96 Words
dr george pollard

In the play, "Waiting for Godot," Samuel Beckett reveals a key social fact. The need to belong, driven by the urge to survive, isn't always healthy. Social neediness lures us into liaisons, insecure and unsupportive, that unravel our self-esteem and confidence. Judith Rossner argued this need compels us to seize any means to ensure a warm body lies next to us. We settle for what we believe is better than being alone. We give up part of our self. The resulting anxiety and betrayal confirms our secret beliefs; we're unworthy and undeserving. Survival can be ruinous.

Click to find out a little more about the play from a review by Brooks Atkinson (1956), " Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot,'" in the New York "Times" for 20 April or about Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) from Colm Toibin (2006), "Happy Birthday, Sam!" in the New York Review of Books, for 27 April 2006, pages 24 and 25.

Click to find out a little more about Judith Rossner (1935-2005), author of "Looking for Mr. Goodbar."