| Dialogue between characters in Pinter's plays can | | | | are exaggerated in order to contrast as strongly as |
| often seem enigmatic, and its purpose obscure, but it | | | | possible with his assumptions about the character and |
| becomes less so when we realise that as often as | | | | language of the wife of a philosophy lecturer. But he |
| not a battle is taking place between the characters, | | | | has made false assumptions, failed to assess and |
| and that identifiable strategies are being employed. I | | | | predict his opponent's behaviour, given away clues |
| would like to consider some of those battles, | | | | about himself without extracting any from her, and is |
| particularly in The Caretaker, The Homecoming, Old | | | | consequently toppled into a subservient role.In the |
| Times, and No Man's Land, in the light of Pinter's | | | | final tableau of The Homecoming Ruth sits like a |
| short story The Examination, which depicts an | | | | queen on a throne, Lenny stands beside her like a |
| archetypal Pinter battle.The ExaminationFrom a | | | | chief courtier, Joey kneels like a humble servant, and |
| reading of The Examination I suggest that the | | | | Max stalks about angrily, then begs for mercy, like a |
| person wishing to gain and maintain a dominant | | | | deposed king. Teddy exits, unperturbed, like a |
| position must:1) Ensure that his opponent is playing | | | | messenger. The balance of dominance and |
| the same game, accepting the same parameters of | | | | subservience is quite clear, but the terms 'winners' |
| the situation as himself.2) Be able to influence his | | | | and 'losers' do not quite seem appropriate. Ruth has |
| opponent's behaviour.3) Maintain control of the | | | | won mastery over the others, but she has been |
| territory, including the objects and furniture in the | | | | placed in that position by them, rather than striven |
| room, and the features of the room.4) Observe his | | | | for it herself.Old TimesIn some ways the battles in |
| opponent closely, and try to understand and predict | | | | Old Times are closer to the outline drawn up from |
| his behaviour.5) Cause his opponent to give away | | | | The Examination than those in Pinter's earlier plays. |
| clues about how he is faring in the battle.6) Cause his | | | | This is because the contestants, Deeley and Anna, |
| opponent to display his need for 'the situation'.7) | | | | are very evenly matched, so instead of one |
| Cause the opponent to acknowledge that he (the | | | | character demolishing the other as Mick demolished |
| dominant player) is dominant.8) Conceal his own fears | | | | Davies, or Ruth demolished Lenny, the battle is more |
| from the opponent's observation.9) Make as few | | | | subtle and refined. In the 'duologue' between Deeley |
| remarks and requests for verification as possible.The | | | | and Anna [Act 1 (p.38-41)] a strenuous battle is going |
| subservient partner, wishing to undermine his | | | | on below the veneer of sociable small-talk. Deeley |
| opponent's dominance and achieve dominance | | | | boasts of his travel, Anna encourages him, then turns |
| himself, can employed the following techniques.1) | | | | the tables by criticising him for leaving Kate alone for |
| Silence, especially that which is 'too deep for echo'. [p. | | | | long periods, and uses the opening this creates in his |
| 63]2) Unpredictable behaviour.3) Indifference; | | | | defences to suggest that she could come up and |
| avoidance of expressions of desire or displeasure.4) | | | | stay with Kate.The main battle in Old Times is about |
| Isolating the opponent (through silence), refusing to | | | | who is closer to Kate, Deeley or Anna. From Anna's |
| confirm that he is involved in the same situation as | | | | arrival in Act 1 Kate says virtually nothing until just |
| the opponent.5) Fooling the opponent by causing him | | | | before the end of the act. She is silent, but she is |
| to draw wrong conclusions from his observations.6) | | | | listening, and observing, and preparing for her |
| Observing the opponent, learning to predict his | | | | well-aimed attack on both of them at the play's |
| behaviour, and identify his weak spots in order to | | | | climax.Kate's outburst at the end of the play seems |
| use them to undermine his security, causing him to | | | | to be a retaliation against the way Deeley and Anna |
| feel alarm, confusion, and anxiety.The CaretakerIn | | | | have, both during the course of the play, and in the |
| The Caretaker Mick and Davies share the same view | | | | past, concealed their lecherousness beneath a |
| of 'the situation' throughout, so psychological warfare | | | | phoney veneer of sophistication and worldliness, and |
| is possible, and Mick successfully dominates Davies by | | | | also against the way she feels she has been dirtied |
| a masterly use of the techniques listed above. But | | | | by their sexual desires. Anna is 'dead' because with |
| against Aston, who seems to refuse to get actively | | | | the arrival of Deeley their relationship had died, and |
| caught up in battles, Mick is little better than | | | | dirty because after switching her affections and |
| impotent. Thus although Mick is the dominant | | | | sexuality to Deeley, (What a relief it was to have a |
| personality of the three, if the battle in The | | | | different body in my room, a male body [Act 2 |
| Caretaker is over who will control the destiny of the | | | | (p.72)] she finds her flirtation with homosexuality |
| room, then Aston wins.Aston wins a measure of | | | | disgusting.In the final scene the battle between |
| victory over both Davies and Mick, and he achieves | | | | Deeley and Anna about who is the more worldly, the |
| this by seeming not to actively participate in the | | | | more knowledgeable, and who knows Kate best, is |
| battle for dominance. Whether consciously or not, he | | | | undercut and demolished by the formerly silent |
| undermines his opponents as effectively as Kullus | | | | Kate.No Man's LandIn No Man's Land the characters |
| undermines the narrator of The Examination with | | | | play a different game, perhaps cricket, a dignified |
| those techniques I have listed, his passivity causing | | | | gentlemanly game, with no women allowed. In the |
| his opponents to undermine themselves by projecting | | | | faster sections, such as the fast-moving dialogue in |
| their fears onto him.Davies repeatedly tries to get | | | | Act 2 (p.71-77) however, the atmosphere is more |
| Aston to respond to his view of the situation, and | | | | that of Ping-Pong. This section seems to be |
| Aston repeatedly denies Davies the comfort of a | | | | deliberately structured like a sporting competition, |
| relevant response. As a result Davies, with his almost | | | | with the pauses representing a point scored by one |
| obsessive fear of persecution, projects onto Aston, | | | | contestant or the other. (Hirst's 'That's my point,' |
| and the objects in, and features of, Aston's room, | | | | might perhaps be deliberately ambiguous).Hirst 'serves' |
| (for example the gas stove and window), the role of | | | | with, 'You did say you had a good war, didn't you?' |
| potential adversaries. Davies is unable to understand | | | | Then the ball is knocked back and forth and Hirst |
| or predict the behaviour of Aston (or objects in the | | | | wins the point by referring to his superiority, having |
| room, such as the gas stove), and as his anxiety | | | | been in Military Intelligence. After the pause Hirst |
| grows so does his aggressive behaviour, until Aston, | | | | serves again, but Spooner throws him off his guard |
| whose inclination is towards tolerance, finally has to | | | | by mentioning 'Stella'. The following pause represents |
| reject him.Mick's frustration with his inability to | | | | Spooner's point. Hirst wins the next point at the |
| dominate his brother is mostly deflected onto Davies, | | | | pause on page 73, Spooner wins the next at the |
| but his climatic outburst represents his defeat by | | | | pause on page 74, and so on.The competition |
| Aston. His ambition to turn the house into 'a palace' is | | | | between Hirst and Spooner disintegrates when |
| undermined by Aston's refusal to accept the | | | | Spooner starts 'playing dirty'. The subject matter |
| subservient role Mick has tried to impose upon | | | | degenerates from the war and Military Intelligence to |
| him.The HomecomingA roughly parallel process to | | | | Arabella Hinscott's predilection for 'consuming the |
| that seen in The Caretaker takes place in The | | | | male member'. The gentlemanly atmosphere of a |
| Homecoming. In the opening scenes Lenny clearly | | | | cricket match has been maintained by the restrained |
| displays his dominance over his preliminary opponent, | | | | manner and cultivated diction of the conversation, |
| Max. Max tries to dominate Lenny by talking about | | | | but within those parameters Spooner succeeds in |
| horse racing, but Lenny, who has obviously observed | | | | offending Hirst until Hirst has to abandon the |
| his opponent well and found his weak spots, changes | | | | game.Throughout the play Spooner has had not only |
| the subject and attacks Max on the territory of his | | | | to compete with Hirst at their 'gentlemanly game', |
| domestic role.When Ruth arrives on the scene, | | | | but also to compete with Foster and Briggs who are |
| however, Lenny is no more of a match for her than | | | | doing their best to 'stop the match'.Read the full |
| Davies was for Mick. Ruth has the upper hand right | | | | version of this essay at: |
| from their opening exchange.Lenny tries hard to | | | | Mackean runs the site which features a substantial |
| establish a dominant position in relation to Ruth with | | | | collection of English Literature Resources and Essays, |
| his two stories of his aggressive behaviour towards | | | | and where his sites on Books Made Into Movies, and |
| women. He tries to shock her and undermine her | | | | Short Story Writing can also be found. He is the |
| confidence by boasting of his familiarity with an | | | | editor of The Essentials of Literature in English |
| underworld of corruption and violence. His descriptions | | | | post-1914, published by Hodder Arnold. |