Vladimir (character)
Vladimir (affectionately known as Didi; a small boy calls him Mr. Albert) is one of the two main characters from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.
He is the "optimist" (in a very loose sense of the word) and represents the intellectual side of the of the two main characters, in contrast to his companion Estragon's earthy simplicity. One explanation of this intellectualism is that Vladimir was once a philosopher. This would explain his constant rattling off of references and his attempts to engage Estragon in philosophical/religious debate.
Vladimir is deeply concerned with appearances, and goes to great lengths to make sure Estragon behaves in front of Pozzo, so that his own dignity is preserved. Despite his sometimes peevish nature, Vladimir also seems to have a carnal side. He suffers from some sort of venereal disease that causes him pain in his genitals and a need to urinate when he laughs. This seems to indicate a sexual past: he refers to a woman he knew who "had the clap"...although it is unclear whether this is the cause of his current condition or not. He says that his hat hurts him, and eventually steals Lucky's hat. For long periods, or whenever he is bored, he fiddles with his hat. This hat focus (in terms of being head centred) may be interpreted as being representative of his higher status (see Estragon's boots) and his intellectual nature. He is usually taller than Estragon, but this is a convention, not a written direction.
Vladimir has the only social conscience in the play (compared to Estragon's misanthropic view of humanity: "People are bloody ignorant apes!"), and it seems that he cares a great deal for the plight of his fellow man: he expresses outrage at Pozzo's treatment of his slave, Lucky, and acts as something of a parental figure to the sometimes childish Estragon. This is not to say Vladimir does not suffer from his own emotional tics. He hates dreams, as they represent a cruel false hope, and he is unable to cope with Estragon's logic, the simplicity of which throws him off. He also does not suffer fools well: Pozzo's decadence and Estragon's crudeness give him much cause for indignation. But, as a whole, he is by far the most mature character in the play.
Unlike all the other characters, Vladimir has a sense of the passage of time (only he remembers the events of Act I). However, he considers his memory unreliable because it can never be corroborated. At the end of the play, however, he realizes the futile cycle that he and Estragon have fallen into. However, he rejects this realization when he finds that it is almost unbearable to live with ("What have I said?"), and promptly forces himself to forget.
Information about his appearance is decidedly scant: he walks in "short stiff strides, legs wide apart," and he is heavier than Estragon (which gives little information since there is no description of Estragon's weight to use as a reference). It tends to be the convention in most productions, however, that he is tall and lanky, while Estragon is short and squat. He has been portrayed by many notable actors, including Burgess Meredith (with Zero Mostel as Estragon) and - in one rather notorious version of the play - Steve Martin (with Robin Williams as Estragon).
In Tom Stoppard's Godot pastiche, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, the character Guildenstern closely resembles Vladimir.
Quotations
Vladimir: Hand in hand from the top of the Eiffel Tower, among the first. We were respectable in those days. Now it's too late. They wouldn't even let us up.
Vladimir: Was I sleeping, while the others suffered? Am I sleeping now? Tomorrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of today? That with Estragon my friend, at this place, until the fall of night, I waited for Godot? That Pozzo passed, with his carrier, and that he spoke to us? Probably. But in all that what truth will there be? (Estragon, having struggled with his boots in vain, is dozing off again. Vladimir looks at him.) He'll know nothing. He'll tell me about the blows he received and I'll give him a carrot.
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