habit" i n Simpson's plays i s the routine of the suburban inhabi tant

whose impulsiveness t o mechanical ac t ion i s widely known a.nd frequently

scorned. Simpson employs the "topsy-turvy" e f f e c t as pa r t of h i s absurd

technique by isp placing objects and d i s t o r t i ng famil iar phenomena. He

presents h i s drama i n a context out of context with the famil iar world

and t h i s "perversi ty" i s the s t rength of h i s s a t i r e .

Both Ionesco and Simpson a r e wri t ing fo r a "democratic" t hea t r e

where the audience rtiust exercise i t s freedom of choice i n a world where

absolutes and didacticism are anachronisms. This does not imply t h a t

o ther modern playwrights, such as Arden or Beckett, do not leave the

f i n a l decis ions t o reader or audience (nei ther Sergeant Musgrave's Dance

nor Endgame could qua l i fy as "epicw thea t re i n the sane way as the work

of Brecht.). It does s ignify , however, t ha t Simpson has accepted the

cont inenta l absurdis t t h e s i s t h a t a metaphysical awareness i s be s t

created by a v i sua l and au ra l experience ra the r than by indoctr inat ion.

- 71 - Brecht, unlike Simpson or Ionesco, was concerned with an Epic

thea t re where narra t ive overruled p lo t . Like Shaw, Brecht made d i r ec t

appeals t o reason, humour, and t hea t r i c a l i t y , using the method which he

label led the "a l ienat ion effect". Brecht, i n a t tacking naturalism and

t he bourgeoisie, made h i s a t t ack on two planes--one with t he act ion of

the s tage, and one by d i r e c t communication with an audience denied the

~bsenesque intimacy of the "fourth wall." A strong case caQ be made t o

i l l u s t r a t e the influence of Brecht on some B r i t i s h playwrights, notably

John Arden, but the re i s l i t t l e Brechtian epic method employed by

Simpson. Martin Es s l i c , i n an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d "Brecht, the Absurd and

the Future," believes t h a t a possible synthesis of these techniques may

not be out of the question. But, a s Andrew Fi tch more r e a l i s t i c a l l y

claims, " in a l l p robab i l i ty the Absurdists and the Brechtians w i l l con-

t inue t o dispute the v a l i d i t y of t h e i r approaches, seeing one another

as the a n t i t h e s i s and even the negation of t h e i r most profound con-

u ic t idns . "19 As w i l l be i l l u s t r a t e d i n a discussion of h i s plays,

Simpson i s unmistakeably an absurdis t wr i t e r who, while he wr i t e s i n

the shadow of Ionesco, i s responsible fo r mary o r i g ina l contributions t o

a d i s t i n c t form of t hea t r e ,

Simpson successful ly presents a combination of a detached humour and

t he fusion of tragedy and farce . The very t i t l e s of h i s plays a re

s ign i f ican t i n t h e i r irrelevance agd paradox. The Hole i s t he eponymous

t i t l e of the foundation fo r varied philosophies of the Visionary and

'$tch, Andrew, "A Fusion Avant-~arde?" , -ma Survey, 5 , 1, 5 3 -

Cerebro, the two fundmenta l i s t s . A One Way Pendulum i s a contradiction

i n terms because of the nature of'pendul-ms 2nd exemplifies the idea of

"mechanical ine las t i c i ty1 ' s ince it deviates from the "habit" of pen-

dulums. It i s a l s o symbolic of an unnatural force impeding the na tura l

motion of an object--comparable t o socie ty 's obstructive influence on

human personali ty. A Resounding Tinkle s i gn i f i e s climax and anticlimax.

"Tinkles" seldom "resomd" because they are onomatopoeically as close

t o si lence a s noises can be.

Born i n 1919, A.D. by h i s standards, Simpson i s nei ther a member

of the " a f t e r anger" category of playwright, nor a young man. He holds

a dggree i n English L i te ra tu re which he considers i r re levan t t o h i s wcrk

despi te the academic qua l i t y evident throughout h i s work--especially i n

h i s vocabulary. Simpson spent much of h i s l i f e a s aschoolteacher,

and has only recen t ly devoted h i s f u l l a t t en t ion t o playwriting.

A Resounding Tinkle was f i r s t produced by t he Royal Court Theatre

on ~ecember 1 s t 1957 and was di rected by William Gaskil l . The s c r i p t

had previously won the t h i rd pr ize i n a playwriting competition sponsored

by The Observer. The play was l a t e r shortened because i n i t s o r i g ina l

form it was somewhat long and a l i t t l e tedious f o r stage p rodu~ t ion .

The action reveals a t the beginning a typ ica l ly Simpsonian suburban

l i v ing room where Bro and Middie Paradock ( two of Simpson's perennial

characters) d iscuss a recent purchase. Uncle Ted i s introduced i n to

the conversation a s a man who l i ke s c r i t i c a l essays with h i s coffee,

an unusual t a s t e (with emetic consequences) symbolizing a f e t i s h of an

average person i n a twistec! and exaggerated way. It seems r?o more

r idiculous t h a t a person should take essays with h i s coffee than t ha t he

as the rhinocer i a r e a l i en t o the small French town. The idea of a life-

destroying l i f e force concerns mankind i n a l l i t s soullessness. Just

as the materials acaesthetize people t o t h e i r hunanity and make them about

as aware a s an elephant, so these people begin t o ident i fy with t h e i r

Possessions instead of t h e i r kumanit,y.

Bra and Middie decide t o t rade the elephant fo r a snake because

snakes a r e l e s s clumsy and can be s h o r t e ~ e d . But here i s l i t t l e change

i n the degree of incongruity i n the presence of non-domestic creatures

l i k e snzkes or elephants i n a house. The examples are deliberatelY

chosen t o create t h i s e f f ec t . Simpsonls amalgamation of chcking material-

ism and an unthinking l i f e force i n t o an incongruous presence, within

an ordered way of l i f e , i s h i s Theatre of the Absurd. He conveys h i s

apprehensions through the s a t i r e charac te r i s t i c of the Theatre of the

Absurd--a vehic le capable of presenting the grotesque.

Simpson, l i k e Ionesco, conveys t h r ~ u g h l a n g ~ a g e the very def iciencY

of language t o commun%cate. His dialogue consis ts of a succession of

'clfchgs spoken by characters whc are more in ieres ted i n t a lk ing than

l i s t en ing . These cl ichgs a re mouthed unconcernedly by the ac tors , but

t he e f f ec t i s not l o s t i f the audience in fe rs correct ly . An example of

t h i s suggestive cant i s Middiets reference t o Uncle Ted's passion fo r

motor ~ C O O ~ ~ ~ S - - " I s h a l l be glad t o see the l a s t of t h a t craze." The

craze i s a novelty or an i n f l uen t i a l trend t ha t threatens t o upset the

comfortable suburban confomity of the Paradocks. Uncle Ted's rebel l ion 1 I

is not s ignif ied by angry words, b7& by the purchase of a material thing

t ha t i s representative of change i n a keep-up-with-your-neighbour world.

The change may not necessari ly be fo r the be t t e r because those f o r whom

it i s designed a re unable t o in te rpre t the constructive qua l i t i e s of

change.

Simpson i s a p o l i t i c a l icococlast whose s a t i r e suggests a s imi la r i ty

between democratic franchise and tne sa le of goods a t the door. An

unknown man, who has persued the s t r e e t d ic t ionary a t random, asks Bro t o

form a government. Middie's immediate reaction i s stereotype--"you

might do something about a l l these bo t t l es . What does it look l i k e

if the Cabinet a r r ive suddenly?" Middie's existence i s centred mound

the philosophy of giving the "r ight impression'' t o a l l who enter her

introverted d.cmain. I f the Supreme Being were t o drop i n , she would

make sure the chairs were i n formation. Bro and Middi see the world

from t h e i r own subjective angle, and the s ign i f ican t events outside are

in terpreted according t o t h e i r s e l f i s h formulae. Ero, f o r instance, i s

more concerned with the disruption of h i s regular hours than he i s with

the respons ib i l i ty of forming a government. "How can I s t a r t forming

.a government a t s i x o 'clock i n the evening?" The r e spons ib i l i t i e s

placed on every c i t i z en i n a democratic socie ty a re i r re levan t , i n a

'nine t o f i ve ' working week. The irony of the s i t ua t i on i s the discovery

t ha t the messenger i s merely "someone having a joke". The Paradocks,

complacent i n t h e i r world of suburban r iva l ry , allow l i t t l e of the out-

s ide world t o influence them. As c i t i zens , they a re impervious t o the

meanings cf democracy, and as people they a re uninterested i n all but

- 76 - t h e i r immediate society.

Simpson

Paradocks i s

t i r e d of the

I

n t t o the takes a fur ther s tep by suggesting how unimporta..

the int imately human experience of sex. Uncle Ted, now

motor scooter craze, has changed i n to a female. It i s

possible t ha t Ted's hermaphroditic a b i l i t y i s a reference t o homosex-

ua l i t y . ( B U ~ there i s a comical s ignif icance ' in Middie's reaction:)

t t ... Uncle Ted: Why, you've changed your sex! You look lovely--doesn't

he, Bro? But why ever d idn ' t you l e t us know?" Sex i s as unimportant

as the change of a job o r the purchase of a new s u i t , and i s l e f t void

of any creat ive experience.

There i s an in te res t ing comparison between Uncle Ted's sex change and

Ionesco' s Maid t o Marry. The maiden of the Ionesco play, who has been

the object of conversation t?,roughout the play: en te r s the stage with

"a robust and v i r i l e (physique), a black moustache; wearing a grey s u i t . . . (with a ) very strong masculine voice." But, while Uccle Ted can charge

back "when she ge t s t i r e d of her new sex", the maid of Maid t o Marry

i s irrevocably male. Simpson's character embodies the element of f ree

choice; Ionesco's does not. Bro and Middie can change t h e i r way of l i f e

as soon as they become self-aware; Berenger i n ~h inoc&os cannot change

even though he i s we l l aware of h i s s i tua t ion . Man i n Simpson i s vhat

he i s by h i s own w i l l and environment; man i n Ionesco i s what he is by

capi tula t ion from which there i s no r e t r ea t .

I n Simpson's qu ie t suburban world the role-playing of the characters

i s not immediate]-y harmful and i s ce r ta in ly comic. Eut i n the anerchic

and v io len t world of Ionesco the ro les have more d i s r s t rous cofisequences-

This does not n~ake Simpson's work l e s s p r e g ~ a n t with soc i a l warning

because i t s s a t i r e i s ef fect ive &en if it i s understatement when compared

t o the vividness of Ionesco. Simpson's technique, however, i s re levant

t o the pa r t i cu l a r B r i t i sh audience fo r which he wr i tes i n an age xhere

many soc i a l problems a re s imilar around the world. But d i f f e r en t i n t e r -

p re ta t ions are necessary fo r divergent contexts.

I n perspective, Sio-psor?'s o r i g i za l and agridged versions of A - Resounding Tinkle cannot be discarded as mere l ev i ty . Bro and Middie

a r e spared from tragedy because the outside forces are magnified appre-

hensions of t h e i r own imaginations and not immediate i n danger. But

if the Faradocks were placed under the influence of regurgi ta ted racism

o r an unstable and violent socie ty they might wel l become the rhinos of

Ionesco.

I n the play Simpson does not ignore re l ig ion , ido la t ry , or r i t u a l .

These are forces t h a t could lead t o a des t ruct ive hys te r ia , and enter

t he plays t o induce consciousness. Over the radio comes a prayer f o r

Prayer : Give us l i g h t upon the nature of our knowing; f o r t he i l l u s ions of the luna t ic are not t h e i l l u s ions of the sane man, and the i l lus ions of the f l age l l an t are not t he i l l u s ions of the alcoholic, and the i l l u s ions of the de l i r i ous are not the i l l u s ions of the lovesick, and the i l l u s i o n s of t he genius are not the i l l u s ions of the common man:

Response: Give us l i g h t t ha t we may be enlightened. Prayer: Give us l i g h t t ha t , sane, we may a t t a i n t o a d i s t o r t i on

more acceptable than the l una t i c ' s and c a l l it t r u t h . Response : That, sane, we may c a l l it t r u t h and know it t o be

f a l s e . Prayer : That, sane, we may know ourselves, and by knowing

ourselves may know what it i s we know: Response: Amen.

- 78 - Middie: That was ra the r nice. 20

The prayers a re r e c i t a t i ons t ha t have no persuasive e f f ec t on the

Paradocks who maintain t h e i r pass iv i ty throughout. They a r e unable,

moreover, t o perceive the d i s to r t ions expressed by these prayers. I n

t h e i r react ion they a re predictable which i s an a t t i t ude of complete

apathy. From the outcome of the play, Simpson does not imply t h a t t h i s

apethy i s des t ruct ive , but i f the s i tua t ion were more c r i t i c a l soc ia l ly ,

apathy would have extremely negative e f fec t s . Were Simpson t o i l l u s t r a t e

the same metaphysical implications fo r human beings as does Ionesco,

the apathy of the Paradocks would be exp l i c i t l y dangerous. But i n t h e i r

s t e r i l i z e d soc i a l context they a re merely comic and not even t o be

p i t i ed . If the world of the Paradocks were t o collapse around them,

it would do so not with a resounding 'bang', but with a t ink l ing 'whimper.'

The Hole was a l so produced by the Royal Court Tneatre i n Apr i l

1958. ( ~ 0 t h The Hole and A Resounding Tinkle had been previously

performed i n a double b i l l i n December 1957.) It i s a play which

combines philosophical profutldity with the nature of r e a l i t y . Philosophy

has been concerned wi th the d i f f i c u l t y of discovering r e a l i t y through

t he perceived image of t h a t reality--hence Berkeley's maxim "esse e s t

perc ipi ." The paradox of The Hole i s tke sym3olic void, the insub-

s t a n t i a l emptiness, which i s the cavi ty upon which "we bui ld our fa i th . "

The Visionary i s i n i t i a l l y on the stage, and forms a constructive

force above the void as the nucleus of a qieue. He i s an i so la ted

individual who l i v e s i n the realm of h i s own i l l u s ions , and i s unabie t o

20~imPSon, N . F . , A Resounding Tinkle, Samuel French Ltd. ondo don, . 19581, p. 25.

- 79 - communicate with the sympathetic End0 who pas-tulates; If.. . Just waiting.

queue. " To which the Visionary replies, "perhaps they have queues of

their own. ,121 The Visionary is an existentialist intellectual who

situation will accept him and has little relevance as an individual in

the existentialist sense because he is oblivious to the truths and illusions

that the Visionary has had revealed. Both men lack one balancing aspect

of their personalities. The one lacks realization of his individual it^

and the other of his collective situation. Even together they are

polarized by their limited perceptions.

The Visionary admits his former wish to have lfqueues radiating out

from me like the spikes Gn a prison railing. Like nodules endlessly

attenuated." His desire to be "cosmically first", besides being

ridiculous, j s the fault of any megalomaniac who believes the uni-~erse

to revolve around him and represents a form of solipsism. But the

Visionary is satisfied to queue in solitude; happy in his subjectivity

and existential isolation. He await.s his Godot and the passage of time

is irrelevant to his eternal quest. 22

Endo: ... I shocl.6 think the days must go by very slowly for You* Visionary: I ve Fever timed them. 23

Endo is concerned with his contingency and bodily ccmfort while. the

2 1 Sinlpson, N. F., The Hole, Samuel French Ltd. o on don, 1958), p. 2 .

22 Simlsson wrote The Hole soon after the London success of Beckettfs -

Waiting for Godot and there is the possibility that the idea of Godot might bear on the presence of the Visionary.

- 80 - Visionary makes these secondary t o h i s spi r i tual ism and self-delusion.

I

He e a t s t o keep food out of h i s mind and can generate h i s own warmth.

The Visionary attempts escape from h i s human s i tua t ion even though he

i s surrounded by f l asks , an alarm clock, a sleeping bag, and other

sundries t h a t represent t he material world. The Visionary's preoccupation

is a s ta ined g lass window tha t i s symbolic of a preordained image t ha t

allows l i g h t t o i l luminate but permits no fu r ther vision. The Visionary

remains on t h i s l e v e l of i sola ted expectation throughout the play,

impervious t o the chaos t ha t revolves around him.

Endo makes a f ru s t r a t ed attempt t o comprehend the Visionary's

ut terances, but Cerebro, the pseudo-intellectu.al, i s rendered incapable

of such a comprehension due t o h i s conclusive, s c i e n t i f i c forms t ha t

compute solut ions t o a l l problems facing him.

Cerebro: We ought t o be able t o work something out i f we our minds t o it. H e must be wait ing f o r something. 2gUt

The e f fec t of the Visionary's expectation must have a cause i n Cerebra's

"scient i f ic1 ' opinion, s ince , only then can the Visionary be responsible

fo r a r a t i ona l a c t . Cerebro ra t iona l izes a l l t h a t he perceives i n to a

so l i d conclusion, and anything t ha t w i l l not f i t i s discarded.

I n Soma, more near ly an Fntellectu.al than Cerebro but an i n s t i ga to r

r a the r than an a c t i v i s t . Cerebro encounters h i s philosophical superior.

Soma enters the s tage a s a Kantian revolutionary questioning the v a l i d i t y

of a l l conclusions. Soma opposes Cerebro on h i s own ground by re fu t ing

the l a t t e r ' s inferences. Cerebro reac t s by vac i l l a t i ng from one opinion

t o another; constantly jumping t o i r re levant conclusions l i k e a computer I

gone mad. But Soma cannot d is turb t he Visionary who has so firmly s e t

t he Visionary has not reached h i s conclusion by ra t ional deduction, h f s

mgument for the stained-glass window cannot be refuted by the kind of

deduction Cerebro uses t o ver i fy the golf game:

Cerebro: A man i s addressing a b a l l . And it seems a legit imate inference t ha t a man with a l l the i r of a golfer addressing a b a l l i s i n f a c t playing golf ... 29

Cerebra's perception i s confined t o a p r i o r i formulations of reason and

he must face the consequence of such r i g id i t y . The Visionary, however,

nust face the i so l a t i on of soli.psism. A l l four male characters represent

d i f fe ren t modes of in te rpre t ing the universe. Each i s l imited i n h i s

a b i l i t y t o comprehend the much broader r e a l i t y of existence, and the

c l a r i t y of these car icatures i n the play i s posi t ive i n i t s impact on

a self-questioning audience.

The in te r jec t ions of Mrs. Meso and Mrs. Ecto form the backdrop

for the act ion i n the foreground of the stage. Their mundane conver-

sa t ion about two husbands who are t o t a l l y d i f fe ren t from one another

forms the second l e v e l t o the play. These two levels are , f i r s t , the

philosophical ranglings and contortions of the male characters, and the

nonsense clich6-ridden spoutings of the female characters. The two

women are unmi~takeably suburban i n t h e i r derivation:

Mrs. Meso: Have you ever thought of t ry ing t o get Sid breathing 4 properly?

Mrs. Ecto: I ' v e t r i e d everything, Glayds. It i s n ' t f o r want of t ry ing t ha t Sid i s n ' t normal, believe me.

Mrs. Meso: I thought perhaps if he could get h i s breathing s t r a i g h t it might be a s t w t f o r him.

Mrs. Ecto: He's out of s tep ~ i t h i t - -heTs breathing i n a l l the time when he shculd be breathing out and t h s t puts him out. a l l the way along. He can' t get back i n to phase wi th it except by breathing i n twice r'unning.

Mrs. Meso: O r breathing out. He could surely breathe out twice running?

Mrs. Ecto: I've t r i e d him with t h a t too. Once he s t a r t s breathing out he has t o go on till he's f inished. And then when he t r i e s t o breathe out a second time--

Mrs. Meso: --he's got no more air l e f t . 26

The humour of the Meso-Ecto in ter ludes that intertwine through the play

with those of the men has the s ingle purpose of soc ia l s a t i r e . Except

f o r the mention of a "cosmic ru t" i n which one of the husbands believes

himself t o be enveloped there i s no metaphysical implication, and even

i n t h i s case the idea of "cosmic" i s completely submerged i n the mechanism

of the clich;.

Meanwhile, Cerebra's log ic ca r r ies him t o fur ther absurd conclusions

on the nature of whatever l i e s i n the hole. His theory of the golf

game i s l og i ca l l y contrived--"a legit imate inference." But, when he

has exploded the golf theory, Cerebra t r i e s t o firmly es tab l i sh "a

comprehensive hypothesis which w i l l account for the presence i n a s ingle

bind h i s conclusions ( thus i l l u s t r e t i ng the fal laciousness of fault^"

reasoning), Endo i s carr ied along by the former ' s argument through

h i s sheer i n a b i l i t y t o form a counter-argument. Endo i s a passive

c i t i z en who, aware of t he tyranny of h i s "supericrs," i s unable t o

261bid. , pp. 21-22.

- 83 - i s o l a t e the tyraxny and a t t ack it. He must therefore cocdescend t o a

submissiveness t hz t f o s t e r s domination by Cerebra. Through the caricature

of Cerebro, Simpson personifies the contradictory norms of a h ~ ~ o c r i t i c a l

society, which norms feed the comic s p i r i t of h i s play.

The re l ig ious r e c i t a l of the creed according t o the Aquarium

Tr in i t y i s l e s s a reference t o Christ ian l i t u r g y than t o newly-fledged

p o l i t i c a l ideologies 2nd national a~thems. The re l ig ious reference

p a r a l l e l s the unthinking r e c i t a l of prepared verbiage t o s ign i fy be l i e f s

held. But t h i s reference equates p o l i t i c a l r e c i t a l and renders l i t t l e

d i s t i nc t i on between re l ig ion i n an ecc l e s i a s t i c a l sense or re l ig ion i n an

ideological sense. The hole has given r i s e t o several theor ies a l l of

which have been discarded i n favour of the Aquarium theory. A l l three

men agree on t he l a t e s t theory. But t h e i r agreement i s f a r from being

a mutual understanding. Cerebro accepts the philosophy of the aqu-arim

because h i s mind must categorize unknown phenomena and place them in to an

ordered and formulated context. Endo agrees with Cerebro because he i s

gu l l i b l e and unable t o i den t i fy or r e j e c t f au l t y inference. But Soma

plans simply t o d r ive Cerebro and Endo deeper i n t o t h e i r self-delusion.

Soma seeks t o des t roy reason f o r the sake of des t ruct ion, and is, con-

sequently a dangerous antagonist . He can change a. peaceful opinion irlto

h o s t i l i t y through appropriate in te r jec t ions . He need use only the

persuasion of disagreement:

Cerebro: He's harmless. Soma: He ' s dangerous. Endo and Cerebro: ( . . . a s though by r e f l ex ) He's dangerous.

28

- 84 - Soma's influence could cause mob violence as wel l among the Endo's as

among the Cerebra ' S. Cerebror s 'false reasoning causes his ~ l n e r a b i l f t ~

t o Soma's influence because any log ica l srgwLent looks good t o Cerebra

i ts frequent non-validity . Martin Ess l in likens Soma t o S t d i n

and Cerebra t o Marx. This comparison s t resses the gitf between theory

29 and pract ice . Cerebro forms a theory, and then imposes it On I3x-b

a t Soma's Urging. Soma has the v i r t u a l d i c t a t o r i a l supremacY OWX

Cerebra because he i s a man of act ion when ins t iga t ing revolutionary

influence. H i s "Stalinism" applies a s e l f i sh t r i ckery t o the honest,

but f a r c i ca l , attempts of Cerebra t o discover the truth--which evades

him due t o h i s l ack of r e a l in te l l igence. Cerebra p s t u l a t e s theor ies

t h a t can never be pract ised; but t ha t i s the pr iv i lege of the theoret ic ian .

H i s theor ies f a l l shor t when he considers them as t ru ths ra ther than

hY??otheses. Soma takes Cerebrofs theories and pushes them t o the point

of absurdity, and, a s Hme pushed Fnpiricism t o reduc t i i ad absurdam,

makes a mockery of ra t icnal iza ' t ion. I n t h i s presentat ion of c a h d a t e d

falsehood expressed by h i s car ica tures , Simpsoc subt ly implies the

dangers of f a l s e p o l i t i c a l ideology. If the sa$ire i s aimed a t r e l ig ion

it i s only a comic appra i sa l of the metaphysical "leaps of faith"

cha r ac t e r i s t i c of r e l i g ious cu l t s . But the darger of any "religion"

impl ic i t i n Simpson's s a t i r e l i e s i n the p o l i t i c a l manipulation of people.

Religion, l i k e r i g i d ideology, frequently b l inds i t s d i sc ip les t o rea l i ty

and, l i k e the Visionary's s tained-glass window, i s t rans lucent ra the r

than t ransparent . The viewers a re thus blinded t o fu r the r realizations

of consciousness because t h e i r perceptions a re ordered and not ~ e r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ y

29~SS l in , Mastin, The Theatre of the Absurd, ( revised and enlarged ed i t i on ) , Pelican Books ( ~ e a d i ng, 1968), p. 296.

created from r e a l i t y . The l i ng$ i s t i c representation of such blinding

H i s warning against such soc i a l and ideological opaqueness i s imps son's

pos i t ive presentation of the Theatre of the Absurd.

The "non-sequitur" i s an important l i n m i s t i c device i n simpson's

plays, espec ia l ly The Hole. Simpson uses the non-sequitur as a cur t

aphorism t h a t has extensive reference. The f i r s t use of a se r ies of

these aphorisms ca r r i e s the action t o an onomatopoeic climax:

Cerebro: He's s ignal l ing. Endo: He's tapping on the pipes. ..... Soma: He's i n s o l i t a r y confinement. Cerebro: He wants t o make contact. Endo: He's tapping out a messsge.

..... Soma: He's pacing up and down. Endo: He's been given s o l i t a r y confinement. Soma: He's got seven years. Engo: He's i n f o r three months. Soma: He's t ry ing t o make contact.

..... Endo: He's tapping. ' They foirnd him breaking and entering and

now they've put him inside. Soma: He's done wrong, and he 's chosen t o do it i l l e g a l l y ... 30

The brev i ty of the l i n e s bui lds tension and suggests a l o s s of control

by t he characters on themselves. Endo breaks the sequence with a longer

sentence and the t e n s i m i s temporarily broken. There follow the

individual react ions about jus t ice x h a e each character reveals the

dichotomy between sound moral pr inciples and s e l f i s h convenience.

For example:

Cerebro: I hold no b r i e f f o r sadism, but I can' t help thinking t h a t a good dose of old-fashioned t o r tu r e would have a l o t t o be sa id fo r it . 3 l

30~impson, N. . , op. c i t . , p. 23.

3%bid., p. 24.

a c iv i l i z a t i on gone mad: I

Endo: We must get out the reference books. Cerebro: We must look up har i -k i r i . Endo: Send fo r Whittakers. Soma: Look up voodoo. Endo: Send fo r d ic t ionar ies . Cerebro: They're a t av i s t i c . Soma: Send for maps. Cerebro: For d ic t ionar ies .

, . Endo: Encyclopedias. Cerebro: Their k i l l i n g t h e i r victim. Endo: They're i n a trance. Cerebro: I t ' s a r i t u a l dance. Endo: I t ' s f e t i s h i s t i c . Cerebro: Look up ~ a u - ~ a u . 3 3

Leaders a re needed a t t h i s juncture, but none are i n evidence. A l l

simulations a t cu l t iva t ion , c i v i l i t y , or refinement a re l o s t i n a fervour

of madness; Soma, as an ins t iga tor of rebel l ion and a p o l i t i c a l a r son is t ,

s t imulates the frenzy by c r i e s of "Forward!" And when a workman emerges

from the hole and announces t ha t he has been working on a junction box,

Soma t r i e s t o make Cerebro r e j e c t the f ac t t ha t has now destroyed a l l

of the l a t t e r ' s f l o r i d in terpreta t ions:

Soma: ... what happens i f these ideas be n t o take hold? What s o r t of anchor have you got l e f t ? %

But Cerebro maintains support f o r h i s s c i e n t i f i c in te rpre ta t ion , while

Soma summarizes the consequences of the manifestation which Endo and the

two women accept. The Visionary, however, remains uninfluenced. - The

Hole i s an absurdis t rendit ion of the f o l l i e s of individuals t ha t a re - magnified i n t o the f o l l i e s of a society. To derive s e t messages from the

play would be t o fabr ica te "answers1' i n the same Way tha t Cerebro fab-

r i c a t e s golf games and f i s h aquariums. But the play through sardonic

3 3 ~ b i d . , pp. 30-31.

341bid. , p. 35.

- 88 - implication i s a successful s a t i r e which allows the thea t re t o a c t as

I

the medium f o r soc i a l c r i t i c i sm.

One Way Pendulum was f irst produced i n December 1959 a t Brighton's

Theatre Royal. The cur ta in opens on tkLree "centra l ly placed weighing

machines." Machine number one i s obstrusive and "flamboyantly ugly"

while the other twc mzchines a r e smaller. Kirby Groomkirby then enters

with an adjus table music stand t h a t supports no music but Kirby ad jus t s

i t s height nonetheless. Kirby proceeds t o i n s t ruc t number one machine

i n the e s s en t i a l s of a.n;usical sca le , because he presumes t h a t any

machine t h a t can speak a weight can surel) sing. The machine a t f i r s t

cooperates but soon r eve r t s t o i t s natura l incl inat ions and speaks

" f i f t een s to re ten pounds." Sa t i s f i ed t ha t the other machines a r e

prepared t o perform correct ly , Kirby taps h i s baton on t he stand and

row upon row of weighing machines appear projected on a r ea r screen.

The complete mechanics1 choir then launches " fc l l - th -oa ted ly" i n t o a

rendi t ion of the Halalujah Chorus, and Kirby conducts them with "splendid

panache." The grandeur of the occasion i s spoiled, however, by the

renegade number one machine t h a t exudes metal l ic noises during the

appreciat ive s i l ence which follows the climax.

The comedy and t h e a t r i c a l i t y of the opening scene a r e e a s i l y

appreciated. But Sinpson has produced more than mere comedy by the

design of an important rela, t ionship between man atzd machine. Groomkirby's

log ic has been d i s t o r t ed i n i t s deduction from a misleading prenise t o

an absurd conclusion as he supposes t h a t a weight-speaking machine must

have humano-mechanical a b i l i t i e s t o i n t e rp r e t orders and sing. It is

- 89 - the paradoxical revelat ion of how the mechanical qua l i t i e s of a man's

mentality can work i n r e la t ion t o a humanly programmed machine. Non-

cooperation on the par t of the large machine i s the r e s u l t of a stubborn I

nature within the machine and something tha t w i l l be eliminated through

practice--not by the turning of a d i a l . The very ac t of conducting

presupposes t ha t the machines can somehow v isua l ize the emotive wishes

of the conductor. The intermingling of human and mechanical character-

i s t i c s i n both the machines and Groomkirby are evidence of Simpson's

concern with the automatic habits of people i n general and Br i t i sh

suburban dwellers i n pa r t i cu la r . The comic presentation does not bel ie

o r preclude subs tan t ia l soc ia l relevance. Groomkirby maintains a pa r t i a l

control over the machines, but he himself can only ea t t o the sound of

a cash r eg i s t e r b e l l without which he would s tarve i n Pavlovian f rus t re t ion.

There i s no foreseeable problem of the s t i f l i n g pro l i fe ra t ion of

physical objects as there i s i n Ionesco's h he cha i r s ) Les Chaises

or Le Nouveau Locataire he New Tenant. ) . Instead, the fea r of Mrs.

Groomkirby i s t h a t the f ive hundred machines w i l l accumulate dust and

become too noisy fo r a peaceful neighbourhood. She i s not concerned

with the psychological implications of having the machines i n her house--

or several cars i n t he garage for t h a t matter. Nor i s the re a.ny parental

concern fo r Kirby's complete dependence on machines as a means fo r

existence.

I n a l l i t s humour, the f i r s t scene of t he play i s an important

reference t o the re la t ionsh ip between Man, machine, and a mechanical

society. Logic i s a mechanical reasoning, and Kirby uses it ad absurdam-

His invalid conclusions are the resu l t of an imperviousness t o hu.IIIan

feeling and the monstrosity of inhumanity i s i n the end revealed

as the cause of multi-murders t o sa t i s fy his f e t i sh t o wear black--but

not without cause. By a similar crooked logic, the Court exonerates

Kirby because he has used reason in the sa t is fact ion of h i s fe t ish . Tfle

Court i s a l so the defender of reason and Simpson here more nearly implies

r e s t of h i s milder soc ia l s a t i r e .

The second scene adds a new dimension t o the individual idiosyn-

cras ies of t he characters. Each has h i s own personal preoccupation,

but none of these a re of any in te res t t o other members of the Groom-

kirby family. Each person i s isolated i n se l f - in te res t . While Mrs.

the family, they a re unaware of i t s significance as a loss of love and

on the surrounding society:

Mrs. Groomkirby: Cluttering up the place. What with Kirby ups ta i r s and him down. Never speaking t o each other from one week's end t o the next. 3 5

whether people o r objects are i n the way. I n t h i s family, people appear

t o be i n the way, and objects co l lec t dust . The recognition of t h i s

r e a l i t y i n the play gives force and dimension t o Simpsonrs adro i t soc i a l

awareness.

35~imPson, N. F. , One Way Pendulum, Faber and Faber ondo don, 1-960), ' P - 17.

- 91 - Do's and Don'ts f o r - Dovetai lers--convenient ly capsulized formulae

I

applicable t o a strange r e a l i t y . Mrs. Groomkirby i s enveloped i n her

ro le a s housewife; ".. .something e l s e for me t o dust , I expect.. ." She sees co fu r ther significance i n anything around her.

Aunt Mildred i s forced by physical d i s a b i l i t y t o remain i n a wheel-

chair . But a t r a v e l brochure takes her thoughts t o the Outer Hebrides

and from there t o a ceaseless l i s t of fur ther des t inat ions . The contrast

between physical d i s a b i l i t y and s p i r i t u a l res t lessness i s s ign i f ican t

a s wel l t o the family a s t o Mildred hersel f . A l l a re soc i a l l y i so la ted

and l imited by t h e i r introverted natures, but a l l have a de s i r e t o

achieve some goal--no matter how ridiculous t h i s goal may be. Sylvia,

for example, i s aware of the force driving Kirby, and she disapproves of

it. The inherent tragedy l i e s i n the f u t i l e r e s u l t s of otherwise po ten t ia l ly

constructive imaginations. Kirby i s unaware of the significance of h i s

actions and I s impotent as a human being, because he cannot recognize the

perspective of h i s act ions . I n other words, Kirby i s completely unaware.

Sylvia herself i s d i s s a t i s f i ed with her s i t ua t i on and keeps a sku l l on

the mantlepiece t o remind her of death ("not a l l t h a t much") but has

no idea of death as a concept o r even as a r e a l i t y . Death i s merely

another happening i n l i f e brought on by the mechanico-fatal p lo t t ings

of time and i s as much of a nuisance as Sy lv ia ' s pass iv i ty t o it, but

both people a re a s contrary t o l i f e as a creat ive force as death i t s e l f .

The mention of death i n Simpson has not i n any way the significance of

death i n Ionesco. The facing of death i n Tueur sans Gages i s deeply

personal and metaphysically f i n a l . Death i n Simpson i s relegated t o

- 92 - the d i s t o r t i ons of the soc i a l and metaphysical deser t i n which h i s

I

characters wander.

Money i s important t o t h i s play as it i s t o capitalism. Kirby's

food b e l l nust be t he b e l l of a cash r e g i s t e r , and he must feed. money

i n t o h i s machines-which, l i k e men, w i l l only work f o r pecuniary reward.

His fa ther places money i n to a row of parking metres and waits f o r the

time t o expire so t h a t he can get h i s money's worth of time as wel l as

regain t he expenditure. The l a s t example i s a b l a t an t example of

Simpson's c r i t i c a l mind--with money and time as the c r i t e r i a of the l i ve s

of most people creat ive a c t i v i t y and p h i l a n t h r o ~ y remain outside the

average imagination ( o r lack of it.) But while money w i l l ~ ~ a a i p u l a t e

men and machines a l i k e , the laws of Xature a re unbribable. b I r . Gridlake

cannot defy death by placing h i s sk i s on backwards and ski ing i n to a

t r e e , nor can M r . Gantry f a l l off a c l i f f and land harder just because

he has made a mathematical m i sca l cu l a t i~n . The i.nference from th i s i s

t h a t man i s subservient t o the r e a l i t i e s of h i s natural ewironment, and

t h a t obeisance t o a r t i f i c i a l fabr icat ions i s z contort ion leading t o

d i s a s t e r .

The in tervent ion of the Court i n Act Two brings the outside world

i n to the l i v ing room of the Groomkirby household. The lav , a mechariical

force working under spec i f ic ru les t o control the na tura l ly a2archic

act ions of the human being i n an e x i s t e n t i a l s i tua t ion , becones the

icon of o f f i c i a l clich; i n the s a t i r e of the playwright. The court

scene becomes tedious i n length and i r re levan t i n substance, and, wliile

e f fec t ive i n i t s c r i t i c i sm of " legal i ty" , suggests an imposition by

36 the playwright on h i s subject . The Court i n i t s rat ionalisni recog- ,

nizes Kirby's logicalbehaviour i n preparing a reason f o r wearing

black clothes of mourning. Because he has acted i n such an exemplary

and r a t i ona l way Kirby i s found innocent of any reprehensible crime

despi te the c r imina l i ty and mu.rderousness of h i s p lo t .

Judge: ... A s for your des i re t o f ind a l og i ca l p re tex t , t h i s i s the one redeeming feature I have been able t o f ind i n t h i s case. ... You began a few months ago by t e l l i n g your f i r s t joke t o your vict im and then s t r i k i n g him with an i ron bar . What d id you get out of it? The excuse t o wear black f o r for ty-e ight hows? ... And so it has gone on: vict.im a f t e r vict im.. . . . .I have 'been influenced by one considerat ion, and it f o r one crime, we may the law i n respect t o otherwise have become cheated i n t h i s way.

Kirby's pantomime of l i f e has been

i s t h i s : t h a t i n sentencing a man be putt ing him beyond the reach of those other crimes of which he might qu i l ty . The law. . . is not t o be I s h a l l therefore discharge yol~. 3 7

completely preoccupied wi th death,

and h i s ludicrous plan t o a t t r a c t mil l ions of people t o the North Pole

(by the music of h i s machines), causing an imbalance i n the Ear th ' s

ro ta t ion , makes a mockery of existence. Kirby i s a H i t l e r whose mega-

lomania i s grotesque, and Siinpson's presentat ion of such a cgioernetic

mind provides - One Way Pendulum with important psychological s ignif icence.

I f the i n a b i l i t y of the Court t o pronounce jus t i ce i s a conscicus c r i t i c i s n

by Simpson of the Eri7;ish system of law, then it ca r r i e s beyond t o

s a t i r i z e any o r g a ~ i z h t i o n where logic i s i n s t i t u t i ona l i z ed and worshipped

36 Simpson's personal imposition suggests a c e r t a i n d i s l i k e f o r

the s t e r i l i t y of law cour t s . While t h i s i s pe r fec t ly va l i d , it de t r ac t s from the natura l flow of the drama and tends t o beg the question as does John Osborne's interminable condemation of the Press i n Under P la in Cover.

I , pp. 91-92.

- 94 - 8s the accepted system of reason. Simpson's parad7 of the lax court

I

i s more a warning t o the human conscience that a condemnation of l ega l

i n s t i t u t i ons .

There are comparisons between Simpson's next play, _The for^, 38

and Ionesco's , La Leqon. La Leqon was f i r s t published i n June 1950,

and it i s p lausible t o suppose t ha t Simpson had a t l e a s t heard of it,

if not read it. There are 3vident para l l e l s betveen the two plays perhaps

the r e s u l t of impression ra ther than the direcc influence of Ionesco

on Simpson. Both plays begin i n charac te r i s t i c Ar i s to te l i an fashion

wi th a r i s i n g act ion and a clearly-defined antagonist-protagonist

re la t ionship . Also, both plays conclude a f t e r a c i rcu la r action has

reversed the re la t ionsh ip between characters. Language plays an

important pa r t i n the s imi l a r i t y betweec the plays. I n La L e ~ o n it

becomes what Es s l i n c a l l s "an instrument of power. '13' When t he play

ends i n the rape-nurder of the pupil , the nature of author i ty has beer1

revealed i n a l l I t s cruel ty . 'In The Form latiguage becomes an instrument

of meaningless verbal gymnastics where the su thor i ty of the questioner,

M r . Chacterson, has no e f f ec t on the respondant, M r . Whinby. Whinby

has already predicted the questions by preparation of the answers, and

h i s prolepsis c lever ly weakens the author i ty of Chacterson. I n La L e ~ o n

the pupi l i s f i n a l l y overcome by the "superiori ty" of the professor

whose overwhelming au thor i ty exercises a d i c t a t o r i a l control over her

3 8 ~ h e Form was f i r s t produced a t the Arts Theatre Club, I.on6on, i n January 1961, and l a t e r a t the Cri ter ion Thea.tre, February 1.961.

3 9 ~ s s l i n , Nartin, op. c i t . , p. 95.

- 95 -

freedom and ends i n her complete submission. The magnitude of author-

i t a t iveness i s r e l a t i v e t o the d i f fe ren t p o l i t i c a l contexts within which

Ionesco and Simpson a r e wri t ing, but the s t y l e of the absurd i s s imilar

i n the reversa l of protagonist/antagonist ro les and question/answer

ordering.

Whinby i n The Form i s reprimanded fo r being too exact i n h i s

f i l l i n g i n of t he form, a symbol of bureaucracy. . .

Chacterson: . , .Now, t e l l me, M r . Whinby--this form we asked you t o fill i n . You s t a t e here t ha t you were christened at two o'clock on the t en th of June nineteen t h i r t y e igh t . A Friday.

Whinby: That ' s right,. Chacterson: What we asked f o r , M r . Whinby, was an approximate date. Whinby: Oh. Chacterson: Two o'clock on Friday the t en th of June 1938

doesn ' t sound very apprcxiirate t o m e . Whinby: It doesn ' t , does it? How about s i x o'clock on Monday

the ninth of May. Chacterson: Yes, t ha t would s u i t us qu i te nicely. Any par-

t i c u l a r year? Whinby: You probably know more about these things than I do.

40

Whinby ' s cap i tu la t ion ( "YOU probsbly know more about these things than

I do " ) s ignals t he point where he takes over the i c i t i a t i v e from

Chacterson. Chacterson must make the next move, and, when he does,

Whinby poses an i r re levan t question. Chacterson must f ind out whether

Palmerston was "at the Forelgn Ofi'ice i n 1950" and. admit t o Vhinby,

"I think you may we l l be r igh t . " Af te r the blackout and Whinby's chsnge

t o protagonist , the reversa l of ro les can be traced t o the " c h r i s t e n k g

date." The profgssor of La Lecon gains s t rength as the unopposed

i n s t i ga to r of events, but Chacterson i s completely outwitted. His l o s s

40 Simpson, N . F . , The Form, Samuel French Ltd. ondo don, 1961)

p. 10.

- 96 - of au tho r i ty l i k e t h a t of a p o l i t i c a l p a r t y i n power becomes Whlnby's

I

gain. The r e v e r s a l of r o l e s f o l l ~ ~ s Ckactersonrs suggestion t h a t t he

quest ions be made t o f i t the answers--"Thatfs your t roub le a t t h e

moment. You're paying too much a t t e n t i o n t o the quest ions ." If t he

answers a r e presumed t o 5e more important than t h e quest ions, then the

answerer w i l l dominate by begging t h e quest ion, a l o g i c a l f a l l a c y , and

t h e exerc ise becomes an a p o s t e r i o r i form. Expressed t h e a t r i c a l l y ,

t h e quest ioner and answerer change places a s t he r e l a t i v e importarm

of t h e i r r o l e s a l t e r . Thus the two charac te rs become subserv ien t t o

t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c func t ions .

Chacterson: Once the r e p l i e s a r e l i n e d up, t h e quest ions fo .110~ na tu ra l ly of t h e i r own accord. (p . 14)

Whinby, now D r . Whinby, descr ibes mastery of the speaking voice a s

mastery of p i t c h , tone , volume and a r t i c u l a t i o n . He has become an expert

i n t h e form of language without any adherence t o i t s meaning. Language,

under a pre-ordained system of mearlirgl e s s symbols. His language i s

not a means of co-munication, bu t a means of g ~ i n i n g power. The

i z a t i o n of language and i t s subsequent dangers of tyranny. Thcugh

mild?r than Ionesco ' s implied s a t i r e i n I,a L e ~ o n Simpson's p l a y i s a

r e v e l a t i o n of t h e nechanical nature of bu reauc ra t i c s o c i e t y where

p o l i t i c a l power can be won o r l o s t i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e manipulation of .

ilk

- 97 - l i n g u i s t i c forms.

John Russell Taylor dismisses The Form as "a tiresome one-act

fantasy. '14' This evaluation f a i l s t o rea l ize t ha t the play i s an attack

on language a s a conclusive in terpreta t ion of ideas. As an example of

the Theatre of the Absurd the play qua l i f i es because of i t s d i s to r t ion

of the l i n g u i s t i c soc i a l context. ~ t s censure of question-answer

language forms resembles s t y l i s t i c a l l y La Cantatrice Chauve, La Leqon,

and Les Chaiseg, which f i r s t presented Ionesco's theory of languege

a s drama. The absurdi ty of Simpson's play l i e s , a s it does w i t h Iofiesco,

i n the use of language t o denigrate i t s e l f .

The Cresta Run was f i r s t performed by the English Stage Company

i n October 1965. ~t i s one of Simpson's l e s s successful plays, but

al ludes t o the s o c i a l s a t i r e t h a t the playwright creates a s warning t o

a vac i l l a t i ng socie ty . Leonard and L i l l i a n Fawcett a re s imp son's

perennial suburbanites. Their f ront door i s meticulously locked by

b o l t s and chains t o exclude burglers and other external dangers. The

outside world imposes i t s e l f on the quiet home of the Fawcetts i n the

Person of S i r Francis Harker, chief of a spy agency, who implicates the

couple if? an in t r igue involving the th rea t from a foreign power. While

Harker represents the establisl-meat of society, Le~na rd i s the i n S n l l

dragged i n t o the t en tac les of an organization t ha t can survive only

through h i s help. Leonard i s to ld t o accept an important sec re t capmule,

symbolic of " soc ia l responsabil i tyl ' , which i s a f i r s t s t ep t o h l s s e l f -

i n f l i c t ed and subsequent exp lo i ta t io :~ . His ul t imate humiliation i s

41 Taylor, J. R . , op. c i t . , p. 64.

- g8 - exemplified by an imminent parachute Jump in to e foreign sewer--%

pzrsonal debasement i n a hos t i l e arid a l i en environment. Only i r _ t he

end, when it i s already too l a t e , does Leonard r ea l i z e h i s p l igh t ;

If Then, l i k e a f l a sh , the t r u t h dawr~ed upon me! I had been poisoned."

Leonard i s the only Simpsonian character who comes close t o beirzg s e l f -

aware, bu t , unlike Berenger, he i s b l ind t o any r e su l t s deriving from

h i s temporary revela t ion.

I n The Cresta -- Run Simpson has added an important warning t o h i s

cha rac t e r i s t i c s a t i r e of suburban l iv ing. The outside world t h a t feeds

on the r e l i a b l e conformity of suburban l i f e can exploi t it t o t he point

of des t ruct ion. The S t a t e plays espionage gmes while business plays

cotlsumer games, and i n t he one the preservation of a way of l i f e i s

concerned while i n the other the sovereignty of the individual i s

threatened. Leonard, the gu l l ib le "hero", f a l l s from sel f - respect t o

abasement i n h i s jump from a i r c r a f t t o sewer. But l i k e the ~ 6 r e n ~ e r

of Tueur sans Gages, h i s epiphany dawns too l a t e .

John Russel Taylor, i n h i s disdain fo r The Form , qnotes the opinion

of c r i t i c Charles Marowitz who remarked t h a t "there i s about Simpson the

odour of c i v i l service 1 e v i . t ~ ; the kind of pun laden high-jinks one

associa tes with banter around the t e a t r o l l y and the f r o l i c s of Kin i s t ry

amateur soc i e t i e s . "42 "This seems t o me t o place him e ~ k t l ~ , ~ ' comments

Taylor. The t rouble wi th t h i s cr i t ic is in i s tha t both c r i t i c s have

taken Simpson too se r ious ly and a t Tace va.lue. It i s p rec i se ly the

"odour of c i v i l service levi ty" t h a t Simpson wishes h i s audience t o

sense. I n t h a t Government organization the reduction of the huian

421t id . , p. 64

- 99 -

s e n s i b i l i t y t o a cog i n the bureaucratic machine i s b l a t an t i n most I

countries i n t he worid. The theme of The Form and The Cresta Rm i s

t o b r ing the r e d u c t i i of the c i v i l service mental i ty ad absurdam.

It i s t he ordered automaton socie ty i n which men lose the de l i c a t e

balance between reason and feel ing and become automata t h a t Simpson

condemns i n h i s s a t i r e . His very background as schoolteacher and c i v i l

ser-~-&nt ensure h i s mimicry w i l l be based on famil iar ground. The method

of absurdity emplcjyed by Simpson w i l l exaggerate and d i s t o r t f o r e f f ec t

but it maintains i t s focus of a5tention. H i s technique of the absurd

i s the transmission of perceptions through hyperbolic impressions.

The Hole, f o r example, i s a v i sua l e f fec t material ized, and the non- --

sequi tur monclogues convey f l a sh impressions t o the audience. The

medium, therefore dramatizes the nessage, but the message i s non-

d e f i n i t i v e and nlu.st be conveyed as a c~mple te impression, however in fe r red

t o avoid the f i n a l statement o r moral t h a t both Ionesco and Simpon

consider i r r e l evan t and contrsry t o t h e i r ' ' responsabil i t ies" as plsy-

wrights. His a3surdis t plays are Sinpson's mthod of solving Man's

s t ruggle t o discover the r e a l i t y of Phenomena through t h e i r images.

Simpson's p~eoccupat ion with "mechanlcal m n " presents a d j x t x b i n g

cha rac t e r i s t i c o? hlmm netu-re, ever! though his plays never reach the

extreme of ~h inoc6 ros . His three new te lev i s ion plays We're Due i n - Eastbourne i n Ten M i n ~ t e s . The Best I Can Do by Way of a Gate-leg Table

i s a Hundredveight - of Coal. and A t Least I t ' s a P r e c a ~ t i o n Against F i r e , -

a l l concern the cybernetic suburban mediocrity of Simpson's perennial

Paradocks. Though they a re l e s s important than h i s major works so f a r

discussed and a.re hardly su i t ab le t o the s tage , de sp i t e t h e author 's

wish t h a t they be presented i n the l i v e thea t re , they add t o the v o l u ~ e I

of Simpson's s o c i a l s a t i r e .

Simpson i s an important soc i a l c r i t i c whose thea t re reveals 2

technique of understatement couched i n the r id iculous , which i s yet

comprehensible t o h i s audience. Eis c i v i l i t y cannot be mistaken fo r

weak wr i t i ng o r b l ind optimism--indeed h i s plays have ominous overtones.

But he seems t o c r ed i t h i s audience with a ready w i l l t o ameliorate the

soc i a l and personal d i s t o r t i o n s t h a t he sees and transmits so c lea r ly .

I n t h i s way, Simpson q u a l i f i e s as a plajwright wi th a pos i t ive a t t i t u d e

towards h i s a r t . A f u r t he r important achie-(rement t h e a t r i c a l l y i s the

academic comedy t h a t makes h i s plays en3oyable entertainments and holds

the a t t en t i on of the audience he hopes t o influence.

Simpson's s t y l e impresses on the reader an idea of the playwright

as an observant and i n t e l l e c t u a l l y humorous person who replaces clichgd

quests i n t o r e a l i t y wi th l e v i t y and opt imis t ic ob jec t iv i ty . Sinpson i s

a humorist, wr i t ing comedy i n an age where people appear t o have forgot ten

how t o laugh. He has intrcduced a personal s t y l e i n to the moGern E r i t i s h

t hea t r e , and h i s amusing plays are adaptable t o both s tage and te lev i s ion

--which renders them avei lable t o two d i f f e r en t audiences. I n bringing

h i s i n t e rp r e t a t i on of an in te rna t iona l " theat re of tke absurd" t o a

B r i t i s h context , Simpson i l l u s t r a t e s t ha t h i s t hea t r e i s not insu la r

o r provincia l but designed f o r humanity i n general. I n f a c t , Sinpson's

s o c i a l c r i t i c i sm i n only on the surface a comment on h i s own country.

His plays demonstrate Man i n r e l a t i on t o himself and h i s envirorment and

may la. ter , a s wi th Ionesco, extend i n t o the realm of metaphysiczl

invest igat ion. Simpson's plays a re statements on Man's pos i t ion as an

- 101 - e x i s t e n t i a l and s o c i a l creature , and it i s i n t h i s t h a t Simpson's

s ignif icance as a developing a r t is; l i e s . H i s sympathy f o r h i s follow

human beings revea l s t h e pos i t ive a t t i t u d e of a playwright who only

condemns the dehumanizing elements ~f individual pe rsona l i t i e s without

condemning the pe r sona l i t i e s themselves. Simpson's humanism pervades

h i s work.

It i s only i n t he l a s t few years t ha t S i ~ s o n has 12ft h i s school

teaching t o devote h i s time t o p l a ~ w r i t i n g , but , from what he has wr i t t en

so f a r , it i s foreseeable t h a t Simpson might soon be recognized as one

of t h e modern t h e a t r e ' s important soc i a l s a 5 i r i s t s .

CONCLUSION I

Once again, do I r e a l l y want salvation?--I was going t o say: do

I r e a l l y want t o be saved? but t h a t suggests'seeking s a f e ty ' , ' r u n n i n g

away'. Do I r e a l l y want t o f i l f i l myself, t o know myself r e a l l y? T c

be t r u l y master of my l i f e and of my death, o r e l se do I simply want

t o produce, t~ go on producing, l i t e r a t u r e ?

-I3ug;ne Ionesco

SEUCTEE BIBLIOGRAPHY I

BOOKS

Artaud, Antonin. The Theatre and i t s Double, Grove Press, Inc. (New York, 1958).

Barraul t , Jean-Louis. Trans. Joseph Chiari , The Theatre of Jean-Louis Barraul t , H i l l and Wang (New York, 1959). -

Beigbeder , Marc. Le ~ h & t r e en France depuis l a ~ i b j r a t i o n (Bordas , Par i s , 1959).

Benedikt, Michael, andwellwarth, G. E. Modern French Theatre, E . P. Dutton & Co., Inc , (New York, I-).

Benmussa, Sirnone. ~ u ~ $ n e Ionescc: ~ h 6 g t r e de tous i e s temps, Edit ions Seghers (pa r i s , 1966).

Bentley, Er ic . T'ne Playwright as Thinker, Neridian Books ( ~ e w York, 1955).

Chiar i , J o s e ~ h . The Conte~porary French Theatre. The F l igh t from Na%uralisn!, Macmillan Co. (New York, 1958).

Coe, Richard M. --3 Ionesco Grove Press, Inc. ( ~ e w York, 1961). (Edinburgh B London: Oliver and Boyd, 1961. #5 i n "Writers and c r i t i c s " ) .

Cole, Toby, ed. P1a.b-:;::rights on Playwrlting, K i l l and Wa>g ( ~ e w York, 1965).

Corrigan, R. W . ----- The A r t of the Theatre: P. CrlCUical Anthology 02 Drama, ed. Robert W . Corrigan and Jaxe.; L. Hosenberg, Chandler Publishing Compzny an Francisco, 1964).

Ess l in , Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd, - Doubleday (Garden City: New York, 1961) .

. --- The Theatre of the ASsurd, revised azd enlarged edi.tion, Pe1ica.n ( ~ ~ ~ d o n , 1968) .

Fergus sc~ , Francis. The I&ea .------ of a Theake 2 Doubleday, (Garden City, N2w York, 1961).

Fowlie, Wallace. Age of Sur.real.ism, Swallow Press, a d W i l l i a m M~rrow and Co., Inc . (1350).

. D5 oaysus i n Pa r i s , Meridian ( ~ e w Ycrk, 1960) . - ---

Gascoigne, Baniber. Twentieth Centurjr Drama, Eutchinson ondo don, 1962). I

Gassner, John. The Theatre i n our Times, Crown Publishers, Inc . (New York, 1954) .

. Form and Idea i n Modern Theatre, Dryden Press (New Yxk, 1956). - -

. A Treasury of Theatre, revised edi t ion, Simon and Schuster ( ~ e w ~ o r k , 1 9 6 3 ) . ( ~ h e cha i r s ) .

. Dramatic Soundings, Crown Publishers, Inc . (New York, 1968).

Grossvogel, Da;.ld I. The Self-Conscious -- Stage i n Modern French Drama, Columbia Univ. Press (NEW York, 1958).

a l so 20th Century Drama, Columbia Univ. Press ( ~ e w York, 1958). - Grossvogel, David I. Four Playwrights and a Post-Script , Cornell Univ.

Press ( I thaca , New York, 1962).

. The Blasphemers, Cornell Ur,iv. Press ( ~ t h a c a , New York, 1965) . Guicharna~d, Jacques. Modern French Theatre from Giraudoux t o Secket t ,

Yale Univ. Press ( ~ e w Saven, Conn., 1968).

Hobson, Harold. The French Theatre of Today, Harrap o on don, 1953).

Jacobsen, Zose~hine and Mueller, William R. Ionesco -- and Genet: Flavtn5ghts of Silence, H i l l and Wane; (New York, 1968). - 2.-

Kerr, W . Theatre i n Sp i te of I t s e l f , Simon and Schuster (1963), pp. 112-116.

Lewis, Allan. --- T k Conteqarary Theatre, Th? Sknnificant P l a p ~ r i g h t s of' Our T h e Crown Publishers, Inc . (hew 'fork, 1966) . - --,

Lurnley, Frederick. Trends i n Twentieth Century Drama, Essen t ia l Books ( ~ z L r Lami, 8 . J . , 1956) .

Peyre, Henri. Contem~crarjr French Li tera ture : C r i t i c a l Anthologx, Hal-per & Row ( ~ e w York, 1964) .

Pronko, Leonard C . Avant-Garde: The Experimental Theatre i n France-, Univ. of C d i f o r n i a Press (serkely , Ca l i f . , 1.962).

Reinent , 0 t t o , ed . ilra?;a, an introductory anthology, L i t t l e , Brcwn ( ~ o s t o n , 138. (The ~ e s s o n ) .

Sereau, Genevieve. His toi re 2u "nouveau th&.tref', Ga,llimard (pa r i s , 1966) .

Sontag, Susan. Against In te rpre ta t ion , Delta B ~ o k s (new York, 1966) . 1

Unanov, Barry, ed. Nakers cf the Mdern Theatre, McGraw-Hill (~ew York, 1961) . ( ~ K ~ a l d Soprano) .

Vos, Nelvin. The Drama of Comedy: Vict in and Victor, John Knox Press (Richmond, W . Va. , 1967).

Wellwarth, George E. The Theatre of Pro tes t and Paradox: Developments i n the Avant-Guarde Drama, New York Univ. Press ( N ~ W York, 1964)

W i l l i a m , Raymond. E rma from ibsen t o Brecht, revised (London, 1968), PP. 296-299.

I

Ionesco, ~ u ~ k n e . ~hf%tre 1. Gallirnard, Pa r i s , 1954. (contains: La Cantatr ice Chauve; La Lepon; Jacques ou l a Somiss ion; Les Chaises; Victimes du Devoir; ~ne'de'e ou Comnent

Th&re 11. Gallimard, Pa r i s , 1458. (contains: L'Impr~mptu de llAlma; Tueur sans Gages; Le N G U V P ~ S loca ta i re ; L'Avenir e s t dans l e s Oeufs; Le ~ a ? t r e ; La Jeune F i l l e 'a ~ a r i e r ) .

The'gtre 111. Galiimard , Par i s , 1966. . ,A -

(Contains: Rhinoce'ros; Le ~ i e ' t o n de 1 ' A i r ; 3e ' l i re 'a Deux; Le Tableau; ~c;ne Quatre; Les Salutat ions; La ~ o l ; r e ) .

Thggtre I V . Gallimard , Par i s , 1366. (contains: Le Roi se Meurt; La Soif e t l a Faim; La Lacune; Le Salon de LfAutomobile; LfOeuf Dur; Pour ~ r d p r e r un Oeuf Dur; Le Jeune Hommex a Marier; Apprendre k Marcher) .

Le Roi s e Meurt. GallirriarS, Pa r i s , 1953.

Three Plays: Amedee, The New Tenant, Victims of Duty. Trans. Donald Watson. Grove Press , Inc . , New York, 1958.

Four Plays: The Bald Soprano, The Lesson, Jack or the Sxbnissio? - - 1 -. 9

The Chairs. Trans. Donald M. Allen. Grove Press, I c c . , E ~ w Sork, 19$8.

~hinoce'ros: pi:ce en t r o i s a,ctes e t quatre tableaux. Gdlinisrd, - Par i s , 1959.

The K i l l e r and B t k r Plays. Trans Doneld 14. Watson. Gro-$re I r ? s a , - ---- Inc . , New York, 1960. (~nc lud ing : Iniprovisation or The Sne?%erd ' s Chameleon, and Maid t o ~ a r r ~ ) .

Ex i t the Kicg. Trans. Donald Watson. Grove Press , Inc . , New --- York, 1963.

The Motor S h w . Trans. Donald Watson. Evergreen Nevietr, 3 2 : April-May, 1964.

La Photo du Colonel. Gallimard, Par i s , 1962.

The Colonel 's Photograph. Trans Jean Stewart (except for Tt12 - - S t r o l l e r i n the A i r , t r ans . John uss sell) . Faber, Lcndon, 1967.

Notes et Contre-n2tes. -- Librai re Gal l iar rd , Pa r i s , 1962.

Iocesco, ~ u ~ z n e . Notes and Counternotes. Trans. Donald Watson. Grove Press, Inc . , New York, 1964.

Journal er, EiFettes. Mercure de -

-ent s o l a Journal. Trans. Inc . , New York, 1968.

France, Par i s , 1967.

Jean Stewart. Grove Tress,

A S t r o l l i n the A i r , Frenzy fo r Two. Trans. Donald Watson. Grove Press , I nc . , New York, 1968.

~ r e ' s e n t pass; passe' pre'sent . Mercure de France, Pa r i s , 1968.

Del i re ?L deux. Gallitnard, Pa r i s , 1966.

- 108 - CIIITICAL ARTICLES

Abirached, 11. "Ionesco e t 'Les Chaises' ," Les Etudes, Par i s , 290 (1965), 116-120.

- . " ~ h i n o c k o s d '~ug$ne Ionesco," Les Etudes, Par i s , 304 (1960), 341-394.

- . "~onesco e t l 'obsess ion de l a Mort," Les Etudes, Pa r i s , 317 (19631, 88-91.

- . " ~ e duel e t l a mort chez Ionesco," Cahiers Renaud-Barrau3t , 53 (I-966), 21-25.

?? . Ionesco, pe l e r i n de l 'absolu," Nouvelle Revue Francaise, x iv , ( m a i , 1966), 876-881.

Anouilh, Jean. "Du Chapitre des Chaises," Le Figaro, Par i s (23 a v r i l , 1956)

Arrevalo, Martinez. L i te ra tu re of the Absurd, Palau de Nemes, Graciele, Americas, x v i i (February, 1964), 6-10. (On E l honbre que parecia un Caballo and Ionesco's ~hinoce'i-0s).

Aubarede , Gabriel 3 ' . "Une Heure avec Ionesco, " Nouvelles L i t t 6 r a l r e s -9

1 ( 8 mars, 1962), 7.

Barbour, Thomas. "Beckett & Ionesco," Hudson Review, 11 (Surrmer, 1958), 271-277.

Barjon, L . "Un sage en habi t de fou: Ionesco," Etudes, CCCI (1960), 306-318.

Ba t a i l l e , Nicolas. "La Ba t a i l l e de l a Cantatr ice," Cahiers ~ P S Saisons, -- Par i s , 15 ( ~ i n t e r , 1959).

Bentley, E r i c . "Io;?esco, playwright of the fifties," Columbia L~L Da:l~r Spectator, New York (11 March, 1958).

Blau, Herbert. "Meanwhile Follow the Bri.g!lt Angels," Tulane Dram _Seviev (~ep tember , 1960).

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Cahiers des Saisons. Ionesco issue, 15 (Winter, 1959). - --

~he '$ t re de France. Vols. I V & VI.

~he ' g t r e Populaire. "Du ~ c t 6 de l'avant-garde," 18 ( ~ a y 1, 1956).

Times L i t e r s r y Supplement. Last Things F i r s t ( ~ c t o b e r 31, 1968): (A V 4 review of ~ug;ne Ionesco's ~ r 6 s e n t passg passe p resea t ) .

Tulane Drama Revi.ew. Ionesco and Genet Issue, VII, 3 (spr ing, 1963).

Yale French Studies. New dramatists i ssue, 29 (1962).

America. Exit tne King, 109 (~overnber 2, 1963), 512-514; ~ h i n o c g r o s , 104 (January 28, 1961), 576-577; ~hbnoc&os, 104 (February 11, 1961) , 593.-595.

Catholic World. The Bald So?rano, 187 (August, 1958), 387; The Chairs, 186 arch, 1958), 469; The Lesson, 186 arch, 1958), 469.

Time. The Chairs, 71 (January 20, 1958), 42; - The Lesson, 71 (January 20, 1958), 42; ~h inoc&os , 75 ( ~ a y 23, lg60), 56; ~ h i n o c d r o s , 77 (January 20, 1961), 77.

Chris t ian Cen%ury. The Chairs, 75 (January 29, 1958), 137.

Hu-dson Review. Rhinocgros, 14 ( ~ ~ e r , 1961), 260.

I l l u s t r a t e d London News. Jacques, 237 ( Ju ly 23, 1960), 162; The Lesson, 226 arch 26, 1955); The New Tenant, 229 (~ovember 17, 1956), 854.

Life . Three Kings i n Bedlam ( ~ e b r u a r y 2, 1968).

Nation. The Chsirs , 185 ( Ju ly 6, 1957), 17; --- 4 Exi t the King, 156 (January 19, 1963), 57-58; Jacques, 187 (August 2, 1958), 59; The Lesson, 186 ( ~ a n u a r y 25, 1958), 87; ~ h i n o c 6 r o s , 192 ( January 221, 1961), 85-86.

New RepibiFc. ~ h i n o e d r o s , 144 (January 30, 1961), 22-23. c

National Review. Rhkoc&cs, 10 a arch 11, 1961)~ 157-158. . . --------- - .. I ,

New Statesman. The Chairs, 53 ( ~ a y 25, 1957), 669; 1, Exi t The King, 66 ( ~ e p t e n b e r 13, 1963), 330;

Rhinoceros, 59 (May 7, 1960), 666.

New Yorker. The Chairs, 33 (January 18, 1958), 68; Exi t The King, 38 ( ~ a n u a r y 12, 1963), 102; The K i l l e r , 36 (Apri l 2, 1960), 82; The Lesson, 33 ( ~ a n u a r y 18, 1958), 68; The Lesson, 39 (~eptember 28, 1963)~ 96; Rhinoceros, 36 ( ~ a y 28, 1960) , Rhinoceros, 36 (January 21, 1961)~ 66; Victims of Duty, 40 ( ~ u n e 6 , 19641, 68-89.

Newsweek. The Baid Soprano, 62 (~eptomber 30, 1963j, 60.

The Pedestrian - of the A i r . 63 arch 16, 1964)) 96-97.

Saturday Review. The Chairs, 41 (January 25, 1958), 26; L b The Ki l l e r , 43 (Apri l 9, ig60), 37;

The Lesson, j + 1 (Jsnaar;r 25, 1958) , 26; The Pedestrian of the A i r , 45 ( ~ e b r u z r y 5 , 1366), 53; Rhinoceros, 44 (January 21, 1561) , 57.

Sewanee Review. Rhinoceros, 69 (Spring, ig6~ j , 341. u

Spectator. Exi t The King, 211. (~eptember 6 , 1963), 292; Rhinoceros, 204 (May 6, 1960)~ b61.

Theatre -- Arts . The Chairs, 42 arch, 1958), 14; \+ Exit The King, 48 (January, 1964), 31-32; The Lesson, L2 arch, 1558), 14; Rhinoceros, 45 (March, 1961) , 9- 13.