The latest publication in the series Cambridge Elements has just been announced. Authored by Andre Furlani and titled Pilgrim’s Gress: The Beckett Walk, this volume examines the central role of walking within Beckett’s oeuvre. Furlani argues that ‘the walk begins as a motif, becomes a rhythm, expands into a compositional principle, and culminates in an ontology — a defining means by which his characters are cognitively embodied and by which meaning is grounded’. Tracing Beckett’s engagement with ‘pedestrianism’ through its history within Romanticism and the Edwardian consciousness, Furlani suggests a framework for understanding the trope within the oeuvre by proposing that Beckett depicts ‘life not as a network of stations so much as a meshwork of ways, peripatetic coming and going as the basis of human possibility and ethical value’.
The study examines the Beckett walk with reference to, for instance, cognitive theory, materialities theory, environmental studies, infrastructure theory, cultural and literary history, speech-act theory, mobility studies and performance studies.
Like all volumes in the Elements series it is FREE to download for a limited period. Follow this link until its expiry on 27 March 2025.
The Samuel Beckett Society 