ABSTRACT
An emphasis on gaps and dehiscence as expressive vehicles, combined with the awareness of the inadequacy of conventional language and narrative structure, forms a significant part of Samuel Beckett's aesthetics, which is predicated on his anti-rational beliefs. The main emphasis in this chapter is on the profound flaw in the traditional concept of the unitary self. It discusses Beckett's highlight of the complexity of the 'incoherent continuum' of reality. An analysis of the impact of Alessandro Manzoni and James Joyce, the major inspirational figures in their respective disciples' formation, provides an initial insight into the origins of Carlo Emilio Gadda's and Beckett's aesthetics. The affinities that have emerged from the present investigation into Gadda's and Beckett's works range from the relationship to the literary predecessor and the presence of the disruptive force of the 'abnorme' or the 'principle of disintegration', to the impossibility of literary closure.
