“Godot ’yu Beklemek ” erişkinlik evresindeki sağlıksız ruhsal yaşantıların özünü oluşturan durağanlığın oyunlaştırılmasıdır. Durağanlık ve ona eşlik eden sorunlar, erişkinliğin diğer ruhsal-toplumsal gelişim evreleriyle bağlantısı kurulmadan anlaşılamaz. Erikson ’un aşamalı-oluşum kuramı ve çizelgesi bu konuya aydınlık getirici niteliktedir. Aynı kuram, bireysel düzeydeki durağanlık yaşantısı ve reddecilik örüntüsünün toplumsal açılımlarının kavranması açısından da önemli ipuçları sağlamaktadır. Toplumsal törenciliğin erişkinlik evresine karşılık gelen türü olan yetkecilik, hem bireysel durağanlıkyaşantısı tarafından beslenir hem de durağanlığı yeni kuşaklarda yeniden üretir. Yetkeciliğin ve diğer bütün törenciliklerin toplumsal düzeydeki en önemli kurumsal karşılığını totaliter ideolojiler ve onların kaynaklık ettiği rejimler oluşturur.

“Waiting for Godot” by Beckett is an outstanding example of dramatizing stagnation which marks the potential core psychopathology of adulthood. Erikson’s theory of psycho-social development provides a conceptual tool towards understanding stagnation and associating experiences. In his view, the psycosocial crisis to be assigned to middle age is the antithesis of generativity versus stagnation. The term generativity encompasses procreativity, productivity and creativity. The basic strenght derived from this antithesis is Çare - a widening commitment to take care of the persons, the products and the ideas one has learned to care for. Though every adult experiences stagnation at times, those having the capability to care are unlikely to be totally overwhelmed by it, for care allows one to be generative even when inactivated. Hence, stagnation is defined with a lack of compassion to generate and of commitment to care. Owing to the dominancy of stagnation over generativity during adulthood, rejectivity instead of care emerges as a basic trend. Stagnation as coupled with rejectivity is associated with a series of morbid experiences, all of which could be related to certain developmental stages through a contemplative study on the epigenetic chart of Erikson. Such a study reveals that “self-absorbtion ” might be understood as a reflection of basic distrust of infancy to adulthood, and that ‘‘time spending” together with time confusion might be viewed as a regression to the oral stage’s hopelesness. Like-wise, self-doubt in the form of ‘‘generative-doubt” and "product-consciousness” as a form of self-consciousness seem to be the reflection of, or regression to the anal stages compulsion, shame and doubt, respectively. "Generative-inhibition ” and “role-stagnation ” are likely to be related to the play age ’s oedipal guilt and inhibition. The “sense of futility ” and “productivity deficiency ”as a form of work paralysis appear to have close connections with the sense of inferiority and inertia originated from school age. “Authority confusion ’’ and “identity-barrenness” are to be related to the adolescent identity confusion and role repudiation. “Solidarity deprivation ” and the search for “pseudo-intimacy ’’ could be interpreted as reflection of or regression to the isolation and exclusivity of young adulthood, respectively. Finally, the “sense of impatience” in middle age appears to be the anticipatory form of despair and disdain ofold age. The trends of generativity and care are interrelated with generative ritualizations of adulthood, whereas stagnation and rejectivity with a certain form of ritualism, namely, authoritism. Indeed, not only a basic antithesis and a basic antipathy, but also a ritualism could be assigned to each developmental stage from infancy to senility. While the formers are mainly individual experiences or trends, the latters are corresponding to social morbidities. In this sense, social ritualisms are nourished by pathological personality traits, and vice versa. The social institutions corresponding to the entirety of ritualisms are totalitarian ideologies. Because, all forms of ritualisms from idolism to legalism, moralism, formalism, totalism, elitism, authoritism and dogmatism are compatible with, and contained in totalitarianism. It is understandable then, that any society suffering from severe identity crisis present an increased tendency for the search for totalism which resolves in the totalitarian ideologies to become viable alternatives. Such an understanding provides a valuable conceptual tool in order to interpret the very social processes observed in Turkey over the last few decades. Returning to the Waiting for Godot, the authors deep intuition and creativity in metaphorically narrating stagnation, rejectivity and authoritism is what makes the play a classic. What could be a better metaphor for stagnation other than waiting, and for rejectivity and authoritism other than a master-slave interplay?