Personality
The "optimist" (and, as Beckett put it, "the major character"1) of Godot, he represents the intellectual side of the two main characters (in contrast to his companion Estragon's earthy simplicity). One explanation of this intellectualism is that he was once a philosopher. This would explain his constant 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 so that his own dignity is preserved. He is something of a pack rat: he carries all the food the tramps have (though he never eats himself), and has other (to quote the play) "miscellaneous" junk in various pockets. Another important prop is his bowler hat. He claims that it "hurts" him, and is eventually driven to appropriate Lucky's. After long periods of thought (or whenever he is bored) he fiddles with it and plays with the brim. 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: because of this, he is usually taller than Estragon, but this is a convention of the theatre and is not written in the play.
Despite this sometimes peevish and obsessive nature, Vladimir would seem to have a carnal side. He suffers from a venereal disease that causes him pain in his genitals and a need to urinate when he laughs. This might 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.
Vladimir has the only social conscience in the play (compare 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.
Read more about this topic: Vladimir (Waiting For Godot)
Famous quotes containing the word personality:
“Talent alone can not make a writer. There must be a man behind the book; a personality which by birth and quality is pledged to the doctrines there set forth, and which exists to see and state things so, and not otherwise; holding things because they are things.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“A personality is an indefinite quantum of traits which is subject to constant flux, change, and growth from the birth of the individual in the world to his death. A character, on the other hand, is a fixed and definite quantum of traits which, though it may be interpreted with slight differences from age to age and actor to actor, is nevertheless in its essentials forever fixed.”
—Hubert C. Heffner (1901–1985)