The Complete Dramatic Works (15 page)

ESTRAGON:
What do we do now?

VLADIMIR:
Perhaps I could crawl to him.

ESTRAGON:
Don’t leave me!

VLADIMIR:
Or I could call to him.

ESTRAGON:
Yes, call to him.

VLADIMIR:
Pozzo! [
Silence
.] Pozzo! [
Silence.
] No reply.

ESTRAGON:
Together.

VLADIMIR:
He moved.

ESTRAGON:
Are you sure his name is Pozzo?

VLADIMIR:
[
Alarmed.
]
Mr Pozzo! Come back! We won’t hurt you!

[
Silence.
]

ESTRAGON:
We might try him with other names.

VLADIMIR:
I’m afraid he’s dying.

ESTRAGON:
It’d be amusing.

VLADIMIR:
What’d be amusing?

ESTRAGON:
To try with other names, one after the other. It’d pass the time. And we’d be bound
to hit on the right one sooner or later.

VLADIMIR:
I tell you his name is Pozzo.

ESTRAGON:
We’ll soon see. [
He
reflects.
]
Abel! Abel!

POZZO:
Help!

ESTRAGON:
Got it in one!

VLADIMIR:
I begin to weary of this motif.

ESTRAGON:
Perhaps the other is called Cain. Cain! Cain!

POZZO:
Help!

ESTRAGON:
He’s all humanity. [
Silence.
]
Look at the little cloud.

VLADIMIR:
[
Raising
his
eyes.
]
Where?

ESTRAGON:
There. In the zenith.

VLADIMIR:
Well? [
Pause.
]
What is there so wonderful about it?

[
Silence.
]

ESTRAGON:
Let’s pass on now to something else, do you mind?

VLADIMIR:
I was just going to suggest it.

ESTRAGON:
But to what?

VLADIMIR:
Ah!

[
Silence.
]

ESTRAGON:
Suppose we got up to begin with.

VLADIMIR:
No harm in trying.

[
They
get
up.
]

ESTRAGON:
Child’s play.

VLADIMIR:
Simple question of will-power.

ESTRAGON:
And now?

POZZO:
Help!

ESTRAGON:
Let’s go.

VLADIMIR:
We can’t.

ESTRAGON:
Why not?

VLADIMIR:
We’re waiting for Godot.

ESTRAGON:
Ah! [
Despairing.
]
What’ll we do, what’ll we do!

POZZO:
Help!

VLADIMIR:
What about helping him?

ESTRAGON:
What does he want?

VLADIMIR:
He wants to get up.

ESTRAGON:
Then why doesn’t he?

VLADIMIR:
He wants us to help him to get up.

ESTRAGON:
Then why don’t we? What are we waiting for? [
They
help
POZZO
to
his
feet,
let
him
go.
He
falls
.]

VLADIMIR:
We must hold him. [
They
get
him
up
again.
 
POZZO
sags
between
them,
his
arms
round
their
necks
.] Feeling better?

POZZO:
Who are you?

VLADIMIR:
Do you not recognize us?

POZZO:
I am blind.

[
Silence
.]

ESTRAGON:
Perhaps he can see into the future.

VLADIMIR:
Since when?

POZZO:
I used to have wonderful sight – but are you friends?

ESTRAGON:
[
Laughing
noisily
.]
He wants to know if we are friends!

VLADIMIR:
No, he means friends of his.

ESTRAGON:
Well?

VLADIMIR:
We’ve proved we are, by helping him.

ESTRAGON:
Exactly. Would we have helped him if we weren’t his friends?

VLADIMIR:
Possibly.

ESTRAGON:
True.

VLADIMIR:
Don’t let’s quibble about that now.

POZZO:
You are not highwaymen?

ESTRAGON:
Highwaymen! Do we look like highwaymen?

VLADIMIR:
Damn it, can’t you see the man is blind!

ESTRAGON:
Damn it, so he is. [
Pause
.]
So he says.

POZZO:
Don’t leave me!

VLADIMIR:
No question of it.

ESTRAGON:
For the moment.

POZZO:
What time is it?

VLADIMIR:
[
Inspecting
the
sky.
] Seven o’clock … eight o’clock …

ESTRAGON:
That depends what time of year it is.

POZZO:
Is it evening?

[
Silence.
VLADIMIR
and
 
ESTRAGON
scrutinize
the
sunset
.]

ESTRAGON:
It’s rising.

VLADIMIR:
Impossible.

ESTRAGON:
Perhaps it’s the dawn.

VLADIMIR:
Don’t be a fool. It’s the west over there.

ESTRAGON:
How do you know?

POZZO:
[
Anguished
.]
Is it evening?

VLADIMIR:
Anyway it hasn’t moved.

ESTRAGON:
I tell you it’s rising.

POZZO:
Why don’t you answer me?

ESTRAGON:
Give us a chance.

VLADIMIR:
[
Reassuring
.]
It’s evening, sir, it’s evening, night is drawing nigh. My friend here would have
me doubt it and I must confess he shook me for a moment. But it is not for nothing
I have lived through this long day and I can assure you it is very near the end of
its repertory. [
Pause.
]
How do you feel now?

ESTRAGON:
How much longer must we cart him round? [
They
half
release
him,
catch
him
again
as
he
falls
.] We are not caryatids!

VLADIMIR:
You were saying your sight used to be good, if I heard you right.

POZZO:
Wonderful! Wonderful, wonderful sight!

[
Silence
.]

ESTRAGON:
[
Irritably
.]
Expand! Expand!

VLADIMIR:
Let him alone. Can’t you see he’s thinking of the days when he was happy? [
Pause.
]
Memoria
praeteritorum
bonorum
–
that must be unpleasant.

ESTRAGON:
We wouldn’t know.

VLADIMIR:
And it came on you all of a sudden?

POZZO:
Quite wonderful!

VLADIMIR:
I’m asking you if it came on you all of a sudden.

POZZO:
I woke up one fine day as blind as Fortune. [
Pause
.] Sometimes I wonder if I’m not still asleep.

VLADIMIR:
And when was that?

POZZO:
I don’t know.

VLADIMIR:
But no later than yesterday –

POZZO:
[
Violently
.]
Don’t question me! The blind have no notion of time. The things of time are hidden
from them too.

VLADIMIR:
Well just fancy that! I could have sworn it was just the opposite.

ESTRAGON:
I’m going.

POZZO:
Where are we?

VLADIMIR:
I couldn’t tell you.

POZZO:
It isn’t by any chance the place known as the Board?

VLADIMIR:
Never heard of it.

POZZO:
What is it like?

VLADIMIR:
[
Looking
round
.]
It’s indescribable. It’s like nothing. There’s nothing. There’s a tree.

POZZO:
Then it’s not the Board.

ESTRAGON:
[
Sagging
.]
Some diversion!

POZZO:
Where is my menial?

VLADIMIR:
He’s about somewhere.

POZZO:
Why doesn’t he answer when I call?

VLADIMIR:
I don’t know. He seems to be sleeping. Perhaps he’s dead.

POZZO:
What happened exactly?

ESTRAGON:
Exactly!

VLADIMIR:
The two of you slipped. [
Pause
.]
And fell.

POZZO:
Go and see is he hurt.

VLADIMIR:
We can’t leave you.

POZZO:
You needn’t both go.

VLADIMIR:
[
To
ESTRAGON
.] You go.

ESTRAGON:
After what he did to me? Never!

POZZO:
Yes yes, let your friend go, he stinks so. [
Silence
.]

What is he waiting for?

VLADIMIR:
What are you waiting for?

ESTRAGON:
I’m waiting for Godot.

[
Silence
.]

VLADIMIR:
What exactly should he do?

POZZO:
Well to begin with he should pull on the rope, as hard as he likes so long as he
doesn’t strangle him. He usually responds to that. If not he should give him a taste
of his boot, in the face and the privates as far as possible.

VLADIMIR:
[
To
ESTRAGON
.] You see, you’ve nothing to be afraid of. It’s even an opportunity to revenge yourself.

ESTRAGON:
And if he defends himself?

POZZO:
No no, he never defends himself.

VLADIMIR:
I’ll come flying to the rescue.

ESTRAGON:
Don’t take your eyes off me.

[
He
goes
towards
LUCKY
.]

VLADIMIR:
Make sure he’s alive before you start. No point in exerting yourself if he’s dead.

ESTRAGON:
[
Bending
over
LUCKY
]. He’s breathing.

VLADIMIR:
Then let him have it.

[
With
sudden
fury
VLADIMIR
starts
kicking
LUCKY
,
hurling
abuse
at
him
as
he
does
so.
But
he
hurts
his
foot
and
moves
away
limping
and
groaning.
LUCKY
stirs
.]

ESTRAGON:
Oh the brute!

[
He
sits
down
on
the
mound
and
tries
to
take
off
his
boot.
But
he
soon
desists
and
disposes
himself
for
sleep,
his
arms
on
his
knees
and
his
head
on
his
arms
.]