Molloy

Molloy is a novel by Samuel Beckett. The English translation is by Beckett and Patrick Bowles.

Plot introduction

On first appearance the book concerns two different characters, both of whom have interior monologues in the book. As the story moves along the two characters are distinguished by name only as their experiences and thoughts are, to say the least, similar. The novel is set in an indeterminate place, most often identified with the Ireland of Beckett's birth. It was written in Paris, along with the other two books (Malone Dies and The Unnamable) of 'The Trilogy', between 1946 and 1950. 'The Trilogy' is generally considered to be one of the most important literary works of the 20th century, and the most important non-dramatic work in Beckett's oeuvre.

Plot summary

The plot, what little there is of it, is revealed in the course of the two interior monologues that make up the book. The first of these is told in two paragraphs, the first of these paragraphs ending on the second page. The second paragraph goes on to the end of the section, more than 80 pages later.

The first is by a former vagrant named Molloy, who is now living "in [his] mother's room" and writing to "speak of the things that are left, say [his] goodbyes, finish dying." He describes a journey he had taken some time earlier, before he came there, to find his mother. He spends much of it on his bicycle, gets arrested for resting on it in a way that is considered lewd, but is unceremoniously released. From town to anonymous town and across anonymous countryside, he encounters a succession of bizarre characters: an elderly man with a stick; a policeman; a charity worker; a woman whose dog he kills running over it with a bike (her name is never completely determined: "a Mrs Loy... or Lousse, I forget, Christian name something like Sophie"), one whom he falls in love with ("Ruth" or maybe "Edith"); He abandons his bicycle (which he will not call "bike"), walks in no certain direction, meeting "a young old man"; a charcoal-burner living in the woods; and finally a character who takes him in, to the room.

The second is by a widowed private detective by the name of Jacques Moran, who is given the task by his boss, the mysterious Youdi, of tracking down Molloy. He sets out, taking his recalcitrant son, also named Jacques, with him. They wander across the countryside, increasingly bogged down by the weather, decreasing supplies of food and Moran's suddenly failing body. Eventually, the son disappears, and it appears Moran is going mad (to judge by the bizarre "questions of a theological nature" that occur to him). He eventually struggles home, and writes the report of his mission.

Due to the succession of the book from the first part to the second the reader is led to believe that time is passing in a similar fashion, however many readers‹The template Weasel-inline is being considered for deletion.›  ^{[weasel words]} believe that the second part is the prequel to the first.

Characters in "Molloy"

Molloy is a vagrant, currently bedridden; it appears he is a seasoned veteran in vagrancy, reflecting that "To him who has nothing it is forbidden not to relish filth." He is surprisingly well-educated, having studied geography, among other things, and seems to know something of "old Geulincx". He has a number of bizarre habits, not least of which is the sucking of pebbles, described by Beckett in an enormous and infamous passage, and also having an odd and rather morbid attachment to his mother (who may or may not be dead).

Moran is a private detective, with a housekeeper, Martha, and son, Jacques, both of whom he treats with scorn. He is pedantic and extremely ordered, pursuing the task set him logically, to the point of absurdity, expressing fear that his son will catch him masturbating and being an extreme disciplinarian. He also shows an insincere reverence for the church and deference to the local priest, perhaps indicative of Beckett's perception of attitudes in Ireland. As the novel progresses, his body begins to fail for no visible or specified reason, a fact that surprises him, and his mind begins to decline to the point of insanity. This similarity in bodily and mental decline leads readers to believe that Molloy and Moran are in fact two facets of the same personality, or that the section narrated by Molloy is actually written by Moran.

Allusions/references to other works

Molloy includes references to a number of Beckett's other works, especially the characters, who are revealed as fictional characters in the same manner as Molloy and Moran: "Oh the stories I could tell you if I were easy. What a rabble in my head, what a gallery of moribunds. Murphy, Watt, Yerk, Mercier and all the others." (Part II)

Also, at one stage Molloy speaks of the boat of Ulysses, a clear reference to the novel of the same name by James Joyce. Joyce was a close friend and mentor to Beckett, and later Beckett assisted Joyce in the completion of Finnegans Wake.

Sources, references, external links, quotations

• Information on editions (French)

• The Modern Word: Apmonia
• Samuel Beckett Endpage
• Samuel Beckett Resources and Links

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