Abstract

In his speech presenting Samuel Beckett with the Nobel Prize in Literature, Karl Ragnar Gierow claims that Beckett’s works “can be described as a negativism that cannot desist from descending to the depths.” This “negativism” is best portrayed in Beckett’s 1964 novel How It Is, which follows the character Pim in search of his torturer Pom. Pim’s world is gray and lifeless—along with countless other seekers, he crawls across the muddy terrain “from west to east towards an inexistent peace,” dragging along a rucksack filled with scarce provisions and a can opener. But when Pim pauses to open a tin of sardines, he cannot help but marvel at the movement of his hands: “little swirl of fingers and palms little miracle thanks to which little miracle among so many thanks to which I live on lived on.” For Pim, this subtle gesture defies necessity, explanation, and comprehension, thus yielding evidence that anything can happen. This chapter traces the evolving role of the miracle in Beckett’s oeuvre by examining three moments: Beckett’s composition of Proust in 1930, How It Is in 1964, and Ghost Trio in 1975. By examining Beckett’s notes, manuscripts, and correspondence, this chapter reveals how each of these texts was shaped by Beckett’s fascination with accounts of the miraculous: Pascal’s Pensées on miracles, Arnold Geulincx’s metaphysics of “occasions,” and Heinrich von Kleist’s theory of “divine grace.” As the buried motif guiding his poetics of contingency, the miracle illuminates how Beckett’s works affirm the possibility of radical change even in the face of the darkest, most intractable necessitarianism.