One of the defining characteristics of Theater of the Absurd is how its characters often seem to act outside the standard norms of humans think and behave. This can be easily seen in the two main characters of Samuel Beckett’s quintessential Absurdist play, Waiting For Godot. From their eccentric mannerisms to their unorthodox handling of social situations, Vladimir and Estragon are quite far from being what most people consider to be well-adjusted individuals. However, the question arises as to whether they are actually insane. There are several views of insanity, and the status of whether or not Vladimir and Estragon are insane varies with the view that is used.
In order to understand if someone is insane, it is important to know the meaning of insanity. The Oxford Dictionary brings up two definitions for the word. The first is “the state of being seriously mentally ill, madness”. The second is “extreme foolishness or irrationality”. The first definition is decent, but is too vague to be of much use. In the modern age of psychology, mental illness ranges from depression and anxiety, which are manageable despite their difficulty, to more severe conditions like sociopathy and schizophrenia. As psychologist Ryan Howes writes in his article “The Definition of Insanity is…”, “There is no ‘insane’ diagnosis listed in the [Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders].” The second definition also lacks meaning because it is human nature to be irrational, but this behavior is only selectively seen as problematic based on context. For example, a stalker is irrationally attached to his or her target and will most likely be considered insane, while someone who is xenophobic and overly devoted to their country might be admired for their patriotism in a nationalist society. Ultimately, it is important to remember the situations in which the term “insane” is used. The word is thought of as a descriptor of one’s mental state, but since no one has the ability to read some one else’s mind, such judgements can only be made from observing outward actions. Because of this, insanity has less to do with a person’s mind, and is more applied to their adherence to social norms. A religious zealot proclaiming the end of the world on the street corner is called insane not for his beliefs, but for yelling in a place where it is not expected and disturbing other’s daily routines. If the zealot keeps his beliefs to himself, or even if he shares them in a cordial and polite manner, then he is mostly considered normal, if not a bit odd. A sociopath is very mentally unwell, but will probably not be considered insane because that very unwellness grants exceptional charisma, so there is a disconnect between the denotation of the word and its actual application. As such, the word “insanity” is essentially useless in its two standard definintions because of its subjectivity. Fortunately, there is a third definition that does have concrete standards: the legal one. According to Law.com, insanity is “mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior”. Under this view of insanity, a person is officially insane when they cannot control their own actions due to a warped perspective of reality or untameable impulsivity.
Now that these definitions of insanity have been established, Vladimir and Estragon can be analyzed to see how they fit to them. For the first definition, it is difficult to see how they have any significant mental illness. They partially lack empathy and they have short attention spans, but neither of these traits are enough to declare that they have any psychological conditions. For the second definition, they do show foolishness in the inanity of their speech and in circumstances such as when they spend ten minutes arguing over whether or not to help Pozzo up when he is clearly handicapped, and they do show irrationality in their strong attachments to Godot, who they barely know, so this definition suits them fairly well. For the casual definition about adherence to social norms, they have the aforementioned lack of empathy that causes their interactions with others to play out in abnormal ways. For instance, Vladimir suddenly asks the messenger boy if Godot beats him and then persists with the question despite the child’s obvious discomfort. If an average individual were to interact with Vladimir and Estragon, they would be easily put off by them and might consider them crazy, but as mentioned before, this label would be based solely on their social skills instead of on their actual mental health. Lastly, there is the legal definition. Vladimir and Estragon are not particularly impulsive, but they are delusional in their insistence on waiting for Godot even though he will never show up. They are bound to an endless cycle of waiting, and one of the most famous examples of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. As Vladimir says near the end, “Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot? That Pozzo passed, with his carrier, and that he spoke to us? Probably. But in all that what truth will there be?” Even he realizes the futility of his actions, but he cannot get himself to change, meaning that he cannot control his own behavior, and that is true insanity.
