Failing Better

Abstract

The publication of Beckett’s letters and the availability of the manuscript of Murphy have thrown new light on the curious chess game at the novel’s dénouement. In tracing the revisions from manuscript through publication and subsequent translations, I compare Beckett’s play with the conventions of the game and reconstruct the largely parodic hidden agenda of chess references in Beckett’s early work, their roots and ambivalences, as well as their place in the larger context of Beckett’s writing.

Para além da metáfora: a importância do xadrez na obra de Samuel Beckett

“…The chess game that takes place towards the end of the novelone which is annotated in full and even humorously commentated on in a style that parodies the chess parlance of the time -, is allotted a great deal of significance, representing nothing less than a crucial turning point for the plot. Its importance is nowhere more evident than in an article authored by Bern-Peter Lange (2016), thanks to his most thorough analysis of the manuscripts, letters and biographical details related to Beckett's writing of the chess game in Murphy.…”