Vladimir (Waiting for Godot) Vladimir (Waiting for Godot) Vladimir (affectionately known as Didi; a small boy calls him Mr. Albert) is one of the two main characters from Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot". The "optimist" (and, as Beckett put it, "the major character") 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
Waiting for Godot to stage the play. The first night had been on 29 November 1953. He wrote to Beckett in October 1954: "You will be surprised to be receiving a letter about your play "Waiting for Godot", from a prison where so many thieves, forgers, toughs, homos, crazy men and killers spend this bitch of a life waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting. Waiting for what? Godot? Perhaps." Beckett was intensely moved and intended to visit the prison to see a last performance of the play but it never happened. This marked "the beginning of Beckett's enduring links with prisons and