Misreading Watt: The Scottish Psychoanalysis of Samuel Beckett

Author(s): Martin Kevorkian

Source: ELH, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Summer, 1994), pp. 427-443
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873275
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MISREADING WATT:THE SCOTTISH

PSYCHOANALYSISOF SAMUEL BECKE7T
BY MARTINKEVORKIAN

"Itis wellsaid,"Poe says"ofa certainGermanbookthat'erlasstsich

nichtlesen'-it does not permititselfto be read."' The figuresin
Beckett's
Watt,as theymove"slowlyalone,likesomething
outofPoe,"
movein a textthatseemsto prohibitcertainkindsof reading.2
Hugh
Kennerhas notedthatWatt'sstrangely
craftedisolatedelementsresist
and allegorization.3
pattern-finding
YetKenneralso notesthatBeckett,
farfrompresenting
the readerwithmuteopacity,
has laced thework
and mechanisms
withmannerisms
thattemptus to struggle
againstthis
resistance:
"Thebookrepeatedly
drivesus to seekafterpatterns";
"The
temptation
to allegorizeit is . . . strong."H. PorterAbbottlocates
in the"mockallegory"
Beckett'sachievement
Wattobligesthe dutiful
to
will
reader investigate.
I
arguethata complementary
modelforWatt's
interpretive
tensionemergesas we investigate
how Beckettuses the
of the German-trained
writings
Scottishpsychologist
HenryJackson
Watt.H. J.Watt,once his spectreis raised,furnishes
the readerwith
to read Beckett,amplenew temptations
ample new opportunities
to
misreadBeckett.
JacquesLacan uses Poe's story,
"The PurloinedLetter,"in partto
arguethatthosebeforehimhavemisreadFreud.TodayLacan is often
read,and no doubtmisread,forhis suggestions
on howto read. One
readingof Lacan indicatesLacan re-readsFreud in an attemptto
recoverthetrueradicalness
of Freud'sinterpretive
a strategy
strategy,
beyondsignification.
Freud,accordingto Lacan (as ShoshanaFelman
usefully
represents
him),dealtprimarily
withthepathofthe signifier,
notthesignified.5
In discussing
"The Case ofPoe," Felmanconcludes
that"whatpoetryandpsychoanalysis
haveincommon"
is that"theyboth
"6 The revolutionary
existonlyinsofar
as theyresistourreading.
natureof
Freud's discovery,
for Lacan, "consistsnot-as it is conventionally
understood-ofthe revelation
of a new meaningbut of the practical
ofa newwayofreading.
discovery
The interpretive
fromhis
strategy
propounded
byH. J.Wattsprings
mistrust
ofwhathad been "conventionally
understood"
to be "Freud's
discovery."
Thoughit wouldbe foolishto ascribeall the subtletyof
Lacanianthought
toWatt,LacanandWatthavea commongroundbased
ELH 61 (1994) 427-443 C 1994 by The JohnsHopkins UniversityPress

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427

on an ironyof misreading.Wattand Lacan agree thata certaintypeof

readingstrategyis flawed:forLacan, in termsof Poe's story,the analyst's
mistakelies in theattemptto divinethehiddencontentsofthe purloined
letter.Ironically,the shared aversionto such a subcutaneous reading
project leads Wattto criticizeFreud, but leads Lacan to defendFreud.
Wattaccuses Freud of the sin thatLacan believes Freud nevercommitted (Lacan attributesthe transgression
solelyto Freud's errantfollowers), namely,attemptingto look beneath the signifier.In The Common
Sense of Dreams, Wattseeks to freethe analystfromwhatWattsees as
Freud's error:8
We now see thatwe can dispensewitha numberof the notions
appliedto dreamsby Freudand others... as scientific
termsfor
whichwouldimplythattheconflict
tooksomemeans
theserelations,
ofchanging
itselfintotheimagesandthoughts
ofthedream,so that
whilenot actuallyapparentit mightbe virtually
present,theyare
and perverse.One of thesetermsis symbolism.
utterly
misleading
(CSD, 145)
In the name of dispellingthe errorsof Freud, Watt's"commonsense"
approach does not encourage, as Lacanian theorydoes, "a textualas
opposed to a biographicalapproach."9Watt'smethod is, in fact,biographicalin nature;his plea is simplyto focuson biographicalmeanings
thatappear so "plainly,"
"clearly"or withsuch "simpledirectness,"as not
to requireany"analysisor explanation"(CSD, 56-57): 'We now see that
the crypticnature of dreams disappears when we view them as the
of reluctance"(CSD, 98).
solutionof a conflictor the circumvention
Watt'sworksin English (earlierarticleswere published in German)
appeared between 1909 and 1929; his workwas thusroughlycontemporaneous with that of Freud and Jung,both of whose theories he
criticized.Justas Lacan mightsay that Watt's criticismof Freud is
mistaken,Dr. Emma First, a followerofJung,similarlyfindsWattguilty
of misreadingJung:"Despite Jung'sexpresswarnings,some critics,e.g.,
Watt,made the mistakeof thinkingJungclaimed to have found,by his
classification, the intrapsychical association. . . . Jung's classification is
entirely logical-verbal . . . the outer classification cannot of itself settle

anythingabout the inner conditionsof the association; it does not,

indeed, deal withthe question."'10
Again the debate stormsaroundthe questionof surfaceversusdepth
in interpretation.
Watt appears to criticizeJungand Freud forseeking
or the invisiblesignified);Jung'sdefenders-and
depth (traniscendence
more recently,Freud's-claim their hero sought no such thing,but
428

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Watthimselfclaimsto look only

inspectedonlythe surfaceof signifiers.
at what is textuallypresentin the reportof a dream, ratherthan what
may be "virtuallypresent."Of course, all (Freud, Lacan, Jung,First,
Watt) end with some sort of interpretivestrategy,leaving a wake of
seem mysticallyto engage in the
uneasiness lest theirinterpretations
hiddendepthsofmeaning.This anxietyis familiarto thosewho enterthe
classroom of modernistliterarystudy;Kenner's work,for example, is
oftenheld as exemplaryforavoidingthevarietyofdepthsa criticmayfall
into: "In concerningitselfwith . . . structuresdiscoverablein the work
ratherthan the putativemoods and messages naivelyattributedto the
man,thisbook holds a unique place in the growingliteraturedevotedto
the phenomenonof Samuel Beckett.""
enjoyed an ascendance
This avoidance of transcendentsignification
duringthe formationof what FriedrichA. Kittlerterms"the discourse
networkof 1900": "In the discourse networkof 1900, psychophysical
experimentswere incorporatedas so many random generatorsthat
produce discourses without sense or thought. [Signification]is excluded."'12 KittleroffersGertrude Stein's 1896 psychologicalstudyin
"automaticreading"as "a prettyexperimentindeed, one made as if to
dismisshermeneuticreading."13 Stein'ssubsequent literaryoutputprovides a powerfulcase of the amplifiedfeedbackbetween the schools of
letters and sciences. The "rules of discourse" Kittlerdetects in her
experimentsbelong to the same epistemethatgovernsthe experiments
of HenryJacksonWattand thatBeckettlater (Stein sooner) exploits.
The world of Beckett'sWatt proclaimsthe crypticand misleading
natureofall reports(exemplifiedbyArsene'scynicalanecdote applicable
to "all information"
[W,46] ); but even misleadingtextsdo lead, ifnot to
Several signifiers
once used by
at least to othersignifiers.'4
signification,
will
argue that
H. J.Wattare "actuallypresent"in Beckett'sfiction,and I
a conflictwithH. J.Watt'swritingsis "actuallyapparent"in the ironyof
these textualreferences.Irony,accordingto one pragmaticdefinition,
involves words being mentioned as though they were being used.'5
Beckett'sborrowingsfromWattare ironicin thisway; Beckettmentions
H. J.Watt'sworkand wordsbut makesno morethanapparentuse of his
notionof"commonsense." TracingBeckett'sreferencesto
compensatory
Watt,we findourselvesnot so much scratchingas polishinga well-worn
failure.
surfaceof interpretive
HenryJacksonWatt firstappears in Beckett'sworkin Murphy,in a
referencethattakesus to the beginningofWatt'scareer and his training
lunchritualinvolvesa word
at theWtirzburgschool. Murphy'sfourpenny
associationresponse game played with a waitress:aftera "preparatory
MartinKevorkian

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429

signal,"Murphy"pausedto letthefore-period
develop,thatfirstofthe
ofreactioninwhich,according
to theKtilpeschool,the
threemoments
major tormentsof responseare undergone.Then he applied the
we learn,"had some faithin the Kflpe
stimulusproper."'16
Murphy,
school. Marbe and Buhlermightbe deceived,even Wattwas only
human,buthowcouldAchbe wrong?"(Murphy,
81).
At the Wiirzburgschool,the all-too-human
Watt studiedunder
OswaldKiilpewithKarlMarbeandNarzissAchbetween1902and1906,
obtaininghis Ph.D. fora paper on thoughtprocessesand "problem
to Ktilpe'sexperimental
studiesofword
Wattalsocontributed
solving."'17
Thesestudieschallenged
association
responseand"imageless
thought."
the idea (of WilhelmWundtand EdwardBradfordTitchener)that
vehiclesofthought,
imagesweretheprimary
claiminginsteadthatno
to introspection
is necessary
in certaintaskswhere
imagery
susceptible
orjudgmentis thought
to be required(thetaskscenteredon
thinking
and speaking).'8
readingandwriting,
listening
Beckett'sMalone ratherexplicitly
expoundsthisnon-introspective
in MaloneDies:
mechanicsofspeechformation
I cansayUptheRepublic!,
forexample,
orSweetheart!,
forexample,
towonder
ifI shouldnotrather
without
having
havecutmytongue
is needed,before
out,orsaidsomething
else.Yes,no reflection
or
I haveonly
toopenmymouth
forittotestify
totheoldstory,
after,
my
oldstory.... AndifI everstoptalking
itwillbe becausethereis
moreto be said,eventhough
all hasnotbeensaid,even
nothing
hasbeensaid.'9
though
nothing
is needed"-goes Watt,
This Wiirburgian
meditation-"noreflection
as wellas "before"
reflection
"after"
Ktilpe& Co. one betterbydenying
verbalperformance.
declaresa completeabsenceof
Malone,moreover,
hermeneutic
content:despitean arbitrarily
long streamof speech,
has been said."
"nothing
This speech analysisflowsfromMalone'spencil shortlyafterhe
noticesthathiswindow"sometimes
looksas ifit werepaintedon the
whata tourist
I musthavebeen,
wall,likeTiepolo'sceilingatWiirzburg,
thediaeresis,
ifitis one" (MD, 235). Beckett,
I can evenremember
we
a bitmorethana graphological
suspect,remembers
nicetyinassociation
withthisword-he mayevenconstruct
Malone'stransition
fromwriting
towriting
"noreflection
is needed"as deliberately
excluding
"W\irzburg"
Malone'sconsciousreflection
betweenthetwoacts.
upona connection
we findtheactualmention
oftheword'Wtirzburg"
Readinginnocently,
bearsnoproperreference
totheWiIrburgian
issuesraisedinthepassage
430

Watt
Misreading

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thatfollows.Even as the signifier"Wiirzburg"appears, the immediate

contextleads us awayfromimagelessword responsetowardthe patronage ofBaroque imageryby Germannobility(Tiepolo did go to Wiirzburg
Still, echoes of the earlier
in 1750, but not to study psychology).20
referencein Murphy to "Kiilpe" encourage us to press the play of
which happens depsychologicalmeaningfurther.Malone's testimony,
void of introspection,generallyexemplifiesthe major Wtrzburgian
assertion.2' The scenario described in Murphy clearly dramatizesthe
conditionsofthewordassociationstudiesbehindthisassertion.Beckett's
Murphy,aftercarefullyrecreatingthe experimentalcontextof subject
expectation,confidentlyapplies the "stimulusproper" and expects an
immediate,unmeditatedresponse.
Such is the qualityof speeches deliveredby manyBeckettcharacters:
storiesare extracted,triggeredby word associations,and responsesare
givenwithoutthe possibilityof the characters'derivingby introspection
anyidea ofhow the responsesare formed.In Watt,Arthur(accordingto
the storySam relaysfromWatt)respondsto Mr. Graves'scomplaintsof
impotenceby recommendingthe Bando cure,whichremindsArthurof
the storyof Louit and Nackybal,which pours fromArthur'smouth
againsthis will untilhe is too exhaustedto go on: "If I tellyou all thisin
such detail,Mr. Graves,the reasonis, believe me, thatI cannot,much as
I should like, and for reasons that I shall not go into, for they are
unknownto me, do otherwise"(W, 181). As predictedby the Wiirzburg
leaves him unenlightresponsetheory,Arthur'sattemptat introspection
response.Kenner notes
ened about the mentalpath of his fully-formed
that later in Beckett's fiction,"communicationbecomes something
extorted";here Kenner gesturestowardthe threatof the Gestapo as a
In Watt,extortionis less overtlythreatening
real biographicalpressure.22
than in laterworks(forexample,What Where,or Roughfor Radio II),
but Kennernotesthat"pages out of Wattseem to have been writtenout
"23 Even in
in a trance of obligation,like some schoolroomimposition.
Murphy the Kfilpe school response containsthe hint of torture:"The
tormentsof responseare undergone"(M, 80).
to covertheissue ofvoice in Beckett'sfictionin
Obviously,attempting
gone mad clearlyfails
termsofexperimentalwordassociationpsychology
to "leave room beneath the swatterfor all seven flies" (H. J. Watt's
smashinginterpretation[CSD,
wonderfulcriterionfor a triumphantly
40]).24 The full spectrum of Watt's work offers,if not a conclusive
interpretationof Beckett, then certainlya varietyof swattingimplements.We seek, afterall, not the death of fliesbut rathera "new way of
reading."
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431

have alreadybeen textualized

Most ofthedreamsH. J.Wattinterprets
by earlieranalysts-Freud, Jung,W. H. R. Rivers;Watt simplyquotes
from their reports before offeringhis reading of their texts. His
commentson the canon of textualizeddreams may offersome consolation to those who struggleand fail to make interpretationsstick to
Beckett texts.Watt notes a common textureto the reportsthat the
have chosen to master:
foundersof interpretation
The studyofdreamsis likelyto set outfromdreamsthat,owingto
have actuallybeen reportedwith
theirclear and vividcharacter,
a fargreater
Probably
numberofdreams
approximate
completeness.
vagueanddullyslow,escapereport.
thatarecomplexanddivagating,
We are leftwitha
The attempt
to recordthemis too discouraging.
merejumbleoftatters.
(CSD, 2)
In the rare case of happening upon a "jumble" that has somehow
escaped oblivion,H. J.Wattcautionsthatalthoughthe reportof a dream
may be "inadequate or inaccurateat any point,this . . . must never be
taken as license to drive an awkward theory through a jungle of
facts"(CSD, 2).
contradictory
The data Beckettprovidesus with,and certainlythatWattprovides
Sam with,seem to coincidewiththatvast,divagatingclass ofdreamsthat
generally go unreported.25The discouragingduty of recording the
sometimes"dullyslow. . . jumble of tatters"of Watt'sexperienceseems
to have fallento Sam, and to Beckett.Althoughhe propoundsno sure
H. J.Wattdelineatesa basic method(used by
theoryforinterpretation,
Sam) for handlingWatt's story:"Moreover we have little reason to
believe thatthe dreamis a well-connectedstory,"but "our firstduty. . .
down as a story,clear and sequential as faras it goes"
[is] to fixit firmly
(CSD, 16). Sam does put the sectionsofWatt'sstoryintoa chronological
sequence, insofaras he is able (we learn thisat the beginningof section
IV (W, 215).
But Sam has understandableproblems gettingthe storystraight,
because the way Watt has told Sam his storysubvertsany attemptat
accuraterecall. H. J.Wattwrotea book in 1909, "One in whichhe took
no pridebut whichhas provedto be probablythe mostpopularof all his
This book,The Economyand TrainingofMemory,characterwritings."26
izes some of the specificchallengesSam faces. In discussingthe process
of learning a sequence of four terms, H. J. Watt emphasizes the
importanceof beginningwiththe correctorder: "The second idea will
thereupon recall the thirdand the fourth.. . . Care must be taken,
therefore,to keep what has to be learned in its proper order . . .
432

MisreadingWatt

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especially the firsttime."27Sam, althoughhe does make an effortto

restoreorder to the four parts of Watt'sstory,begins with the grave
disadvantageof Watt'shavingoriginallytold him the story"Two, one,
four,three" (W, 215). This is just the beginningof the complications,
and "notonly
because notonlyshouldthelargesectionsbe keptstraight,
must the sequence of words be correct,but it must be as correctas
and thelike"(ETM, 45).
possiblein everyessentialdetail,pronunciation,
Instead WattpresentsSam witha storywhose sequence is disruptedon
utterancesto Sam at theasylumare
everypossiblelevel.Watt's"muffled"
delivered"back to front"(W, 164): Wattinvertsthe orderof "the letters
oftheword,"then"ofthe sentencesin theperiod,"then"ofthewordsof
the sentence togetherwith that of the lettersin the word," and he
eventuallymutterscompletelyaleatorycombinationsof these various
inversions(W, 168). Sam repeatedly(and withrepeated qualifications)
excuses himself:"Thus I missed I suppose much I presume of great
interest"(W, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169).
H. J. Watt on memorymay also speak to the dilemma of Beckett's
reader when faced with what Sam is able to convey to us, with its
H. J.Wattwarns,"Do not multiply
exhaustive,repetitivepermutability.
imageryunnecessarily"(ETM, 127); "Beyond a certainpoint [a point
Beckett'stext certainlysurpasses] an increased number of repetitions
brings no advantage, but produces only headache or a feeling of
stupidity"(ETM, 42). A. Alvarez,in similarterms,responds to Watt:
of Beckett'seffortis obvious. Faced
"The perverseself-destructiveness
the reader,however
withpage afterpage of minutelogical alternatives,
admiringor determined,can in the end onlyskip."28
Beckett'swillfulviolationsof the "economy"of the reader'sattentive
energy are particularlyWattian (or anti-Wattian).Amongsthis most
important"rules"formemorizing,H. J.Wattinsistsupon "shortsittings
... too shortforfatigue"(ETM, 125). Reflectingon Arsene'sexhausting
story(W, 39-63), Watt was "inclinedto regret"that "somethinghad
preventedhim,perhaps his fatigue,frompayingattentionto what was
being said and fromenquiringintowhatwas being meant"(W, 81). That
something,as Alvareznotes,appears to be deliberateon Beckett'spart.
One imaginesBeckettdiscoveringH. J.Watt'shandbookon memoryand
decidingto writeWattso as to renderthe readerpowerlessto remember
For
"headache or feelingofstupidity."
anythingbeyondan unforgettable
"what
was
meant"
to
understand
the
begins
Watthimself, inability
being
of keepingin mind "whatwas being said."
withthe simple difficulty
Despite the "regret"Wattfeelsabout his seeminginabilityto recover
Arsene'sstory,inexpurgablememoryis also Watt'snaggingenemy.When
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433

hisown,Wattwantstotidy
itcomesto questionsandwords,particularly
fromhim,andforget
it"(W,123),
a problemup andthen"putthematter
but once a conclusionis seemingly
reached,"thenit was too late,the
wordswere said and could neverbe forgotten"
(W,124).29Wattvacillates

between regrettingand takingcomfortin this condition.H. J. Watt,

discussingthe "insoluble question" of "whetherwe ever completely
offers:"Those who have losthope and takerefugein the
forgetanything"
past, as well as those who are fretfulof the past and brood over it
repentantly
and complainingly,
soon come to the convictionthatnothing
is reallybeyondrecall" (ETM, 4, 5). This broodingrefugein past events
seems a major preoccupationforthe hopeless charactersin Watt,their
tellshis
storiestoldand retold,albeitill remembered.Watt,in particular,
storyto Sam, like one reciting"a text, by long repetitionbecome
familiar"(W,156).
Althoughunfailingmemorymaybe Watt'soccasional curse,thisdoes
not mean memoryin Beckett'sworld is infallible.H. J. Watt,near the
end of his handbook,tells the studentto "Trustthe memory"(ETM,
126). Yet as we have alreadyseen, Becketthas deliberatelysabotagedthe
variousreport/record/recall
experiencesconstitutedin the book forboth
about probable
the charactersand forthe reader. Sam is forthcoming
fora man like Watt
compounded imprecisionsof his tale: "It is difficult
to tell a long storylike Watt'swithoutleaving out some things,and
foistingin others.And thisdoes not mean eitherthatI maynot have left
out some of the thingsthatWatttold me, or foistedin othersthatWatt
nevertold me" (W, 126). Some of the impulseto foistand omitmaybe
artistic,whilesome foistingand omissionmaysimplyarisefrom"failure,
hesitation,or uncertaintyin recall" which H. J. Watt attributesto
"imperfector disturbedassociations"(ETM, 126). One getsthe idea that
or disturbedassociations"may
forBeckettand his characters,"imperfect
in fact play a large role in what other writersmight call "artistic
of the memorywill become a trope for
inspiration."The unreliability
in
later
works:
the desiccatedmindofthe narratordoes
fictionalimpulse
not so much imagineas ill remember.In Molloy,forinstance,"remembering"replaces "imagining"in the stock qualificationof a narrative's
dubious truthvalue: "Perhaps I'm rememberingthings"(M, 8).
In Molloy,we have perhaps the strongestverbal remnantsof H. J.
Watt and the problemsof memory.Beckett surroundsa passage that
mentionsthe name "Watt"with two near-verbatim(though ironized)
quotes fromthe Economyand Trainingof Memory.Yet at preciselythe
moment"Watt"entersthe textof Molloy,the immediatecontextseems

434

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and in factevenaway
to guideus awayfromtheScottishpsychologist,
earlierbookandcharacter.
fromBeckett's
permutative
stonesepisode,we maycompareMolloy's
In thesucking
and forwards.
therighthandand theleft,backwards
performance-"to
Anddeep downitwas all thesameto me whetherI suckeda different
stoneeach timeor alwaysthe same stone,untilthe end of time"(M,
memory,
one of
74)-to H. J.Watt'sstoryof a manwitha remarkable
by
was to learna seriesofthreehundredfigures
whose"performances
heart in fifteenminutes,or thereabout,and say them backwards,
up and down,anyway,at the end of time"(ETM, 34-35).
forwards,
minutesto
Becketthas moved"theend oftime"fromfifteen
Although
to
and shiftedfromH. J.Watt'swonderment
mind-numbing
eternity,
of
Watt'sweariness,not onlythe verbalpatternsbut the absurdity
resonatesbetweenthe twopassages.In a moresuccinct
permutation
referenceseveralpages laterin Molloy,Beckettservesup the rather
facts":
"are notthesesignificant
following
genericcliche,immediately
"Timewilltell"is a headingforone
"Timewilltell"(M,80). Significantly,
is attributed
underwhich"uncertainty"
ofH. J.Watt'srulesofmemory,
associations"
or disturbed
(ETM, 126).
to "imperfect
toH. J.Watt,we findMolloy's
Betweenthesetwopossiblereferences
disdainful
somewhat
complaint:
atmytowndirectly,
bysea,butyou
So therewasnowayofcoming
orthesouthandtaketotheroads,
welltothenorth
hadtodisembark
that
forthey
hadnever
heardofWatt,
justimagine
that,
justimagine
too.(M,76)
Lookingaboveandbelowinthetext(northandsouth,ifyouwill,though
you mightnot) we can hear echoes of H. J. Watt.Or, considering
in passing,we mighthear
Beckett's
penchantforobliqueself-reference
thetext
thispassageask,"Canyouimagineanyonewouldtrytonavigate
for
first
Butthemostlogicalreferent
ofMolloywithout
readingWatt?"30
of the steam
"Watt"in thiscontextseemsto be JamesWatt,inventor
oftransportational
Becausetheinhabitants
progress.3'
engine,harbinger
of Molloy'sregionhave "neverheardof [James]Watt,"no trainline
is obligedto
traveler
servestheoutlying
ports,andtheinconvenienced
"taketo the roads."Thus,thoughMolloy'smeaningfor"Watt"seems
ofothermeanings
possibility
restricted
here,therelurksthetantalizing
thatmayhave existedat othertimes,"A periodof mylifericherin
to patchtogether
here,I meanricher
illusionsthantheone I am trying
in otherspoorer"(M, 76).
in certainillusions,
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435

In Wattthe name "Watt"is again ambiguous.Restricting

ourselvesto
patternsdiscoverablewithinWatt,'Watt"appears mostlikelyto referto,
and functionas, a question:"What?"Almosteverysentencein the book
seems to functionas a question.In additionto Sam's consistentquestioning of his narrativeassertions,manysentencesthatwe would ordinarily
thinkof as questionsappear withoutquestionmarks(thisis also true of
other works, for example, the quote from Molloy-"Are not these
significantfacts"[M, 80]): "Wattlooked at the hat. Was it possible that
thiswas hishat"(W, 26). Wattmayhimselfbe a questionwithouta mark.
Arsene,attemptingto elicithis name, addresses him as "Mr. _ ?" (W.
48). The question,and itsmark,predominateselsewhere."The song that
Erskinesang, or ratherintoned,was alwaysthe same. It was:

"(W, 85). Sam's "purelymentalfaculties"are "properlyso

called of
?
?
?~~~~~~~~"
(W, 169; these perhaps refer to the five canonical messengers of

curiosity:What, Where, When, How, and Why). As we know from

Murphy,"In the beginningwas the pun" (Murphy,65). Beckett'sword
play surfacesearly in Watt with Mr. Hackett'sfascinationwith Watt,
whose name he does notknow:"He did notknoweitherwhatit was that
so intriguedhim.Whatis itthatso intriguesme, he said, . . . [no question
mark follows]" (W, 17). In short,Beckett gives us ample reason to
suspect 'Watt" is "What,"thoughperhaps less reason to suspect what
"Watt"is.
Ironically,even H. J. Watt'stheoriesof "auditivememory"may be
employedto privilege"What"as a likelyreadingfor"Watt."Those who
relyupon auditivelearning,as Sam must in the initialstep of hearing
Watt's"impetuousmurmur"(W,156), "willoftenmake errorsin spelling
which originatein the resemblanceof the sound of two words,writing
'the hold thing'for 'the whole thing"' (ETM, 89; other examples also
of distinguishing
focuson the difficulty
"wh").32
H.
To posit
J. Watt'spresence in Watt, we must fall prey to the
weaknessof Beckett'sWatt:"This fragility
particularinterpretive
of the
outer meaninghad a bad effecton Watt,forit caused him to seek for
another,for some meaning of what had passed" (W, 73). H. J. Watt
clamors for us to shun this temptationto look elsewhere than at the
surface:"If anyone declares that I am dreamingabout somethingthat
436

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has not appeared in mydream,he is talkingnonsense" (CSD, 3). H. J.

Wattmight,perhaps,forgiveus fora particularventureintothe depths,
this rememberingof his name beside Beckett's.Althoughhe claims
"symbolism"to be "utterlymisleadingand perverse"he seems to allow
signify,
albeitvaguely:
room fornames to externally
[A symbol]is not the same as a name,of course,in whichno
itmay
needbe presentatall,whether
transferred
schemeofrelations
happento be presentor not.Even ifit is presentin rarecases,its
ignored.(CSD, 145; "Fortheyhad
presenceis soonerorlaterentirely
neverheardofWatt,justimaginethat"[M,76].)
Descartes (whose name appears in earlyBeckettpoetry,forexample,
H. J.Watt
in "Whoroscope")has notbeen ignoredin Beckettcriticism.33
has a special case of Cartesianismand entertainssome thoughtsthatflirt
concernthemselves
withOccasionalism.H. J.Watt'sworksconsistently
with the division between "pure psychology"and "pure physiology,"
which must be formulatedseparately,yet always with the hope of
realms. .. no logical
agreement:"Mind and matterare so verydifferent
device has yetsucceeded in removingthe divisionbetweenthe worldof
the mindor phenomenaand theworldof matteror reality.The morewe
studythe twoin relationto one anotherthe more definitethe traceswe
findof a parallelism."34
Hugh Kenner,as A. Alvarez notes, has alreadyobserved the comic
effects,"the deliberate wittypedantry"that may be traced back to
Beckett's interest in Descartes and Geulincx.35 Alvarez agrees, but
remainstroubledthatthisconnection"does not explainwhya stylethat
so swiftly
degeneratesinto
beginsas a moreor less charmingeccentricity
Afterhis timeat Mr.Knott's,whydoes Watthead forthe
real madness."36
asylum?If we examinewhat H. J.Wattcalls "the historyof the dream"
(CSD, 19), "common sense" should make the plot "apparent."Henry
JacksonWatt was "Late ConsultingPsychologistto the Glasgow Royal
Asylum,"as we learn fromthe bylineto The CommonSense of Dreams.
This asylumwas H. J.Watt'sfinalrestingspot,the place he called home
aftera briefstintas a civilianprisonerin GermanyduringWorldWar I,
fromwhichhe "neverquite recovered.
"7 The outermeaningof Wattis
so fragile;how easy it is to yield to the notion of Watt as a warped

ofH. J.Watt.
biography

of the outermeaning,"one mustfall

To succumbthusto the "fragility
prey to the desire that drivesthe characterWatt "to seek foranother"
inner meaning: "The most meagre, the least plausible, would have
satisfiedWatt,who had not seen a symbol,nor executed an interpretaMartinKevorkian

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437

tion,since the age offourteen,or fifteen"(W, 73). The particularcontext

of this interpretivecrisisbears closer inspection,since its "bad effect"
seems a turningpointin Watt'strajectorytowardmadness; Sam repeatedly suggeststhatthe Gall visit,whichgeneratesthe crisis,"resembles"
and emblematizesall thathappens to Watt at Mr. Knott's(W, 72, 80).
Adam Goldgeier has pointed out that the Gall name (particularly
followingFranz Josef)is intimatelyassociated with the foundationof
The phrenologyconnectionseems to have generatedthe
phrenology.38
talkin Wattof "facevalues" and the dangerof lookingbeneath the skin:
"Some see thefleshbeforethebones,and some see thebones beforethe
flesh... and some neversee the fleshat all, neverneversee the fleshat
all" (W, 73). But can we ascribeanysignificanceto the factthatthe Galls
have come to repairthe piano? The firstof the "Examples of Dreams
Interpreted"(chapter2) in The CommonSense ofDreams, opens witha
verybriefaccount of a man who "dreamtI was playingthe piano . .. a
thingI cannotdo at all" (CSD, 56). In the heightofcommonsense, H. J.
Watt immediatelyand confidentlydeclares, "Nothing here calls for
Ironically,it is a simple piano event in Watt,
analysisor explanation."39
one requiringno analysisor explanationwhatsoeveron Watt'spart,that
driveshim to distractionin his futileattemptsto execute an interpretation.We maythinkofthemusicalnotationsin Beckett'saddenda to Watt,
followedby the rule thatWatthas, at the cost of his sanity,ignored:"No
symbolswherenone intended"(W, 254).
From the verybeginningof his career,H. J. Watt expressesanxiety
about the inherent difficultiesof interpretation.In an explanatory
footnoteto an English translationof his Ph.D. thesis Watt voices his
desire that,"It will also be good if the impressiongains ground that
experimentalpsychologyis an intelligibleand exact science and not a
mere play with dreams."4OFaced with the bankruptcyof theoretical
approaches, he places his hope in the sheer efficacyof systematic
methodis, thatit enables
method:"The greatadvantageofexperimental
of our direct
us, by groupingof data ... to overcomethe insufficiency
yearslater,we find
introspection."'41By his finalbook some twenty-five
Wattsomewhatdefeatedin his positivismabout "exactscience" but still
method."In The CommonSense ofDreams,he
clingingto "experimental
fallsback on methodto allow himselfto playwithdreams,althoughhe
of his enterprise:
seems aware of the futility
In spite of the
So we revertto the problemsof psychoanalysis.
ofmanytreatises,
thepersistent
characteristics
scientifically
repellent
readerbeginsto feel the "technique"it induces.He gains the
in it": and it then becomes
conviction
that"thereis something
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necessary
to tryto set thatoutin termsacceptableto menofgood
sense.(CSD, xiv)
It is thissortof emptymethodological"good sense" thatis the refugeof
Beckett'sWatt-and a good portionof his madness.
Watt, somewhere along his persistentway, has begun to feel that
thoughone cannot reallyexplain anything,a certainsystematic"technique" mighthelp one to discoverwhatever"something"itis thatmaybe
"in it."Wattendorses,forinstance,the good sense of Spiro: "Here then
was a sensibleman at last.He began withthe essentialand then,working
on, would deal withthe less importantmatters,one afterthe other,in an
orderlyway" (W, 27). ThroughoutWatt,this methodologicalapproach
often appears coupled with a memorizationmandate. Several scenes
proffera methodizedmemoryas the necessary,if empty,stratagemfor
disorderedidiocyor simulatingmiracledgenius. The multiforestalling
plied difficulties
of Louit'sexaminingcommitteeall stem,Arthuror Watt
or Sam has suggested,froman inexcusable"lack of method"(W, 178),
whichcould be remedied byimplementinga numericalrule of orderto
"be carefullycommittedto memoryby membersof the committee"(W,
179)42 Nackybal,Louit's prime exhibitbeforethe committee,deceives
the non-methodizedexaminersin kind: he neitherhas powers of true
mathematicalinsightnor of miraculousdivination,but merelymemorizes"byheart"a set of rulesas his "methodof cube-rootingin his head"
(W, 198).
Watt's own adherence to a species of H. J. Watt's "good sense"
constrainshis actionstowardthe ridiculous.Much as H. J.Wattknows
psychoanalysiswon'twash and yet persistsin tryingto conformit to a
logicalsystem,Wattwearsbothhis sockson the footthatis too smallfor
his shoe and none on the other foot-all this "in vain....

But logic was

on his side, and he remainedfaithful"(W, 219). Watt'sfidelityto the

dictatesoflogicproceeds,as always,froma considerationofcombinatory
of his socks,in preferenceto
possibilities:he chooses "thisdistribution
the other three" (W, 219).43H. J. Watt'sprescriptionfor overcoming
a sort of method method, is all Watt holds in reserve,
insufficiency,
whethercorrectivecobbleryor canine care stands to be reckoned.To
Knott'sintricatedog-feedingconundrum,Watt applies an exhaustive
systematicapproach (W, 91-100; 111-17). Successive hypothesesare
alternatelypatternedagainstthe attendantobjections to each, with a
finalsolutionemerging"thatseemed to have prevailed"aftera tabular
Yetthishard-wonsemblance
tallyingofall "solutions"and "objections.""4
of resolutionfailsto enlighten:
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439

ButonceWatthad grasped,in itscomplexity,

themecanism[sic] of
thisarrangement
... it interested
himno more,and he enjoyeda
comparative
peace ofmind,inthisconnexion.
Notthatfora moment
Wattsupposedthathe had penetrated
the forcesat play . . . or
obtainedthe least usefulinformation
concerning
himself,or Mr.
Knott,forhe didnot.Buthe hadturned,
littlebylittle,a disturbance
intowords,he had madea pillowofoldwords,fora head.(W, 117)
We maygrantWatta momentof uncertainsleep, ifonlyas the occasion
to note a finalcorrespondencebetween Watt'swakingobsessions and
H. J. Watt's descriptionof the dream work. Here then, H. J. Watt's
psychoanalysisof Beckett'sWatt:
Nearlyeverylongdream... is reallya seriesof solutions,
each of
whichis abandonedorrejectedaftersomereflection.
As soonas one
is proposedor merelytriedbythewandering
fancy,
considerations
arisethatmakeit untenableand another
is sought.(CSD, 121)
Such a process,we maynote,does notimplythe attainmentof a tenable
solution.For Watt,who ceaselesslypursuesuntenablesolutionswithout
the presumedsomnialrefreshment
of H. J.Watt'shypothetical
dreamer,
the onlyclosure proceeds fromexhaustion.
Universityof Californiaat Los Angeles
NOTES
1 Edgar AllanPoe, "The Man of the Crowd,"The NortonAnthology
of American
Literature,
3d ed., 2 vols.(New York:W. W. Norton& Co., 1989),1:1412.Poe's title
character
is neveralone,andthenarrator's
to readhimfail.
attempts
2 SamuelBeckett,
Watt(NewYork:GroveWeidenfeld,
1953),196.Wattwaswritten
in
1945,and firstpublished1953 (in France).All quotations
fromWattcome fromthe
Groveeditionandwillbe citedhereafter
in thetextbypage number,
abbreviated
W.
3 HughKenner,
A Reader'sGuideto SamuelBeckett(New York:Farrar,Strausand
Giroux,1973),76, 79.
4 H. Porter
Abbott's
chapteronthe"imitative
form"
ofWattappearsinhisTheFiction
of SamuelBeckett(Berkeley:
Univ.ofCalifornia
Press,1973),56-74. Abbottsystematicallydemonstrates
thelengths
towhichBeckettgoesto create"mockallegory
initsmost
extremeform.It mocksnotonlythematerial
butallegory
itself"(70). Beckett,Abbott
argues,achieveshis effectsby relyingon the "esotericintelligence"
of the scholar,
himintobecoming
a kindof"superWatt,"sinceWatt's"intelligence
trapping
is thesource
ofall hiswoe."For Abbott,
thescholarholdsone advantage
overWatt:thescholarmay
choseto laugh(71).
5 ShoshanaFelman,
JacquesLacan and theAdventure
ofInsight(Cambridge:
Harvard
Univ.Press,1987),44. Supportforthisemphasisonthesignifier
hasbeengarnered
from
Freud'sanalogy
ofa dreamtoa rebus:inthismodel,we needonlylookatthepiecesofthe
puzzlethatarepresent,
rather
thantrying
to lookbeneaththemforwhatis absent.

440

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Felman (note 5), 51.

Felman, 23.
8
Henry JacksonWatt,The Common Sense of Dreams (Worcester:Clark Univ. Press,
1929); cited hereafteras CSD. The long-livedScottishCommon Sense traditionorigiappeal to objectivityand
nated withsuch figuresas Thomas Reid in an eighteenth-century
normativemoralityand against"theidealismof Berkeley,the negationsof Hume, and the
quasi-materialismof Locke"; see Terence Martin, The Instructed Vision: Scottish
Common Sense Philosophyand the Originsof AmericanFiction (Bloomington:Indiana
Univ. Press, 1961), 4. Martin,in his argumenton the pressuresbehind "The Haunted
Mind" in Americanfiction,describes how Hawthorne,Poe, and others,"strovefortrue
of the Common Sense philosophy
imaginativecreationagainstthe pervasiverestrictions
and esthetic"(149). We mayfindin Watt'swritingthe remnantsof "the safe,stabilizing,
and conservativespiritof Scottishrealism[that]made it attractivein earlyAmerica"(4),
as Watt-in The Foundations of Music (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1919)reassuresus that"the mere postulationof a materialthingas the bearer of volumes and
orders and theircoincidences and overlappingsseems to bringa special comfortto the
mind" (vii). And we may findin Beckett'sWatt an unsettlingof thattenuous securityin
the named object: "It resembleda pot, it was almosta pot, but it was not a pot of which
one could say, Pot, pot and be comforted"(W, 81).
9Felman (note 5), 46.
10 C. Jung,et al., Studies in Word Association (London: William Heinemann Ltd.,
1918), 409. I note in passingthatJ.D. O'Hara "is writinga book about Samuel Beckett's
accompaniedO'Hara's reviewof
uses of Schopenhauer,Freud and Jung";thisinformation
Beckett's recentlypublished Dream of Fair to Middling Women (The New York Times
Book Review, 13 June 1993, 11).
11Flap copy on back cover of Hugh Kenner, Samuel Beckett: A Critical Study
(Berkeley:Univ. of CaliforniaPress, 1968).
12 FriedrichA. Kittler,
Discourse Networks1800/1900(Stanford:StanfordUniv. Press,
1990), 229. David E. Wellberry'sForewordhails Kittler'sstudyforestablishing"a positive
criticism"(xii).
researchprogramfora post-hermeineutic
13
Kittler(note 12), 226.
14
Mr. Ash detains Arsene on a blusteryeveningto answer a question Arsene has not
asked: "[He] said, Seventeen minutespast fiveexactly,as God is mywitness,remember
me to yourwife (I never had one), let go my arm, raised his hat and hastened away. A
momentlater Big Ben (is thatthe name?) strucksix. This in myopinionis the typeof all
information
whatsoever,be it voluntaryor solicited"(W, 46).
15 Dan
Sperber and Deidre Wilson, "Irony and the Use-Mention Distinction,"in
Radical Pragmatics,ed. Peter Cole (New York: Academic Press, 1981); cited by John
Freccero in Dante: The Poetics of Conversion(Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1986),
108.
16 Samuel Beckett, Murphy (New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1957), 80; Murphy,
Beckett's firstpublished novel, was written and originallypublished in 1938. All
quotationsfromBeckett'sMurphycome fromthiseditionand will be cited hereafterin
the textby page number,as Murphy.TyrusMiller has recentlybroughtto myattention
the research of Jean-Michel Rabate, who reads the relevant passages of Gardner
Murphy's1929 textbook,An Historical Introductionto Modern Psychology,againstthe
portionsof Murphycited here; see Rabat6's essay,"Quelques figuresde la premiere(et
derniere) anthropomorphiede Beckett,"in Beckettavant Beckett:Essais sur la jeune
Beckett(1930-1945) (Paris: P.E.N.S., 1984), 139.
7

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441

syllables(excluding
Kittler
(note12) takesNarzissAch's1905studyof"meaningless
to whichsubjects. . . wereto respondwithmeaningless
thesyllableach,unfortunately),
ofWatt's
of1900."Fora synopsis
network
of"thediscourse
rhymes"
(220)as paradigmatic
CorpoLearningSystems
Encyclopedia
(London:International
research,
see Chamber's
in Wattin
in "problem
solving"
re-surfaces
ration,Limited,1973).H. J.Watt'sinterest
ofhow
ofthe"mecanism"
suchpassagesas thediscussion
(W, 117) ofthearrangement
to Mr. Knottand thedog.Wattcomposesa mocktreatisein
foodis to be distributed
derives"themannerinwhichthisproblemhadbeensolved"(W,
whichhe methodically
93).
18 Encyclopedia
ed. Raymond
J.Corsini,4 vols.(NewYork:JohnWiley
ofPsychology,
& Sons,1984),2:185;3:465.
19SamuelBeckett,ThreeNovels:Molloy,MaloneDies, The Unnamable(New York:
fromthesenovelscomefromthisedition,
GroveWeidenfeld,
1965),236.Allquotations
as follows:
Molloy,M; MaloneDies,MD.
abbreviated
20 Beckett
in Molloywitha reference
to
employsan analogoustrickof misdirection
as we willsee below.
"Watt"himself,
21 Maloneclaims,and in a waydemonstrates,
thatthoughts,
howeverintrospective,
in moving
ofresponseinvolved
themechanism
failto maketransparent
oftenpointedly
to thenext.
fromone statement
22 Kenner(note3), 72.
(note11),23.
SamuelBeckett
23 Kenner,
24 Benjamin
betweenWatt'smetaphor
andthe
Braunsuggested
to me theconnection
tale,thetailormustdeliverrepeatedblows
taleof"The BraveLittleTailor."In thefairy
witha duster-hisefforts
lack
as he "beatthemmercilessly"
to dropallsevendrosophila,
Wattdemandsofa conclusive
Onlyat themoment
interpretation.
thesurgicalprecision
the boast"Sevenat a
the heroicdeed (literally,
by embroidering
thetailortextualizes
thatall sevenfliesfitbeneath
ofhissash)doeshe createthefiction
blow"intothetextile
boastbecomesthe subjectof
the strokeof a singleswat.Moreover,the textualized
by those readingthe tailor'sgirdleand
repeatedand humorousmisinterpretations
that
provesso powerful
believinghimto haveslainsevenmen.This misinterpretation
in his sleep-his false
talking
evenwhenthetailorrevealsthehistrueidentity-while
warrior
prevails.
as a fearsome
reputation
25 I do notsuggest
his
dreams;rather,
thatBeckettwas in the businessof reporting
as H. J.Wattsaw
itis he reports
defiesconventional
interpretation
ofwhatever
reporting
it. Of course,Beckett'sdata, unlikethe "greaternumberof dreams"did not go
Kenner
Quiteto thecontrary,
norhavetheybeenignoredbyinterpretation.
unreported,
ofBeckett's
thephenomenal
ability
birthday
eightieth
notedon theoccasionofBeckett's
to compelcriticsto writebooks:"Beckettcan invadeyourmindwitha single
writing
aboutSam Beckettthanaboutanyother
phrase... therearelikelymorewordswritten
fromestimating
howmanyofthemmakeprofitable
reading.The
livingman.I'll refrain
Fictions[San Francisco:North
writing"
(Historical
pointis, theyall seemednecessary
PointPress,1990],289).
26 CitedfromShepherd
Dawson'sbriefbiographical
sketchprecedingThe Common
SenseofDreams(note8), ix.
27 H. J.Wells,TheEconomy
and Training
ofMemory
(London:EdwardArnold,1909),
me of Beckett's
as ETM. I thankJamesGoodwinforreminding
44; citedhereafter
in hisearlystudyofProust,andin particular
Beckett'sparadoxical
attention
to memory
claimthat"Prousthad a bad memory.. . . The manwitha good memorydoes not
17

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rememberanythingbecause he does not forgetanything";Beckett,Proust (New York:

Grove Press, 1931), 17.
28
A. Alvarez,Samuel Beckett(New York:The VikingPress, 1973), 37.
29The predicamentofthe reader maybe impliedhere as well: tryas we might,it seems
impossible forus to innocentlyre-approachthe textaftera false startthat Beckett has
haunts
lured us into. The residue of a promisingattemptat transcendentinterpretation
subsequent attemptsto read.
30 To paraphrase Gilbert Sorrentino,"Beckett's later works sometimes read like
extended footnotesto earlierworks.If you haven'tread the earlierstuff,Beckettsortof
says, 'Too bad"' (Beckett Seminar, Department of English, Stanford University,7
November 1990).
31 The much-commentedcomedy of Watt's mechanical motionsmay have as much to
do withJamesWattianmechanizationas withCartesiandualism. I owe my observations
about the industriousindustrialpresence of JamesWatt in Watt to Michael Tratner.
32 Beckett also leaves room for the orthographic
confusionof homophones: in "I haf
takenit away" (W,44), "haf" seems to represent"have."
33 SamuelBeckett:
CollectedPoems1930-1978(London:JohnCalder,1984), 1-6.
Descartes's name appears throughoutthe mock scholarly"NOTES" Beckettprovides,of
which,a sample: "Ren6 Descartes, Seigneurdu Perron,liked his omelettemade of eggs
hatchedfromeightto ten days;shorteror longerunder the hen and the result,he says,is
disgusting"(5).
34 H. J.Watt,
Basisand Structure
TheSensory
ofKnowledge
(Methuen & Co., 1925), 2.
35 Alvarez (note 28), 36.
36 Alvarez,36.
37 Dawson (note 26), x.
3 Adam Goldgeier,Beckettseminar,Departmentof English,8 October 1990, Stanford
University.
39 H. J. Watt takes this opportunity
to make anotherjab at Freud, quoting Freud's
symbolismof the piano: "'The piano itselfis onlya stairway,since it has a scale. There is
no series of associationswhich cannot be adapted to the representationof sexual facts.'
Yes, verylikely"(CSD, 58). The quotation fromSigmund Freud may be found in The
Interpretationof Dreams (New York: Macmillan,1913), 257.
40 H. J.Watt published an Englishsummary
of his thesis,"ExperimentalContribution
to a Theoryof Thinking,"in the London JournalofAnatomyand Physiology40 (19051906): 257-66; the explanationquoted appears on page 257. Watt'sthesisis Experinmentelle
Beitragezu einer Theoriedes Denkens (Leipzig: W. Engelman, 1904).
41
Watt,"Theory"(note 40), 266.
42
The word "committee"in Beckett seldom straysfar from its early etymological
associationwithmadness. The committee,accordingto a 1765 OED listing,is the party
into whose charge a lunaticor idiot is committed.
43 Watt'scount offourpossibilities,
in thisparticularexample,is unusuallylow. As many
existifthe socks are considereddistinct,and eitheror both maybe
as eleven distributions
discarded;withoutthese two provisos(distinctnessand discardability)onlythreedistributionsappear.
44 Much valuable space has been saved, which otherwisewould have been lost, by
avoidance of a final enumeration of all possible objections to all possible solutions
tendered in thisessay.

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443