Pismires and Protestants: the 'lingering dissolution' of Samuel Beckett's All That Fall

Samuel Beckett's radio play All That Fall presents an Ireland in which the traditional lines of sectarian division are unravelling. The blurring of difference that ensues is symptomatic of the curious state of suspension implied by the title of the play, which both suggests and withholds the promise that 'The Lord upholdeth all that fall'. This 'lingering dissolution' stabilises in a peculiarly indiminishable life force, reminiscent of Gilles Deleuze's notion of vitalism, which serves to reveal the unifying singularity underlying all distinct identities. However, while the play points out the illusory origin of sectarian (as other) division, it also acknowledges that such division will always, inevitably arise.