Waiting for Godot Suffering Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line) Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.

Quote #4

VLADIMIR
A running sore!
ESTRAGON
It's the rope.
VLADIMIR
It's the rubbing.
ESTRAGON
It's inevitable. (1.348-51)

Estragon literally says that chafing is inevitable when you’ve got a rope around your neck. But he also makes the point, whether intentionally or not, that suffering is inevitable. For everyone.

Quote #5

POZZO
(Lyrically) The tears of the world are a constant quantity. […] (He laughs.) Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors. (Pause.) (1.461)

Pozzo would try to ignore suffering because it has always existed. Unfortunately, this sort of rationale leads to men like Pozzo treating men like Lucky the way that, well, the way that Pozzo treats Lucky.

Quote #6

POZZO
(groaning, clutching his head). I can't bear it . . . any longer . . . the way he goes on . . . you've no idea . . . it's terrible . . . he must go . . . (he waves his arms) . . . I'm going mad . . . (he collapses, his head in his hands) . . . I can't bear it . . . any longer . . . (1.471)

Pozzo’s character makes the case that suffering is self-imposed. He is upset by Lucky’s predicament, a situation of his own making.