Beckett and Memory

Samuel Beckett, who was born in 1906, died in Paris on 22 December 1989.
He was an novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in October 1969.
Having spent in Paris most of his adult life, he wrote in both English and French.

“Memories are killing. So you must not think of certain things, of those that are dear to you, or rather you must think of them, for if you don’t there is the danger of finding them, in your mind, little by little.”

“C’est tuant, les souvenirs. Alors il ne faut pas penser à certaines choses, à celles qui vous tiennent à cœur, ou plutôt il faut y penser, car à ne pas y penser, on risque de les retrouver, dans sa mémoire, petit à petit.”

“I ricordi uccidono. Quindi non bisogna pensare a certe cose, a quelle che ci sono care, o meglio bisogna pensarci, perché se non lo si fa c’è il rischio di ritrovarle nella propria mente a poco a poco. “

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“The man with a good memory does not remember anything because he does not forget anything (…) His memory is a clothes-line and the images of his past dirty linen redeemed and the infallibly complacent servants of his reminiscential needs….”

“L’homme qui a une bonne mémoire ne se souvient de rien parce qu’ il n’oublie rien. (…) Sa mémoire est une corde à linge et les images de son passé sont des hardes dûment lessivées, servantes infaillibles et dévouées, prêtes à combler ses besoins de réminiscence.”

“L’uomo con una buona memoria non ricorda nulla perché non dimentica nulla. (…) La sua memoria è una corda da bucato e le immagini del suo passato sono abiti debitamente lavati, servi infallibili e devoti, pronti a soddisfare le sue esigenze di reminiscenza.”