Come
and Go (1965)
by
Samuel Beckett
(Characters Analysis)
Come
and Go (1965) — Characters Analysis
Flo
In
Samuel Beckett’s Come and Go, Flo occupies a quietly central position among the
three women. Though the play offers no detailed background or psychological
depth, Flo’s actions and limited speech suggest a figure of subtle authority
and emotional control. Through her, Beckett explores themes of restraint,
knowledge, and the human response to suffering in a world where direct
confrontation is avoided.
Flo
is the character who initiates the structure of the play. She is the first to
speak and the one who asks the others, one by one, to step aside. This role
places her in a position of gentle leadership. However, her authority is not
forceful or dramatic; it is expressed through calm politeness and routine
action. Her behavior reflects Beckett’s interest in understated control rather
than overt power.
A
defining aspect of Flo’s character is her emotional restraint. When she reveals
to Ru that Vi is seriously ill, she does so without visible distress or
emotional intensity. The information is delivered quietly and matter-of-factly,
suggesting a learned acceptance of suffering. Flo does not attempt to comfort
or warn; she merely states the fact and allows silence to absorb its weight.
This detachment underscores Beckett’s vision of individuals who have grown
accustomed to pain and loss.
Flo’s
relationship to knowledge is also significant. She possesses disturbing
information about the others, yet she does nothing with it. Knowledge, in Flo’s
case, does not lead to action or change. Instead, it becomes another burden to
be carried silently. This reflects an existential condition in which awareness
deepens resignation rather than empowerment. Flo knows, but she cannot
intervene, explain, or resolve.
Despite
her calm exterior, Flo is not portrayed as cold or cruel. Her behavior suggests
a form of protective kindness. By sharing the truth privately, she shields each
woman from public exposure or emotional collapse. At the same time, this
secrecy prevents genuine communication, highlighting the paradox of care in
Beckett’s world—protection often comes at the cost of connection.
Flo’s
identity, like that of the other women, is deliberately minimal. Her short
name, similar to those of Vi and Ru, reduces individuality and emphasizes
interchangeability. This suggests that Flo is less an individual personality
and more a representative figure. She stands for any human being who quietly
carries knowledge of suffering—both one’s own and others’—without the means or
courage to confront it openly.
The
final moment of the play, when the women hold hands, adds depth to Flo’s
character. Though she never speaks about what she knows, her participation in
this gesture suggests unspoken solidarity. Flo recognizes shared vulnerability,
even if she cannot articulate it. This gesture softens her earlier emotional
restraint and hints at a muted form of compassion.
In
conclusion, Flo is a figure of quiet authority, emotional discipline, and
restrained compassion. Through her, Beckett presents a portrait of the human
condition marked by knowledge without action and care without communication.
Flo’s calm presence and controlled behavior embody the play’s central tension
between awareness and silence, making her a key symbolic figure in Come and Go.
Vi
In
Samuel Beckett’s Come and Go, Vi is one of the three elderly women whose quiet
presence contributes to the play’s haunting emotional atmosphere. Though her
role is brief and her speech extremely limited, Vi embodies essential aspects
of Beckett’s vision of human existence—passive endurance, emotional restraint,
and isolation within companionship. Like the other characters, Vi is not a
fully developed individual but a symbolic figure representing shared human
vulnerability.
Vi’s
actions in the play are marked by obedience and acceptance. When asked to leave
the bench, she does so without hesitation or question. Her compliance suggests
a life accustomed to routine and authority, where questioning or resistance has
lost its meaning. This quiet submission reflects Beckett’s recurring theme of
human beings trapped in patterns they do not challenge, even when those
patterns involve emotional pain.
A
defining moment for Vi occurs when she is privately told that Ru is seriously
ill. Her reaction is silence. There is no expression of shock, fear, or
sympathy. This lack of response is not a sign of indifference but of emotional
repression. Vi absorbs the information inwardly, illustrating how individuals
often internalize suffering rather than express it openly. Beckett presents
silence here as both a defense mechanism and a source of isolation.
Vi’s
character is further defined by her position between knowing and being known.
She receives disturbing knowledge about another, yet she herself becomes the
subject of similar knowledge shared behind her back. This dual role highlights
the play’s cyclical structure and reinforces the idea that no one is exempt
from vulnerability. Vi’s quiet presence suggests an unspoken awareness of this
shared condition, even though it is never verbally acknowledged.
Like
Flo and Ru, Vi’s identity is deliberately minimal. Her short, clipped name
reduces individuality and emphasizes interchangeability. Beckett avoids
personal history or defining traits, directing attention instead to the condition
Vi represents rather than the person she is. She stands for the human tendency
to endure silently, to continue sitting beside others while carrying private
fear and unexpressed understanding.
The
final gesture of hand-holding is crucial to understanding Vi’s character.
Though she never speaks about what she knows, her participation in this gesture
suggests recognition and muted solidarity. Vi acknowledges shared suffering not
through language but through touch. This moment reveals a fragile connection that
exists beneath the surface of silence, offering a brief counterpoint to the
play’s emotional isolation.
In
conclusion, Vi represents quiet endurance and internalized suffering. Through
her calm obedience and silent acceptance, Beckett portrays a human figure who
neither resists nor escapes the burdens of knowledge and mortality. Vi’s
character reinforces the play’s central themes of silence, repetition, and
shared yet unspoken vulnerability, making her an essential component of Come
and Go’s existential vision.
Ru
In
Samuel Beckett’s Come and Go, Ru is one of the three elderly women whose
restrained presence contributes to the play’s atmosphere of quiet unease and
emotional suppression. Like Flo and Vi, Ru is not a psychologically developed
character but a symbolic figure, carefully shaped to express Beckett’s vision
of human vulnerability, isolation, and endurance. Through Ru, Beckett
emphasizes the cyclical nature of suffering and the inevitability of shared
mortality.
Ru’s
role in the play is defined by receiving and transmitting disturbing knowledge.
When Vi leaves the bench, Flo tells Ru that Vi is seriously ill. Ru listens
without visible reaction, neither questioning nor expressing emotion. Later,
when Flo leaves, Ru is informed that Flo herself is gravely ill. In this way,
Ru becomes both a recipient and a bearer of painful knowledge. This dual
position highlights Beckett’s idea that human beings are simultaneously
witnesses to others’ suffering and subjects of the same fate.
A
striking feature of Ru’s character is her emotional containment. Despite
learning about the illnesses of both companions, she remains outwardly calm.
This restraint suggests a deep familiarity with loss and decline. Beckett
portrays Ru not as emotionally numb but as someone who has learned that
expression offers no relief. Silence, for Ru, becomes a way of maintaining
composure in the face of overwhelming truth.
Ru
also represents the theme of shared vulnerability. She is not set apart from
the others in any meaningful way. Her name, like theirs, is short and
impersonal, reinforcing the idea that individuality has been eroded by age and
experience. Ru could easily exchange places with Flo or Vi, underscoring the
universality of suffering and the randomness of illness and mortality.
When
all three women are reunited, Ru does not reveal what she knows. Her silence
preserves the fragile surface harmony among them but also deepens emotional
distance. This reflects Beckett’s portrayal of human relationships as spaces
where truth is often withheld to avoid pain, even though such withholding
prevents genuine communication.
The
final gesture of hand-holding adds an important dimension to Ru’s character. By
participating in this silent act of connection, Ru acknowledges shared
suffering without articulating it. The gesture suggests a muted form of
compassion—limited, tentative, and transient. It does not resolve fear or
isolation, but it momentarily softens them.
In
conclusion, Ru embodies quiet awareness and shared human fragility. Through her
restrained reactions and silent endurance, Beckett presents a figure who
understands suffering yet remains powerless to change it. Ru’s character
reinforces the play’s central vision of existence as a cycle of knowing,
enduring, and remaining silent, making her an essential representative of
Beckett’s existential world in Come and Go.
 by Samuel Beckett (Characters Analysis)){kind=link}
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