ABSTRACT
Ominously, the only possession that she can see clearly is the revolver that she used to carry in her bag. At the play's end, Willie reappears, 'dressed to kill'; his appearance, and his last word (a 'just audible' 'Win') provoke a last burst of 'the old style' from Winnie, who sings the Merry Widow Waltz to her husband. The glutinously romantic words of the song are in sharp contrast not only to the sheer strangeness of the final image, but also to its ambiguity. Willie might be in search of his wife; or he might be in search of the revolver, to be used either on Winnie or on himself. Either way, Beckett leaves us (as in Endgame) at the brink of an irrevocable change in the world of the play, but leaves the nature of that change unresolved. Whatever happens, though, the relation between Winne the speaker and Willie as her audience cannot be re-created; Winnie's existence cannot be confirmed in 'the old style' any more.
