Krapps last tape

Krapp is the old man we can all visualize. He is the one left behind with regrets unwilling to move out of the world he has created. He sits staring out at an internal world full of doors to move about, but has no entrance or exit. His only friends are his own voices so carefully recorded.

 "Here I end this reel. Box--(pause)--three, spool--(pause)--five. (Pause. Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn't want them back. Not with the fire in me now. No, I wouldn't want them back."

What fire is Krapp speaking of above? Certainly not a physical one and doubtful of a mental fire. Krapp's fire lies in a bottle. His drink comforts him and befuddles his mind. He no longer trusts himself and therefor relies upon his tape. He has created a space in the world for him alone. Coming to terms with his past, he mocks his previously youthful voice and aspirations.