<DIV>With the sound of a piercing bell Winnie wakes and exclaims, &#147;Another heavenly day.&#8221; Even though she is buried up to her waist, Winnie&#151;ever the optimist&#151; goes about her day without the recollection that something is amiss. She brushes her teeth, puts on lipstick, reminisces about the past, and makes references to great works of literature that she has read but can no longer remember the lines that inspired her. Her source of comfort and inspiration, and all her &#147;happy days&#8221; are the items in her seemingly bottomless bag, her thoughts, and the knowledge of her companion&#8217;s presence. Although <i>Happy Days</i> is one of Beckett&#8217;s most whimsical works, it is a relentless search for the meaning of existence, the tenuous relationships that bind one person to another, and the past to the present.</DIV>