Interpersonal Relationships

I want to shift my focus from the individual into the interpersonal connections Molloy makes with people and objects. Many of Beckett’s later works explored the human psyche with little to no communication to the outside world. Molloy is great in the delivery of these relationships because either Molloy or the detective tells them through monologue, but I will just be taking this from Molloy’s viewpoint.

  The relationship I found most profound from this reading was the link Molloy makes with his bicycle. The most remarkable thing about this affair between man and bike is that Molloy is currently crippled (though has always had one stiff leg) and he did not even remember he had a bike when he first came across it. I immediately chose this connection because it was something Beckett brought up in “More Pricks than Kicks.” Belacqua seems more concerned with the bicycle’s appearance (or perhaps Beckett just went into extreme detail) where as Molloy explores the thrilling times had with his trusty companion. Molloy will not even address the bike as bike since that is too generic, so instead he names it green according to the color. The detail Molloy delivers about his bicycle show just how much care he had put into the bike, “I popped the foot of my stiff leg (I forget which, now they’re both stiff) on the projecting front axle, and I pedaled with the other.” (Beckett pg.13).

            Molloy’s relationship with his mother captures my attention excellently through their surreal mother-father bond. The communication created between Molloy and his mother makes this mother-son link more complex. His mother responds to knocks Molloy makes on her skull, but she can only remember a couple of knocks before forgetting everything prior. Obviously this leads to conflicts since a lack of intercourse always gives tension a rise. The position that Molloy has been placed in as his own father further contributes to this escalating stress