VLADIMIR
That passed the time.
ESTRAGON
It would have passed in any case.
VLADIMIR
Yes, but not so rapidly. (1.699-701)
Passing the time until nightfall has become Vladimir’s sole objective; because of his obsession with time, people have become mere entertainments, and he is capable of seeing them only as objects, not as humans.
VLADIMIR
How they've changed!
ESTRAGON
Who?
VLADIMIR
Those two. (1.709-11)
Vladimir’s comment suggests that Pozzo and Lucky appear every day, a part of what we have already guessed to be his and Estragon’s cyclical routine.
Quote 43
VLADIMIR
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb–
He stops, broods, resumes:
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb
And wrote upon the tombstone
For the eyes of dogs to come:
A dog came in the kitchen
And stole a crust of bread.
Then cook up with a ladle
And beat him till he was dead.
Then all the dogs came running
And dug the dog a tomb– (2.1)
Vladimir’s song reflects the cyclic nature of time in Waiting for Godot.
VLADIMIR
Look at it.
They look at the tree.
ESTRAGON
I see nothing.
VLADIMIR
But yesterday evening it was all black and bare. And now it's covered with leaves.
ESTRAGON
Leaves?
VLADIMIR
In a single night.
ESTRAGON
It must be the Spring.
VLADIMIR
But in a single night! (2.197-203)
Time passes in an absurdly inconsistent manner in Waiting for Godot; while the characters decay (Pozzo goes blind, Lucky loses the ability to speak), the tree goes in the other direction—blossoming in a single night.
We are waiting for Godot to come—
ESTRAGON
Ah!
POZZO
Help!
VLADIMIR
Or for night to fall. (Pause.) (2.526-9)
Vladimir’s notion of time is tied up with the concept of waiting for Godot. The fact is, waiting for Godot is as repetitive, predictable, and never-ending as waiting on a daily basis for night to come. The end result is always the same, and the process always begins anew the next day, with no end in sight.
VLADIMIR
(musingly) The last moment . . . (He meditates.) Hope deferred maketh the something sick, who said that? (1.32)
Actually, Vladimir, the line is, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life," and it’s a Biblical proverb. If Dido and Gogo’s hope is for Godot to show up, then this is a hope perpetually deferred since, as we know, Godot never comes. As for the tree of life, there is a tree on stage when Vladimir utters his line, but it’s not so much a tree of life as it is a dead, shrub-looking thing. So what should we make of that?
VLADIMIR
Did you ever read the Bible?
ESTRAGON
The Bible . . . (He reflects.) I must have taken a look at it.
VLADIMIR
Do you remember the Gospels?
ESTRAGON
I remember the maps of the Holy Land. Coloured they were. Very pretty. The Dead Sea was pale blue. The very look of it made me thirsty. That's where we'll go, I used to say, that's where we'll go for our honeymoon. We'll swim. We'll be happy. (1.50-3)
The heavenly image that Estragon presents here only heightens the dismal nature of his current situation.
VLADIMIR
Our Saviour. Two thieves. One is supposed to have been saved and the other . . . (he searches for the contrary of saved) . . . damned.
ESTRAGON
Saved from what?
VLADIMIR
Hell. (1.64-6)
Vladimir’s story is practically begging us to equate him and Estragon with the two thieves. In the Biblical tale, the two thieves are saved from Hell. But what are Estragon and Vladimir hoping to be saved from? (Note that, later in the play, Estragon declares that he is in Hell.)
VLADIMIR
And yet . . . (pause) . . . how is it—this is not boring you I hope—how is it that of the four Evangelists only one speaks of a thief being saved. The four of them were there—or thereabouts—and only one speaks of a thief being saved. (Pause.)
[…]
VLADIMIR
One out of four. Of the other three, two don't mention any thieves at all and the third says that both of them abused him.
[…]
VLADIMIR
Then the two of them must have been damned.
ESTRAGON
And why not?
VLADIMIR
But one of the four says that one of the two was saved.
ESTRAGON
Well? They don't agree and that's all there is to it.
VLADIMIR
But all four were there. And only one speaks of a thief being saved. Why believe him rather than the others? (1.68-86)
Through Vladimir’s exchange with Estragon, Waiting for Godot argues that religion is incompatible with logic.
VLADIMIR
(to Lucky) How dare you! It's abominable! Such a good master! Crucify him like that! After so many years! Really! (1.476)
Vladimir now draws a comparison between Pozzo and Christ with his use of the word "crucify."
VLADIMIR
But you can't go barefoot!
ESTRAGON
Christ did.
VLADIMIR
Christ! What has Christ got to do with it. You're not going to compare yourself to Christ!
ESTRAGON
All my life I've compared myself to him. (1.825-8)
If Waiting for Godot until now compared the suffering of the men on stage to the suffering of Christ, it is now condemning that very comparison. This is in keeping with the presentation of religion as illogical and contradictory.
VLADIMIR
(stopping) Your turn.
Estragon does the tree, staggers.
ESTRAGON
Do you think God sees me?
VLADIMIR
You must close your eyes.
Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse.
ESTRAGON
(stopping, brandishing his fists, at the top of his voice.) God have pity on me!
VLADIMIR
(vexed) And me?
ESTRAGON
On me! On me! Pity! On me!
Enter Pozzo and Lucky. Pozzo is blind. Lucky burdened as before. (2.451-6)
Notice that Pozzo enters as an answer to Estragon’s plea for pity, making a mockery of Gogo’s idea of a "savior." The help sent to him is a blind tyrant and his slave, which actually isn’t so helpful. Also note that Estragon is pretending to be a tree when he asks Vladimir if God can see him; we describe the tree’s religious significance in "Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory" if you’re interested, but the quick explanation is that tree = cross (as in, the crucifixion kind).
Quote 53
VLADIMIR
(He looks again at Estragon.) At me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying, He is sleeping, he knows nothing, let him sleep on. (2.795)
As Vladimir looks at the sleeping Estragon, he remarks that someone else is watching him (Vladimir) sleep. The "someone else" is presumably God, which in this comparison puts Vladimir in a deity-like position over Estragon.
Quote 54
VLADIMIR
(softly) Has he a beard, Mr. Godot?
BOY
Yes Sir.
VLADIMIR
Fair or . . . (he hesitates) . . . or black?
BOY
I think it's white, Sir.
Silence.
VLADIMIR
Christ have mercy on us! (2.823-27)
Vladimir puts two and two together here and concludes that Godot is God. This would be completely logical, except he’s basing his logic on a speech given by a ranting slave tied up on a rope, commanded to think by a tyrannical, deity-like figure, and able to do so only with the help of a bowler hat. The reason his final line in this quote is so emotional is that he fears the consequences of missing a meeting with Godot—even moreso than before.
VLADIMIR
I'm glad to see you back. I thought you were gone forever.
ESTRAGON
Me too. (1.4-5)
The ambiguity of Estragon’s reply (in one of the earliest lines of the play) sets us up for a central uncertainty in regards to this friendship. His response "Me too" could refer to Vladimir’s claim that he’s glad to see him, or it could refer to the comment that he thought Estragon was gone forever. We are forever unsure as to whether these two men achieve a friendship or are emotionally isolated from each other.
VLADIMIR
Together again at last! We'll have to celebrate this. But how? (He reflects.) Get up till I embrace you.
ESTRAGON
(irritably) Not now, not now. (1.6-7)
This early exchange also established an important dynamic in Waiting for Godot; one man attempts to get closer while the other pulls back. This motif will repeat itself, though Estragon and Vladimir will frequently switch roles.
VLADIMIR
(exploding) It's a scandal!
Silence. Flabbergasted, Estragon stops gnawing, looks at Pozzo and Vladimir in turn. Pozzo outwardly calm. Vladimir embarrassed.
POZZO
(To Vladimir) Are you alluding to anything in particular?
VLADIMIR
(stutteringly resolute) To treat a man . . . (gesture towards Lucky) . . . like that . . . I think that . . . no . . . a human being . . . no . . . it's a scandal!
ESTRAGON
(not to be outdone) A disgrace!
He resumes his gnawing. (1.386-9)
Estragon’s chiming in here is a brilliant addition to the exchange; he clearly holds no genuine concern for Lucky, as he’s busy eating his bones while the man is abused. Vladimir, too, is aghast at Pozzo’s treatment of Lucky, but wait a bit and watch him berate Lucky for mistreating Pozzo. There’s no logic or consistency in his concern, so his attempt at sympathy is negated by its absurdity.
VLADIMIR
I'm going.
POZZO
He can no longer endure my presence. I am perhaps not particularly human, but who cares? (1.401-2)
Pozzo directly contradicts his earlier statement that he is just like Estragon and Vladimir—that they all are made in God’s image. He thinks of himself as somehow above mere humans, perhaps even divine. But the line "who cares?" is an interesting one. He may mean to say that he can still relate to the men despite his not being "particularly human," but we can interpret this in another, less optimistic way: it could be that, since men can’t connect to one another anyway, it doesn’t matter whether or not Pozzo himself is human. He’s going to be isolated either way.
VLADIMIR
Who told you?
POZZO
He speaks to me again! If this goes on much longer we'll soon be old friends. (1.403-4)
Pozzo defines friendship by mere interaction. Communication—even poor communication—is enough to break isolation, at least in his mind.
VLADIMIR
(vexed) Then why do you always come crawling back?
ESTRAGON
I don't know.
VLADIMIR
No, but I do. It's because you don't know how to defend yourself. I wouldn't have let them beat you.
ESTRAGON
You couldn't have stopped them.
VLADIMIR
Why not?
ESTRAGON
There was ten of them.
VLADIMIR
No, I mean before they beat you. I would have stopped you from doing whatever it was you were doing. (2.24-30)
We are told repeatedly that Estragon is dependent on Vladimir, but is Vladimir similarly dependent on Estragon? It almost seems here as though he needs to be needed by his companion; that he grasps at a self-designed purpose through his helping Gogo.