Fando
and Lis (Fando et Lis) — 1955 by Fernando
Arrabal: Symbols and Motifs
Fernando
Arrabal’s Fando and Lis is rich in symbolic images and recurring motifs.
The play presents a strange journey in which ordinary objects, places, actions,
and repeated situations acquire a significance beyond their immediate dramatic
function. The mysterious city of Tar, the journey itself, Lis’s cart, physical
movement, waiting, memory, and the recurring pattern of hope and disappointment
all contribute to the play’s distinctive atmosphere. These symbols and motifs
help create the dreamlike and disturbing world of the drama.
Tar
The
most important symbol in the play is Tar, the mysterious destination
toward which Fando and Lis are travelling. Tar is never presented simply as an
ordinary geographical location. It becomes an imagined place of happiness,
fulfilment, security, and escape from their present difficulties.
Fando
and Lis continue to believe in Tar even though their journey repeatedly fails
to bring them closer to it. Its importance therefore lies partly in its being unreachable.
Tar represents the human tendency to imagine a better future and to continue
searching for it even when there is little certainty that it exists.
At
the same time, Tar can represent an ideal that continually remains beyond human
possession. The characters need the hope of Tar in order to continue, but their
dependence upon that hope also keeps them trapped in an endless search.
The
Journey
The journey
is both a physical action and a major symbolic motif. Fando and Lis travel
together, but their movement does not follow the pattern of a conventional
adventure. They encounter strange situations, stop and start, remember the
past, quarrel, reconcile, and continue searching.
The
journey can therefore symbolize human life itself. People move through
life with hopes and expectations, believing that they are approaching some
desired destination. Yet the destination may remain uncertain. In Fando and
Lis's case, travelling does not guarantee progress. Their physical movement
contrasts with their emotional and psychological inability to escape their
difficulties.
The
Cart
The cart
in which Lis travels is one of the most striking physical symbols in the
play. Because Lis cannot walk, she depends upon Fando to push her. The cart
therefore represents her physical vulnerability and dependence.
At
the same time, it becomes a symbol of the relationship between Fando and Lis.
Fando is responsible for moving Lis, but this responsibility also becomes a
source of frustration. The cart connects the two characters while
simultaneously reminding them of the limitations of their relationship.
The
cart can also be associated with the idea of burden. Fando carries Lis
physically, while both characters carry emotional and psychological burdens
throughout their journey.
Physical
Movement and Immobility
A
recurring contrast in the play is between movement and immobility. Fando
and Lis are constantly travelling, yet Lis cannot walk and depends upon the
cart. Their physical journey therefore contains an important contradiction:
they are moving through space while remaining trapped in their circumstances.
This
contrast reinforces the sense of futility in the play. Movement does not
necessarily produce freedom. A person may travel from one place to another and
still remain psychologically trapped.
Waiting
Waiting is
closely connected with the journey toward Tar. Fando and Lis are always
anticipating arrival, but the arrival never becomes a secure reality. Their
existence therefore becomes a combination of travelling and waiting.
This
motif suggests the human tendency to postpone fulfilment. Happiness is imagined
as something that will come later, after reaching a particular destination or
achieving a particular goal. Yet the present remains dominated by uncertainty
and dissatisfaction.
Repetition
Repetition is
an important structural and symbolic motif in the play. Conversations, actions,
memories, and situations often seem to return in altered forms. Instead of
producing steady development, repetition creates the impression that the
characters are caught in a cycle.
This
recurring pattern reinforces the idea that Fando and Lis cannot easily escape
their circumstances. They continue moving and speaking, but the same emotional
conflicts repeatedly return. Repetition consequently becomes a symbol of entrapment
and futility.
The
Past and Memory
Fando's
memories of childhood and his parents form another important motif. The
past repeatedly enters the present, showing that Fando cannot simply leave his
earlier experiences behind.
Memory
becomes almost another place through which Fando travels. His physical journey
toward Tar is accompanied by a psychological journey into his past. The motif
suggests that human beings carry their experiences with them and cannot always
escape the emotional consequences of earlier events.
Love
and Violence
The
recurring combination of affection and violence is one of the most
disturbing motifs in the play. Fando and Lis can show tenderness toward one
another, but this tenderness is repeatedly interrupted by anger, frustration,
cruelty, and fear.
The
contrast reveals the instability of their relationship. Love does not provide
automatic security or protection. Instead, their emotional dependence can
become a source of suffering. The repeated movement between tenderness and
cruelty contributes strongly to the tragic atmosphere of the drama.
The
Three Travellers
The three
travellers whom Fando and Lis encounter contribute to the play's mysterious
and dreamlike quality. Their presence interrupts the central couple's journey
and introduces other voices into the strange world through which they move.
Rather
than functioning simply as realistic supporting characters, they form part of
the play's atmosphere of uncertainty. Their appearance reinforces the sense
that Fando and Lis inhabit a world where ordinary rules of time, space, and
social behaviour do not always apply.
The
Road and the Landscape
The road
and surrounding landscape function as recurring images of uncertainty.
Fando and Lis are travelling through an environment that offers no clear sense
of arrival or security. The external landscape reflects the instability of
their internal lives.
The
road leads somewhere, but its destination remains uncertain. It therefore
becomes an appropriate image for the characters' existence: they continue
moving because stopping would mean abandoning hope, yet movement does not
guarantee that they will ever reach what they seek.
Lightness
and Darkness
The
play frequently moves emotionally between moments of lightness and darkness.
Comic or playful exchanges can suddenly become disturbing, while apparently
ordinary situations may contain an atmosphere of menace.
This
contrast functions as a recurring motif rather than merely a change in mood. It
reflects the unstable world inhabited by Fando and Lis, where joy and suffering
can exist almost simultaneously. The mixture of comedy and darkness is
particularly important to Arrabal's absurdist theatrical style.
The
Final Destruction
The destruction
of Lis near the end of the play becomes the final symbolic consequence of
the destructive relationship that has developed throughout the journey. The
couple began by travelling together toward a hoped-for destination, but their
journey ultimately destroys the companionship that made the journey possible.
The
ending therefore transforms the journey from a search for fulfilment into an
image of tragic failure. Tar remains unattained, while the relationship between
the travellers is destroyed.
Conclusion
The
symbols and motifs in Fando and Lis work together to create a world of journey,
waiting, dependence, repetition, hope, memory, violence, and unattainable
fulfilment. Tar represents the distant ideal toward which human beings
continue to strive; the journey represents life and the search for meaning; the
cart represents dependence and burden; repetition represents entrapment; and
memory represents the inability to escape the past.
Through
these recurring images, Arrabal gives the play a dreamlike yet deeply
disturbing quality. The characters continue to move toward an uncertain
destination, but the journey repeatedly brings them back to themselves and to
the destructive patterns from which they cannot escape.
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