Endgame Theme of Pride

In Endgame, the character Hamm, in particular, oozes vanity. He claims to have once been a sort of
monarch. In the present, he is blind and wheelchair-bound, completely dependent on other people.
Yet he has still not given up on thinking of himself as a king. Having lost compassion and desire,
human pride proves to be one of the last traits to go. For example, Hamm has Clov make him a
stuffed dog, which Hamm imagines gazing up at him imploringly. Perhaps that reason they can't
figure out that keeps them all going is precisely this undying pride. They are beat but they cannot
admit it because they are too vain.
Questions About Pride
1. What are the reasons that characters find to be proud in the play? Are their reasons justified or
do they simply seem absurd?
2. Is pride a source of weakness or of strength in Beckett's play? How is pride related to the
ability to endure suffering?
3. What is the relationship between pride and vulnerability in the play? Does a character seem
most vulnerable when he is acting the most proud or when he is acting the least?
4. What role does pride play in the characters' relationships? How does it hinder the characters
from being able to make real compassionate connections?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.

In the play, vanity and humor are both sources of strength. Clov seeks solace in absurdity,
Hamm and Nagg in vanity, and Nell, who can find neither, is the first to give up and die.

Pride is the means by which Hamm conceals his weaknesses from Clov. Because he has cast
himself in the role of master, he is unable to reveal his vulnerabilities to Clov and so he acts
vain and cruel.

QUOTES ON THE THEME> PRIDE

Quote #1
HAMM
And your rounds? When you inspected my paupers. Always on foot? (1.72)
What evidence is there in the play to think that Hamm was actually a monarch? What
evidence is there to suggest that his power, in the old world, was largely imagined?
How does the vanity obtained from his previous position keep him from adapting to
his new one?
Quote #2
NAGG
You were in such fits that we capsized. By rights we should have been drowned.
NELL
It was because I was happy.
NAGG(indignant)
It was not, it was not, it was my story and nothing else. Happy! Don't you laugh at it still? Every
time I tell it. Happy? (1.224-225)
How is Nagg acting like a child here? Is Nell's answer really so incompatible

with Nagg's retort? Exactly what sort of credit does Nagg want for making Nell
laugh? Is this a sign of love or just straight possessiveness?
Quote #3
HAMM
Am I right in the center?
CLOV
I'll measure it.
HAMM
More or less! More or less!
CLOV(moving chair slightly)
There!
HAMM
I'm more or less in the center?
CLOV
I'd say so.
HAMM
You'd say so. Put me right in the center!
CLOV
I'll go and get the tape.
HAMM
Roughly! Roughly
(Clov moves chair slightly.)
Bang in the center! (1.271-279)
What does it say about the fact that Hamm wants Clov to put him right in the center without
using a measuring tape? Does this mean he wants to be the center of things according to
Clov's judgment, the center of Clov's world?
Quote #4
HAMM
My house a home for you.
CLOV
Yes.
(He looks at Hamm fixedly.)
This was that for me.
HAMM(proudly)
But for me,
(gesture towards himself)
no father. But for Hamm,
(gesture toward his surroundings)
no home. (1.399-401)
Why does Hamm take pride in how alone he is? How is this undermined by his fear of Clov
leaving him? How does Clov not realize this? How does speaking of himself in the third
person attempt to give more authenticity to his struggles?
HW> Find out at least two more quotes on this theme in Endgame, and formulate a reflection or
question for your classmates as in the examples.