When first reading Endgame, I couldn’t help comparing Hamm and Clov to the slapstick duo, thing one and thing two, from Waiting for Godot. My opinion changed immediately when we watched the theatrical version of Endgame in class. Gogo and Didi are friends, but Hamm and Clov are like a father and a son. Hamm and Clov are close yet fight often. Hamm is insulting while Clov is subservient. On two occasions does Hamm need to apologize to the man he has raised as a son, and he (un)surprisingly apologizes in a parallel manner (Beckett’s fault: I have come to believe he adores repetition).
The first instance necessitates an apology because Hamm has lost the love of Clov.
HAMM: I’ve made you suffer too much. [Pause.] Haven’t I? CLOV: It’s not that. HAMM: [shocked] I haven’t made you suffer too much? CLOV: Yes! HAMM: [relieved] Ah you gave me a fright. [Pause. Coldly.] Forgive me. [Pause. Louder.] I said, Forgive me. CLOV: I heard you (94).
Hamm punishes Clov too severely; much like a father overprotects his son and severs him from the rest of the world. Hamm appears to be attempting to build character in Clov by making him suffer. This aspect of their relationship also points to one of parent-child.
Overprotective father who literally snarls at danger.
The second instance necessitates an apology because Hamm ridicules Clov for his extracurricular activity of staring at a wall.
HAMM: Your light dying! Listen to that! Well, it can die just as well here, your light. Take a look at me and then come back and tell me what you think of your light. [Pause.] CLOV: You shouldn’t speak to me like that. [Pause.] HAMM: [coldly] Forgive me. [Pause. Louder.] I said, Forgive me. CLOV: I heard you (98).
Hamm always seems to have a larger complaint than anyone else, including poor Clov; but this instance of ridicule only reminded me of parents saying, “back in my day we…” Hamm criticizes Clov because he is older and Clov allows his incessant nagging (which is strange to me because Hamm’s father is named Nagg).
Also, in each instance of apologetic interaction, Clov never forgives Hamm; he only acknowledges that Hamm apologized. To me, the short response, “I heard you,” represents the inner feelings of an angsty teenager. Clov may not be Hamm’s biological son, and Hamm may not have raised Clov extraordinarily, but they are tied together in a bond that can only be described as a father and a son.
I definitely agree with you that their relationship is very much like that of a father and son. The part that I found interesting was the fact that Clov never accepted the apologies.(or at least never accepted them out loud) Like you mentioned, his response was one you would hear from an angsty teenager. However, even though Clov never actually says he forgives Hamm, we all know that on some level he does. When you are in a situation like theirs, you must stick together to survive. You become a family, even if you are not biologically related, out of necessity.
ReplyDeleteIf Hamm and Clov's relationship is parent-child, than it's of an aging parent and his caregiving child. Both characters want to leave their surroundings: Hamm has dreams of "forests" and talks of running where he can see "the sky, the earth"; Clov says to Hamm "you can't follow me" and, at the end of the play, does exit, Panama hat in hand as if he's off to see the world (91, 102, 121). While they're together, both seem unhappy. Hamm is disabled and stuck in a gloomy room; Clov is stuck in the same room because he cares for Hamm. Hamm becomes cynical, mourning lost ideals and dwelling on his place "in the void," while Clov, like you said, responds like an unenthusiastic teenager (115).
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