Intruduction 3 Chapter I. Harold Pinter: The dramatist and his world 5

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Intruduction 3
Chapter I.Harold Pinter: The dramatist and his world 5
1.1 Biography and Literary Contribution of Harold Pinter. 5
1.2 The sacred joke: comedy and politics in Pinter’s early plays 19
1.3 Tales of the city: some places and voices in Pinter’s plays. 27
2.1 Body language in Pinter’s plays 30
2.2 The Playwright and his Politics. 33
2.3 Pinter and twentieth-century drama 36
Conclusion 39
Bibliography 42

Intruduction

Harold Pinter is an English playwright, who achieved international recognition as one of the most complex and challenging dramatist. His plays are noted for their use of understatement, small talk, reticence to convey the substance of a character's thought. The thoughts are embedded within the lines, in the gaps and the pauses. His
plays are ambivalent in their plots. They typically begin with a pair of character whose stereotyped relations and role-playing are disrupted by the entrance of a stranger. The audience sees the psychic stability of the couple break down as their fears, jealousies, hatreds, sexual preoccupations, and loneliness emerge from beneath a screen of bizarre yet commonplace conversation. Human beings are suffering from a number of problems in this modern age. There are many problems in their relationships, sex, communication, behavior, etc. Pinter’s The Homecoming also tries to explore the serious problems of English society of his time. The plot follows the events that take place when the eldest brother in the family of three, returns home from the United States. He brings along with him his wife of the past six years. She is beautiful, civilized, and seems sexually charged even in the way she moves. The males in the house are an uncouth bunch of London working class types. They comprise a grumpy, profane, and misogynistic father, a sleazy and clearly criminal middle son, a thuggish younger son who is a would-be boxer, and an unassuming and much put-upon uncle. The presence of this attractive female in their midst sets off primal, atavistic forces which challenge the moral and social order both on stage and off, leading to a climax and resolution which still has the power to generate wildly varying responses. It is endlessly debatable and offers itself to analyze from many angles. The play offers a penetrating insight into the patriarchal attitudes directed at women. The all-male members of Max’s family are marked with inclination towards physical and verbal abuse, treating women as whores and sluts. While the presence of Ruth defies and challenges the male pre-dominance, the dark attitudes towards women stay as the family’s hallmark. The question that arises lies in the interpretation of Ruth, who famously opts to stay with the family and, possibly, work as a prostitute. This thesis deals with the exploitation of Ruth by the male members who behave in a mysterious way when it concerns women. Therefore, this research deals with the enigmatic behavior of Max’s family.