Literature
Samuel Beckett's Women: the Works and the Life
A literature course examining women and gender in Samuel Beckett’s writing through close reading, discussion and contextual study, with no previous knowledge required.
Choose a date before booking
Upcoming classes
1 class
About this course
The course considers how female characters develop across Beckett’s early fiction, novellas, trilogy, later prose and plays, including Happy Days, Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby and All That Fall. It also examines women connected with Beckett’s life and the possible relationship between biography and literary representation. Teaching combines tutor input, presentation material, close textual reading and small-group discussion. Participants will assess changing treatments of gender and consider whether Beckett’s fictional women alter the wider view of human experience presented in his work.
What you'll learn
- Evaluate Beckett’s treatment of gender across selected plays and prose works.
- Trace the development of major female characters and figures across his writing.
- Make informed connections between Beckett’s works and aspects of his life.
- Identify the broad shape and direction of Beckett’s wider oeuvre for further study.
Is this course right for you?
The course is intended for anyone interested in Beckett and willing to engage with close reading and group discussion. No previous knowledge is required, and the stated beginner level indicates that the material is approached accessibly rather than assuming specialist study.
- Participation includes small-group discussion as well as tutor-led teaching.
- The course focuses on literary analysis rather than performance or practical creative work.
Before you go
- Texts for discussion will be provided, and there is no need to buy course materials.
- Texts will be circulated digitally before each session for reading in preparation.