According to Green, ôThe moral can be clearly distinguished from the non-moral. Morally good motivation is completely different from oneÆs motivation to do other kinds of things. It involves respect for the law, and it applies regardless of what you wantö (1). While morality may be considered, in the words of Spike Lee, ôdoing the right thing,ö it is often the definition of what is ôrightö that complicates moral decisions both individually and collectively. Moral emotion of individuals typically involves either guilt or shame. Green maintains that guilt stems from external forces, where ôvictims have been done harm,ö while shame is individualized and ôconcerned with oneselfö (1).
In BeckettÆs Endgame, PinterÆs The Homecoming, and MuellerÆs The Hamletmachine, we see that morality is most often concerned with the latter type of moral emotion, shame. For the individuals in these plays are largely unconcerned with the harm that their immoral actions may have done to others. Instead, they are highly preoccupied or concerned with the self. From Hamm and Clov in Endgame and Hamlet in The Hamletmachine to the male characters (excluding Teddy) and Ruth in The Homecoming, the charactersÆ moral emotions are concerned with the self and not others.
Worthen argues that ôThroughout its development, dramatic art has changed as the theaterÆs place in the surrounding society has changedö (5). The theater has become more philosophical and more secular, mirroring such changes in society. As such, questions of moral values become less Manichean and more open to individual interpretation. We see this quality exhibited in all three of the plays discussed herein. In BeckettÆs Endgame, we clearly see the modern existential dilemma with respect to what is or is not moral action. Without an absolute religious or other authority to turn toward, our morality is self-assessed. When Clov opens the play, he provides us with a...