That Time (1976) by Samuel Beckett (Characters Analysis)

 

That Time (1976)

by Samuel Beckett

(Characters Analysis) 

Character Analysis: First Voice (Voice A) in That Time

The First Voice, often referred to as Voice A, serves as the central agent through which Beckett’s meditation on memory, time, and consciousness unfolds. While That Time is highly abstract, and no characters appear physically, Voice A functions as the initiating consciousness, the “anchor” from which the play’s fragmented reflections emerge. Its role is both narrative and symbolic, bridging the gap between lived experience and the act of recollection.

Voice A is characterized by hesitation, repetition, and fragmentation, reflecting the unstable and incomplete nature of memory. Its speech often begins with tentative phrases, suggesting uncertainty or the difficulty of accessing the past. This hesitancy conveys the essential human struggle to recall life in a coherent way, highlighting the fallibility and subjectivity of personal memory. By allowing Voice A to falter, Beckett underscores that remembering is never a neutral or effortless act—it is an active, often painful engagement with time and loss.

Functionally, Voice A serves as the emotional core of the play. Its recollections, though incomplete, carry affective weight: traces of longing, regret, intimacy, and mortality appear in its fragmented narratives. The voice evokes a sense of presence despite absence, giving life to people, places, and moments that exist only in memory. Through this, Beckett demonstrates that human consciousness is inseparable from the temporal flow of experience: Voice A cannot speak of life without simultaneously pointing to its impermanence.

Symbolically, Voice A represents the self in reflection, the aspect of consciousness that initiates introspection and attempts to make sense of existence. It is the lens through which the other voices—Voice B and Voice C—interact with past experience, creating a polyphonic meditation on identity. By anchoring the play’s auditory landscape, Voice A allows Beckett to explore the intersections of memory, identity, and temporality, while maintaining the abstract and disembodied quality central to the work.

In conclusion, the First Voice in That Time is far more than a mere narrator. It embodies the fragility, persistence, and emotional resonance of human memory, acting as both storyteller and symbol of conscious reflection. Its fragmented, hesitant speech mirrors the instability of recollection and the inexorable passage of time, establishing Voice A as the psychological and thematic center of Beckett’s haunting exploration of existence.

 

Character Analysis: Second Voice (Voice B) in That Time

The Second Voice, commonly referred to as Voice B, plays a complementary and contrasting role to the First Voice (Voice A), contributing to the polyphonic exploration of memory, time, and consciousness that defines Beckett’s That Time. Unlike Voice A, which initiates recollection and carries the emotional weight of memory, Voice B often evaluates, challenges, or refracts the first voice’s narratives, introducing ambiguity and emphasizing the multiplicity of perception.

Voice B is characterized by detachment, occasional irony, and overlapping speech. Its interjections frequently interrupt or repeat fragments from Voice A, sometimes affirming them, sometimes questioning their validity. Through this, Beckett dramatizes the unreliability of memory and the inherent tension between subjective interpretations of the past. Voice B underscores that recollection is not singular but exists in layers of consciousness, reflecting how human experience is shaped by multiple, often conflicting perspectives.

Functionally, Voice B acts as a counterpoint and foil to Voice A. While Voice A conveys intimacy and immediacy, Voice B introduces distance and analytical perspective. This contrast creates a dynamic interplay, where memory becomes both felt and examined. The overlapping of the voices, combined with deliberate pauses and silences, accentuates the play’s temporal complexity, allowing listeners to sense time’s elasticity and the simultaneity of memory.

Symbolically, Voice B represents the self as observer or critic—the part of consciousness that assesses, questions, and contextualizes experiences rather than simply reliving them. Its interjections and repetitions emphasize the fragmentary and constructed nature of identity, suggesting that the self is continually negotiating between lived experience and reflection. By doing so, Voice B highlights Beckett’s preoccupation with the multiplicity of the human mind, where thought, memory, and perception coexist in tension.

In conclusion, the Second Voice in That Time functions as both mirror and foil to the First Voice. It brings critical distance, ambiguity, and structural complexity to the play, reinforcing themes of memory’s unreliability, the passage of time, and the fractured nature of consciousness. Through Voice B, Beckett demonstrates that human reflection is never simple; it is layered, contradictory, and inseparable from the disjointed rhythms of thought and recollection.

 

Character Analysis: Third Voice (Voice C) in That Time

The Third Voice, referred to as Voice C, occupies a subtle yet crucial role in Samuel Beckett’s That Time. While Voice A initiates recollection and Voice B evaluates and refracts those memories, Voice C functions as a ghostly, mediating presence, often existing on the threshold of speech and silence. Its intermittent participation emphasizes the abstract, existential dimensions of the play, contributing to its exploration of memory, time, and consciousness.

Voice C is characterized by sparseness, minimal intervention, and extended silences. Unlike the other voices, it rarely engages in sustained narrative. Instead, it punctuates the dialogue with brief comments, echoes, or moments of quietude. These interventions heighten the play’s auditory texture, making silence an active element rather than mere absence. Through this, Beckett conveys that human experience is as much about what is unsaid or inaccessible as what can be articulated.

Functionally, Voice C serves as a structural and symbolic anchor. Its presence reinforces the fragmented nature of memory, acting as a space between the recollections of Voices A and B. By interjecting sporadically, or by remaining silent, Voice C highlights the discontinuity and incompleteness inherent in human reflection. It allows the listener to perceive the voids within memory, emphasizing that recollection is never a full restoration of the past, but a partial, fragile reconstruction.

Symbolically, Voice C represents the unconscious, the absent, or the unknowable aspect of existence. It embodies that part of consciousness that eludes verbalization, that lingers at the edge of awareness, and that mediates between lived experience and reflection. In this way, the third voice deepens Beckett’s meditation on existential solitude, the ephemeral nature of identity, and the tension between presence and absence.

In conclusion, the Third Voice in That Time is an ethereal, mediating force that underscores the play’s abstract and introspective qualities. Through silence, brief interjections, and its ghostlike presence, Voice C illuminates the limits of memory and language, the gaps within consciousness, and the inexorable passage of time. It completes the triadic structure of the play, providing balance and resonance to Voices A and B, and reinforcing Beckett’s exploration of the fragmented, multi-layered nature of human existence.