The Expelled (L’Expulsé, written 1946, published 1955) by Samuel Beckett (Key Facts)

 

The Expelled (L’Expulsé, written 1946, published 1955)

by Samuel Beckett

(Key Facts) 

Key Facts: Samuel Beckett’s The Expelled (L’Expulsé)

 

Full Title: L’Expulsé (English: The Expelled)

 

Author: Samuel Beckett

 

Type of Work: Experimental / Modernist Novel

 

Genre: Existentialist / Psychological Fiction / Absurdist Literature

 

Language: French

 

Time and Place Written: 1946, post-World War II, likely in France/Ireland

 

Date of First Publication: 1955

 

Publisher: Les Éditions de Minuit (French edition)

 

Tone: Bleak, introspective, minimalist, existential, meditative

 

Setting (Time): Indeterminate; abstract, timeless (focus on consciousness rather than historical time)

 

Setting (Place): Sparse, undefined, liminal spaces (empty rooms, abstract interior spaces)

 

Protagonist: Unnamed expelled man; isolated, introspective, and estranged from society and memory

 

Major Conflict

The protagonist struggles with existential alienation, the loss of home and human connection, and the inability to reconcile memory and identity within an indifferent universe.

Internal conflict dominates: the tension between the desire for meaning and the absurdity of existence.

 

Rising Action

The protagonist wakes in an unfamiliar, empty space and begins to explore it.

He attempts to recall his past, reconstruct memories, and understand the nature of his expulsion.

Fragmented recollections of family, childhood, and acquaintances emerge, intensifying his awareness of isolation.

 

Climax

Realization of the irretrievability of the past and futility of understanding.

The protagonist confronts the full weight of his alienation and the absurdity of existence.

Symbolic peak of existential despair; he recognizes the impossibility of regaining connection, meaning, or a coherent identity.

 

Falling Action

Attempts at understanding, remembering, or movement continue but are increasingly futile.

Fragmented thoughts, repetitive introspection, and the blurring of time emphasize existential suspension.

No traditional resolution; the protagonist remains in isolation, highlighting the cyclical nature of his suffering.

 

Themes

Alienation and isolation

Existential absurdity

Fragility and unreliability of memory

Human consciousness and interiority

Futility of human endeavor

 

Motifs

Memory and recollection

Emptiness and desolation

Movement and stasis

Silence and echoes

Time as fluid and uncertain

 

Symbols

Expulsion: Alienation, loss, and existential exile

Empty spaces / rooms: Psychological desolation, void, and the absurd

Figures from memory: Past, lost relationships, and identity fragments

Light, shadow, echo: Impermanence, transience, and isolation

 

Foreshadowing

Early hints of the protagonist’s inability to reconnect with his past or the outside world foreshadow the ultimate futility of his actions.

Fragmented memories and repeated attempts at comprehension indicate the cyclical, unresolved nature of the narrative, preparing the reader for the open-ended existential conclusion.