Samuel Beckett born April 13, 1906.Was there one among them to put himself in my place, to feel how removed I was then from him I seemed to be, and in that remove what strain, as of hawsers about to snap? It's possible. Yes, I was straining towards those spurious deeps, their lying promise of gravity and peace, from all my old poisons I struggled towards them, safely bound.
- Molloy
I feel strained, half stranded, as ropes that tow dismasted frigates in a gale; and I may look so. But ere I break, ye'll hear me crack; and till ye hear that, know that Ahab's hawser tows his purpose yet.
- Chapter CXXXIV
Intriguing juxtaposition. Does Beckett mention Melville or Moby-Dick in his letters?
ReplyDeleteHe does, at least once that I know of.
ReplyDeleteBeckett's letter to Thomas MacGreevy, 4Aug1932, "I bought Moby Dick today for 6d. That's more like the real stuff. White whales & natural piety."
If you have a copy of Delbanco's Melville, look on page xiii.
Thanks for the tip! I don't have Delbanco, but it's on my unwritten to-be-read list.
ReplyDelete