For he who has once had to listen will listen always, whether he knows he will never hear anything again, or whether he does not. In other words, they like other words, no doubt about it, silence once broken will never again be whole.
In Samuel Beckett's "The Unnamable," he explores the profound impact of communication and silence on human experience. The quote suggests that once someone has engaged in the act of listening, that experience changes them irrevocably. The awareness of listening persists, regardless of whether they will hear something meaningful again. This implies a transformation in perception that follows the act of being receptive to sound and dialogue.
Moreover, Beckett highlights the fragility of silence and how it is altered once it is interrupted. Silence, once disturbed, can never return to its original state of wholeness. This reflects the complexity of human existence—once an experience or idea is encountered, it lingers in the consciousness, inevitably altering our relationship with silence and what comes after, underscoring the lasting imprint of the spoken word.
