Jack, or the Submission
Good Fit
- Fans of absurdist theatre, satire and black comedy
- Readers who want to read about family, conformity and social pressure in a grotesque language
- Theatre and literature students, and anyone who wants to meet Ionesco
Not a Fit
- Readers who want a traditional plot and realistic characters: logic is deliberately broken in the plays
- Anyone sensitive to grotesque sexual hints, strange bodily images and harsh satire
- Readers who find text in an old translation style hard: the 1964 edition tries to adapt the wordplay
The book consists of two short plays; this review is only about the first, «Jacques, or Submission». The stage directions describe a dark ash-grey set, a muddled room, a dusty old armchair and a window with dirty curtains. In the middle of the armchair sits Jacques, in old, short clothes, silent. Around him stand his mother, father, grandmother, grandfather and sister Jacqueline; in the play everyone in Jacques's family bears the name «Jacques», shown as identical copies of the family.
At the centre of the first part is the family's attempt to «bring Jacques into line». The mother says in tears «after all the sacrifice I made for you», the grandmother tells meaningless anecdotes, the grandfather only sings («the pleasant drunk sings as he dies…»), and the sister speaks both softly and insultingly. The father leaves the room saying «I disown you»; then the family weighs «time» with ridiculous words: «you are of the chronometer-able kind». In this part Ionesco mocks the logic of language: words are repeated, lose meaning and run into each other.
In the next part Jacques says hesitantly «I adore bacon potatoes». For the family this sentence is a victory: mother and father «take him back», the family «tradition» is restored. But Jacques repeats the sentence like a robot; for him it is capitulation. The play shows how a single word of acceptance fixes the smallest good-or-bad point needed for fitting in with society: one trick is enough to consent, but it amounts to selling a whole soul.
In the third part the fiancée arrives. Robert I and his parents enter the house, and the families examine the bride limb by limb: foot, hand, armpit, thigh — everything must be «suitable». Jacques makes a strange demand: the fiancée must have three noses. Robert I has two, so is rejected, and a scandal breaks out between the families; the father curses him. Because both Roberts must be played by the same actor, the actual scene is somewhat grotesque, exaggerated with costume and mask.
The style is close to poetry: deliberately illogical dialogue, chorus-like repetition, the grandmother's unchanging refrain «would you like some advice?». Its strength is its brevity and comic rhythm; its weakness is that the wordplay in translation (the 1964 edition) is sometimes opaque and that it is hard to read without the stage directions. It is meant to be read as a stage play and is hard going for those who want an ordinary story.
- The dialogues are deliberately illogical, fast and short; this shows the absurd theatre's technique of repetition, chorus and slogan
- Repeated details such as the grandmother's «would you like some advice?» and the grandfather's song create comedy and tension
- The pairing of family members (Jacques/Robert, father/mother) makes personalities copies of one another
- The stage directions are detailed: light, costume, door and mask build the grotesque atmosphere
The author's best-known short absurdist play, a game of words and logic
A better-known absurdist play on conformity and mass pressure
Another classic example of absurdist theatre
After Robert I is rejected the families leave, and Jacques and the second Robert (Robert II) are left alone. Robert II has three noses and introduces himself with absurd sentences such as «I have been cheerful since the beginning». Robert II tells him what he saw in a dream — a white suckling pig swimming in the bath water; Jacques says it is cancer. Then Robert II tells him the story of the miller who drowned the foals and puppies in the water, and Jacques rejoices «ah, a beautiful mistake!».
Robert II describes the burning stallion of the desert city; Jacques grows more and more excited and growls «ihi! ihi!». Then the wordplay begins: Robert II says «everything is called cat» and the language is clothed in the word «cat». Jacques takes off his hat and his hair turns out green; Robert II shows his nine-fingered hand and Jacques says «I marry you». The family troupe, performing a heavy ritual dance, purrs like cats; the stage darkens and only the three-nosed white face and nine fingers wriggle like snakes.
If you see a problem, write to us. Publisher, author, rights holder, or just a reader — it doesn't matter. If there's something problematic about copyright in this review, if the review's author has broken the site's rules, or if you simply have a suggestion or complaint, hey@kitabdanevar.com. We'd rather resolve this between ourselves than go to court: we review requests within 48 hours and, if needed, correct or fully remove the review.
