Quantum Theory and Samuel Beckett’s Endgame

With an especial focus on Endgame, the author demonstrates how a number of Beckett’s works exhibit a strong affinity with ideas put forth by quantum physicists in the early twentieth century. Many of Beckett’s novels present a failure of ontology and depict elements of discontinuity that appear to b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Configurations (Baltimore, Md.) Md.), 2021-06, Vol.29 (3), p.241-265
Main Author:	Brown, Paul Tolliver
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Absurdism Allusion Ambiguity Atoms & subatomic particles Beckett, Samuel (1906-1989) Democritus (460?-370?) Exegesis & hermeneutics Ideology Joyce, James (1882-1941) Leucippus Literary characters Literary criticism Literary devices Literary influences Literature Logic Narrative techniques Novels Ontology Philosophy Physicists Physics Quantum theory Short stories Writers
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Summary:	With an especial focus on Endgame, the author demonstrates how a number of Beckett’s works exhibit a strong affinity with ideas put forth by quantum physicists in the early twentieth century. Many of Beckett’s novels present a failure of ontology and depict elements of discontinuity that appear to be in direct conversation with discoveries in the subatomic universe, and these ideas culminate in his later play. The author argues that parody becomes a key component in Beckett’s conception of new form, and that he uses it to undermine traditional ways of ordering the universe, including humanist, religious, and empirical conceptions and beliefs. In their place, Beckett creates a world for his characters that embodies Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and Niels Bohr’s theory of complementarity.
ISSN:	1063-1801 1080-6520 1080-6520