Comparing Beckett’s Molloy and The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

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In part II of the novel, a man named Moran, the man whom has been pursuing Molloy with as much dedication as Molloy has been pursuing his own mother attempts to understand the rational behind the protagonist's actions. The parallels of the quest of Moran for Molloy and Molloy for his mother highlight how a drive for even a positive form of affection is just as debilitating in terms of one's freedom as the pursuit of a petty bureaucratic official for a supposed criminal. Moran is obsessive, in his pursuit of Molloy, just as Molloy is obsessive in his pursuit of a paternal figure. Molloy's quest for a sense of connection eventually deteriorates in the isolation of his prison into a fascination with organizing the stones he has kept in his pocket. Moran too deteriorates, becoming increasingly frustrated by his inability to 'understand', that is to separate his own obsessive nature from Molloy's obsessive nature.
. The closest one gets to affection in Beckett's world is the ...

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as a fellow sufferer because of his weakness and loneliness. Moran's desire to understand another human being is not elevating, but arises only Moran's own weakness. Moran's fascination and fixation upon pursuing and hobbling Molloy and understanding his captive is ultimately driven by a desire to separate himself from his quarry. Through understanding the 'animal' Molloy in the cage he hopes to prove he is not like Molloy, that the two of them are really similar. Eventually, Moran becomes ensnared, because of this fascination, just as Molloy has become ensnared in his physical prison. Although Molloy has lost the full range of his motion, namely his ability to walk, because of ...

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