Dick Laurent is Dead

"I'm at your house right now. Call me."

When we read Michael Bengal's article, "Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnameable: An Overview," I was struck by the passage in which Bengal writes

"Gradually, it becomes apparent that all the voices in the trilogy are but aspects of a single consciousness, whether it be titled Molloy, Moran, Malone, Mahood, or Worm, all alter egos of the aptly named Unnamable."

 This quote stuck out to me the most, as 1) it made the most sense when considering these novels together and 2) it really reminded me of the David Lynch film Lost Highway. In his film, Lynch explores the idea of flexible identity through use of a psychological event called a psychic fugue, which is said to be not only a complete break in one's identity, but a fundamental re-structuring of said identity. In Lost Highway, Bill Pullman's character suffers some sort of psychotic break, only to wake up as a completely different person, played by Balthazar Getty. The two characters share certain characteristics, fall for a version of the same woman, then slowly begin to shift and meld into each other.

When looking at Molloy and Malone Dies, I see the same kind of psychological distortion and dissonance happening with the characters. Firstly, their names are similar, as are the names of other characters, like Moll. Details introduced in Molloy pop up again in Malone Dies, such as the bicycle, or how the titular characters seem to be laying on a bed and thinking about their and others' lives.

So, what does this mean? Is Beckett trying to explore the slippery nature of identity and how it can shift and change over time in this albeit extreme case? The malleable nature of identity could relate to Beckett's work in general, as it shifts, grows, changes, and melts into itself constantly, never allowing for one, clear, understandable, approachable definition.

Weird.