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Hamm
A young man unable to sit down, Clov is Hamm’s caretaker. Although he spends most of his time conversing with Hamm, Nagg, and Nell, Clov sometimes goes into the kitchen to be alone. In fact, he seemingly wants to spend as much time there as possible. But when Hamm finally asks what, exactly, he does in there, he says that he simply stares at the wall and watches his own “light” die away. Like Hamm, Clov is eager to reach an “end” of sorts, though it’s not clear what this means. And yet, unlike Hamm, he has the option to leave this place—a fact that weighs heavily on his mind, as he tries to decide if he’s going to depart. Whether or not Clov will actually follow through with this serves as the play’s central conflict, especially since Hamm would die without Clov to care for him. What’s strange, though, is that Clov seems to think he wouldn’t be able to survive without Hamm either, since he agrees when Hamm points out that he wouldn’t last on his own in the outside world. This is perhaps because Clov has been with Hamm since he was a small child, when his own father begged Hamm to take them in. Clov doesn’t remember this, nor does he remember his father, but he sees Hamm as a father figure of sorts, even if he feels disdainful toward him and wishes he could kill him. A submissive person, Clov never manages to tear himself away from Hamm, apparently too attached or enticed by the old man to strike out on his own. Although he comes close and even gathers his things as if to leave, he stands in the room at the end of the play and silently watches as Hamm delivers his closing monologue, and it becomes clear that he most likely won’t have the courage to finally leave. By staying, though, Clov ultimately preserves his only shred of power, since Hamm’s continued dependency on Clov proves that Clov isn’t as weak or unimportant as he might seem.
Clov Quotes in Endgame
The Endgame quotes below are all either spoken by Clov or refer to Clov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Endgame
Quotes
CLOV: [fixed gaze, tonelessly] Finished, it’s finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished.
[Pause.]
Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there’s a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap.
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HAMM: […] Can there be misery—
[he yawns]
—loftier than mine? No doubt. Formerly. But now?
[Pause.]
My father?
[Pause.]
My mother?
[Pause.]
My…dog?
[Pause.]
Oh I am willing to believe they suffer as much as such creatures can suffer. But does that mean their sufferings equal mine? No doubt.
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HAMM: […] Enough, it’s time it ended, in the shelter too.
[Pause.]
And yet I hesitate, I hesitate to…to end. Yes, there it is, it’s time it ended and yet I hesitate to—
[he yawns]
—to end.
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CLOV: Yes!
[Pause.]
Of what?
HAMM: Of this…this…thing.
CLOV: I always had.
[Pause.]
Not you?
HAMM: [gloomily] Then there’s no reason for it to change.
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HAMM: […] Why do you stay with me?
CLOV: Why do you keep me?
HAMM: There’s no one else.
CLOV: There’s nowhere else.
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CLOV: […] I’ll leave you, I have things to do.
HAMM: In your kitchen?
CLOV: Yes.
HAMM: What, I’d like to know.
CLOV: I look at the wall.
HAMM: The wall! And what do you see on your wall? Mene, mene? Naked bodies?
CLOV: I see my light dying.
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HAMM: [anguished] What’s happening, what’s happening?
CLOV: Something is taking its course.
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CLOV: […] [He gets down, picks up the telescope, turns it on auditorium.] I see…a multitude…in transports…of joy.
[Pause.]
That’s what I call a magnifier.
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HAMM: We’re not beginning to…to…meaning something?
CLOV: Mean something! You and I, mean something!
[Brief laugh.]
Ah that’s a good one!
HAMM: I wonder.
[Pause.]
Imagine if a rational being came back to earth, wouldn’t he be liable to get ideas into his head if he observed us long enough.
[Voice of rational being.]
Ah, good, now I see what it is, yes, now I understand what they’re at!
[Clov starts, drops the telescope and begins to scratch his belly with both hands. Normal voice.]
And without going so far as that, we ourselves…
[with emotion]
…we ourselves…at certain moments…
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HAMM: I once knew a madman who thought the end of the world had come. He was a painter—and engraver. I had a great fondness for him. I used to go and see him, in the asylum. I’d take him by the hand and drag him to the window. Look! There! All that rising com! And there! Look! The sails of the herring fleet! All that loveliness!
[Pause.]
He’d snatch away his hand and go back into his comer. Appalled. All he had seen was ashes.
[Pause.]
He alone had been spared.
[Pause.]
Forgotten.
[Pause.]
It appears the case is…was not so…so unusual.
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HAMM: […] Use your head, can’t you, use your head, you’re on earth, there’s no cure for that!
[…]
But what in God’s name do you imagine? That the earth will awake in spring? That the rivers and seas will run with fish again? That there’s manna in heaven still for imbeciles like you?
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HAMM: […] Did you never hear an aside before?
[Pause.]
I’m warming up for my last soliloquy.
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Get the entire Endgame LitChart as a printable PDF.
Clov Quotes in Endgame
The Endgame quotes below are all either spoken by Clov or refer to Clov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Endgame
Quotes
CLOV: [fixed gaze, tonelessly] Finished, it’s finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished.
[Pause.]
Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there’s a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: […] Can there be misery—
[he yawns]
—loftier than mine? No doubt. Formerly. But now?
[Pause.]
My father?
[Pause.]
My mother?
[Pause.]
My…dog?
[Pause.]
Oh I am willing to believe they suffer as much as such creatures can suffer. But does that mean their sufferings equal mine? No doubt.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: […] Enough, it’s time it ended, in the shelter too.
[Pause.]
And yet I hesitate, I hesitate to…to end. Yes, there it is, it’s time it ended and yet I hesitate to—
[he yawns]
—to end.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CLOV: Yes!
[Pause.]
Of what?
HAMM: Of this…this…thing.
CLOV: I always had.
[Pause.]
Not you?
HAMM: [gloomily] Then there’s no reason for it to change.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: […] Why do you stay with me?
CLOV: Why do you keep me?
HAMM: There’s no one else.
CLOV: There’s nowhere else.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CLOV: […] I’ll leave you, I have things to do.
HAMM: In your kitchen?
CLOV: Yes.
HAMM: What, I’d like to know.
CLOV: I look at the wall.
HAMM: The wall! And what do you see on your wall? Mene, mene? Naked bodies?
CLOV: I see my light dying.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: [anguished] What’s happening, what’s happening?
CLOV: Something is taking its course.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
CLOV: […] [He gets down, picks up the telescope, turns it on auditorium.] I see…a multitude…in transports…of joy.
[Pause.]
That’s what I call a magnifier.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: We’re not beginning to…to…meaning something?
CLOV: Mean something! You and I, mean something!
[Brief laugh.]
Ah that’s a good one!
HAMM: I wonder.
[Pause.]
Imagine if a rational being came back to earth, wouldn’t he be liable to get ideas into his head if he observed us long enough.
[Voice of rational being.]
Ah, good, now I see what it is, yes, now I understand what they’re at!
[Clov starts, drops the telescope and begins to scratch his belly with both hands. Normal voice.]
And without going so far as that, we ourselves…
[with emotion]
…we ourselves…at certain moments…
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: I once knew a madman who thought the end of the world had come. He was a painter—and engraver. I had a great fondness for him. I used to go and see him, in the asylum. I’d take him by the hand and drag him to the window. Look! There! All that rising com! And there! Look! The sails of the herring fleet! All that loveliness!
[Pause.]
He’d snatch away his hand and go back into his comer. Appalled. All he had seen was ashes.
[Pause.]
He alone had been spared.
[Pause.]
Forgotten.
[Pause.]
It appears the case is…was not so…so unusual.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: […] Use your head, can’t you, use your head, you’re on earth, there’s no cure for that!
[…]
But what in God’s name do you imagine? That the earth will awake in spring? That the rivers and seas will run with fish again? That there’s manna in heaven still for imbeciles like you?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
HAMM: […] Did you never hear an aside before?
[Pause.]
I’m warming up for my last soliloquy.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
