How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line) Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #19
ESTRAGON
Don't touch me! Don't question me! Don't speak to me! Stay with me! (2.5)
Look at the tension in this one line of Estragon’s—he needs Vladimir close, but he can’t handle any sort of genuine friendship with him.
Quote #20
They look long at each other, then suddenly embrace, clapping each other on the back. End of the embrace. Estragon, no longer supported, almost falls. (2.8)
Estragon, who, moments before, hesitated to even look at Vladimir, can now no longer stand without him. He is dependent on Didi, but certainly not by choice.
Quote #21
ESTRAGON
(sadly) You see, you piss better when I'm not there.
VLADIMIR
I missed you . . . and at the same time I was happy. Isn't that a strange thing?
ESTRAGON
(shocked) Happy?
VLADIMIR
Perhaps it's not quite the right word.
ESTRAGON
And now?
VLADIMIR
Now? . . . (Joyous.) There you are again . . . (Indifferent.) There we are again. . . (Gloomy.) There I am again.
ESTRAGON
You see, you feel worse when I'm with you. I feel better alone too. (2.17-23)
Vladimir’s line, in which his emotion ranges from joy to indifference to gloom, is an important one, and helps us to understand the men’s conflicting feelings in this passage. He’s happy to see Estragon, but Estragon’s very presence reminds him of his own plight, which makes him gloomy.