THE HISTORY OF THEATRE4

VLADIMIR - CHARACTER ANALYSIS

One of the two main characters of the play. Estragon calls him Didi, and the boy addresses him as Mr Albert. He seems to be the more responsible and mature of the two main characters.

In any comedy piece, there are two characters, the “straight man” and the “fall guy”, Vladimir is considered the “straight man”, the more intelligent of the two characters, being concerned with a variety of ideas. Vladimir is the one character of the two who makes decisions and remembers significant aspects of their past and constantly reminds Estragon that they need to wait for Godot.

Even though neither of them knows anything about Godot, there’s an implication that Vladimir knows more about Godot than Estragon does, even though neither of them knows what Godot looks like or who he is.

Vladimir correlates some of their actions to the general concerns of mankind. In Act II, when Pozzo and Lucky fall down and cry for help, Vladimir interprets their cries for help as his and Estragon's chance to be in a unique position of' helping humanity. After all, Vladimir maintains, "It is not every day that we are needed . . . but at this place, at this moment in time," they are needed and should respond to the cries for help. Similarly, it is Vladimir who questions Pozzo and Lucky and the Boy Messenger(s), while Estragon remains, for the most part, the silent listener. Essentially, Vladimir must constantly remind Estragon of their destiny — that is, they must wait for Godot.

In addition to the larger needs, Vladimir also looks after their physical needs. He helps Estragon with his boots, and, moreover, had he been with Estragon at night, he would not have allowed his friend to be beaten; also, he looks after and rations their meagre meals of turnips, carrots, and radishes, and, in general, he tends to be the manager of the two.