Becket

Anouilh depicts the world of politics as hopelessly corrupt, duplicitous, and self-serving. Political maneuvering has the capacity to destroy friendships and lives. These political themes help connect Becket with the Cold War period in which it was written, when bureaucracy and the political situation were widely seen as dangerous to individual freedom. Audiences first get a glimpse of the accommodating, “go along to get along” nature of politics in Act I when the current archbishop of Canterbury welcomes Becket as the new chancellor. Political machinations are shown to rule the day both in the King’s court and in the church, as shown in the scene between the pope and his cardinal. Ecclesiastical affairs have largely lost their sacred character as they become absorbed into the affairs of the state.

One of the consequences of playing the political game is that one cannot be sure who their friends are. One must live life in a constant state of insecurity and suspicion; as the King says to Becket, “I shall never know what you’re thinking” (36). The King trusts Becket to be always loyal to him and assumes that making him archbishop will ensure him a friend in a high place. He does not anticipate that the office will change Becket and make him see things in a new light. Desperate for an ally, the King visits Folliot in the hope that he will join his side against Becket. The King says, “You seem to be a man one can talk to, Bishop. I misjudged you. Friendship blinded me” (71). Yet there is no telling if any ally will remain one’s friend forever. Becket implies that politics based on favoritism and personal gain instead of truth and ethics lead to personal ruin.

By contrast, Becket, as early as Act I, hints at the nature of true and just government. While on the hunt, the King asks Becket why he calls the peasant “son” even though he is older than Becket. Becket replies that because the peasant is poor and needy, he is a spiritual “son” to him. Thus, Becket equates just governance with paternity, love, and responsibility. He reminds the King, “You are our King. We are all your sons and in your hands” (19)—a responsibility that the King has squandered through his reckless and selfish actions. Later, King Louis contrasts the typical character of kings with that of a real “man” like Becket (96), who is just and honest. Moreover, Louis himself exemplifies many of the qualities of a just ruler. 

One of the concerns of the play is how individuals’ moral choices shape who they are. Becket comes to see that his role as archbishop of Canterbury places certain moral responsibilities on him. As he states at the peace summit, “I was a man without honor. And suddenly I found it—one I never imagined would ever become mine—the honor of God” (102). Thus, Becket discovers a sense of moral duty and, hence, his true identity and mission in life. Early in the play, the archbishop of Canterbury says that Becket is “seeking his real self” (15). Finding this moral duty and identity leads to inner peace. As the King says, “I give you my royal peace. May you find yours. And may you not discover you were wrong about yourself” (104). This implies that because human beings are moral agents, morality is closely tied to one’s personal identity, peace, and happiness.

Becket says that his moral duty now consists of simply saying no to the King—resisting his policies. Becket must do what is right, even when his situation seems absurd. However, this is not to say that the exercise of moral duty is irrational. On the contrary, Becket acknowledges that it is rooted in a proper understanding of reality. During the hunting scene, he declares that it is “essential” for “the world to have a shape” because “otherwise we can’t know what we’re doing” (17). The “shape” of the world is expressed in the “labels” given to things, thus defining their nature clearly. This idea is reflected in the fact that Becket understands his job as archbishop to entail certain necessary values and actions, like protecting his priests from harm and the violation of their rights.

The great moral shift that takes place in Becket is signaled by his statement: “I am no longer like myself” (102). In taking on the “burden” of his new office, he has crossed the threshold of moral responsibility and has in effect become a new man. 

The King speaks repeatedly of the importance “the esthetic side” (44) life has for Becket, as shown in his love for fine clothes, silverware, and gracious living—a sense of taste that has influenced him as well. Becket confesses to Gwendolen that her beauty draws him to her, and that “beauty is one of the few things which don’t shake one’s faith in God” (26). Above all, Becket says that his love for beauty shows itself in “doing what I have to do and doing it well” (44). The theme of the aesthetic dimension of life recurs when Becket prepares to give a banquet at his house: “I want the service to be impeccable. The dishes presented to each guest first, with full ceremony, just as for princes” (63).

The theme makes its final appearance as Becket prepares for Mass, just before he is killed. Though facing his doom, he calmly and meticulously prepares his vestments with the help of the young monk: “If it’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. Do up all the little laces, every one of them. God will give us time” (113). Then he prays: “There. I’m ready all adorned for Your festivities, Lord. Do not, in this interval of waiting, let one last doubt enter my soul” (114). Thus, Becket sees his moral and professional duty as tied to beauty and the aesthetic quality of “doing things well.” This relates to the theme of doing one’s duty in accord with one’s personal value system, which for Becket includes the aesthetic.

However, it is implied at one point that a love for beauty could be a mask for amorality. When Becket hesitates to offer Gwendolen up to the King, the King says that what disgusts Becket is not the fact that the action is wrong but that it is “distasteful” and “inelegant”: “What looks like morality in you is nothing more than esthetics” (32). Becket acknowledges that this is true. However, by the end of the play beauty and goodness have been reconciled in Becket. He offers the best service to his dinner guests in a spirit of charity and democracy, treating the beggars as if they are princes, and he prepares himself to sacrifice his life to God looking his very best.