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Samuel Beckett's Humour Samuel Beckett’s Humour: Attuning Philosophy and Literary Criticism Doctor of Philosophy Department of Philosophy Michela Bariselli November 2018 i Declaration of Original Authorship. I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. Michela Bariselli ii iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Max De Gaynesford and Dr Mark Nixon, for all the support and insightful feedback. I am particularly grateful to Max for guiding me in every aspect of my academic development, and for letting me ‘explore’ in my research. This thesis would have not been possible without his guidance, his vision and, more importantly, his patience. I am also thankful to my colleagues in the Philosophy Department and to those from the Beckett community at Reading for all the lively discussion and helpful comments. My academic experience would have not been so positive without the amazing support of Helen and Nicky, who constantly make sure that the Graduate School is a perfect working space. I am also thankful to all the friends and colleagues that over the years have used a desk in F10 for turning an office in a precious supporting environment. I was lucky enough to find good friends in Reading who have made my PhD journey less lonely and, more importantly, have made me feel at home. Amongst others, thanks to Josh, Sarah, Natalia, Neha, Barrie, Merve, Adnan, Esther, Antonio and Amin for all the sport, laughs, food, coffee and Park House nights. I am grateful to my friends in Italy for staying with me, regardless of the distance. To Luisa, I probably owe much more than what I realise. Her friendship has been a haven in a time when much was an open question; thanks for holding on to me. Finally, I am thankful to my family for the reassuring feeling of knowing that I had a home where I could return. To my parents, for teaching me endurance and resilience, and for their continuous support. My thoughts also go to my grandparents, Angelo and Maria, who passed away during the PhD and who taught me the beauty of simple things. iv v ABSTRACT This thesis explores and describes the comic features of Samuel Beckett’s prose works. It explores fundamental questions about Beckett’s humour. On the one hand, it investigates the nature of humour, and, on the other, it investigates what counts as humour in Beckett. This twofold investigation requires ‘attuning’ philosophy and literary criticism, where questions and tools of each discipline mutually sharpen and refine each other. Chapter 1 evaluates philosophical accounts of humour and identifies Incongruity Theory as the theory offering the best account of humour. According to this theory, a necessary and not sufficient condition for comic amusement is the perception of an incongruity. Chapter 2 starts exploring what counts as humour in Beckett by examining where comic incongruities are located. By doing so, this chapter puts the Incongruity Theory to the test, and, evaluates the analytical tools ordinarily used in describing humour. This exploration uses Ruby Cohn’s seminal description of Beckett’s humour as a springboard. This chapter individuates a comic layer which Cohn’s description has overlooked – the ‘comic of language acts’. Chapter 3 analyses Beckett’s texts in order to describe the comic devices that depend on the (mis)performance of language acts. In order to do so, the discussion makes use of Austin’s Theory of Speech Acts. As a result, this chapter develops a set of tools able to capture ‘the comic of language acts’, a comic layer which crucially shapes Beckett’s writing. Chapter 4 demonstrates how to make use of the set of tools developed in Chapter 3 by examining three key works of Beckett – More Pricks than Kicks, Watt, and Molloy. This examination leads to the individuation of three movements at the level of illocutionary acts – ‘twists’, ‘convolutions’, and ‘oscillations’ – which are informative of Beckett’s writing and of the experience of reading these works. vi vii Contents INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Asking Fundamental Questions .................................................................................................. 1 2. The Project: Its Aim, Scope and Nature...................................................................................... 7 PART 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter 1: What is Humour? ............................................................................................................ 13 1.1 Preliminary Distinctions and Criteria of Assessment of Humour Theories ............................ 13 1.2 Humour Theories .................................................................................................................... 17 1.2.1 Superiority Theory ........................................................................................................... 17 1.2.2 Release or Relief Theory .................................................................................................. 23 1.2.3 Incongruity Theory .......................................................................................................... 29 1.3 Comic Amusement .................................................................................................................. 38 1.4 Additional Considerations on the Theories ............................................................................. 43 Chapter 2: Locating Beckett’s Humour ............................................................................................ 46 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 46 2.2 Cohn’s and Bergson’s Classifications of Comic Devices ....................................................... 50 2.3 Comic of Situation .................................................................................................................. 59 2.3.1 Comic of Plot ................................................................................................................... 59 2.3.2 Comic of Sequences ......................................................................................................... 63 2.4 Comic of Character ................................................................................................................. 68 2.4.1 Caricatures and Types ...................................................................................................... 70 2.4.2 The Intellectual and the Artist .......................................................................................... 76 2.5 Comic of Language ................................................................................................................. 81 2.5.1 Internal incongruity .......................................................................................................... 82 2.5.1.1 Linguistic Inversions and Jargon .............................................................................. 82 2.5.1.2 Contradictions ........................................................................................................... 83 2.5.1.3 Repetitions ................................................................................................................ 84 2.5.1.4 Mathematical Series .................................................................................................. 86 2.5.1.5 Rhetorical Figures and Literalism ............................................................................. 88 2.5.1.6 Shock Laughter ......................................................................................................... 91 2.5.2 External Incongruity ........................................................................................................ 94 2.5.2.1 Parody and Social Satire ........................................................................................... 96 2.5.3. Parenthetical Intrusions ................................................................................................... 99 Part 1 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 106 viii PART 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 109 Chapter 3: The Comic of Language Acts: Beckett’s Collection of Infelicities .............................. 109 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 109 3.2 Austin on Doing Acts in Speaking ........................................................................................ 112 3.3 Authority ............................................................................................................................... 116 3.3.1 Lack of Authority ........................................................................................................... 118 3.3.2 Inconsistent Illocutionary Acts ...................................................................................... 119 3.3.3 Stipulating ...................................................................................................................... 121
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