An Analysis of the Image of Room in Pinter’s Plays

王婷

【Abstract】Harold Pinter， the winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature， is one of the most important British playwrights of the twentieth century. The room is the dominant aesthetic image of Pinters theatre. This paper analyzes the image of room in Pinters plays， which vividly conveys a unique understanding of Pinter about the existential problem of modern people.

【Key words】Harold Pinter； Image of Room； Pinters Plays

From his first play， Pinter has the favor of organizing his drama in a special room. The basic setting in Pinters plays may be a room in an apartment building （in The Room）， a dingy basement room in a restaurant （in The Dumb Waiter）， a bleak room with two beds （in The Caretaker）， or a living room of a seaside boarding house （in The Birthday Party）. The room， which is the chief poetic image in Pinters plays， has become one of the recurring motifs of his works.

As the major image in Pinters plays， the room reflects human existential crisis and reveals the menacing human relationship. Existential crisis is a universal and shared feeling of all human beings. In the pre-modern era， religion explained both human nature and human condition. God was westerners spiritual father. However， the World Wars had shaken traditional beliefs， and made the westerners lose their spiritual support and ultimate values. Therefore， it is essential for people to prove their existence and to rebuild confidence. In Pinters plays， the room assumes this responsibility because of its characteristic： a kind of enclosed visible material， which can bring a sense of safety and protection. The room can not only protect human from wind and rain as a shelter but also acts as a symbol of individual existence and identity. Consequently， people cherish the room， which becomes the standing point for people in the world. Therefore， struggle for the possession of the room naturally occurs. In this sense， we can see Pinter makes use of the room to reveal human existential crisis. We can perceive from Pinters plays that menace， or existential fear， lies behind the closed doors which might swing open to reveal a frightening intruder， or the sinister gunmen. In this sense， the real menace is the opaqueness， the uncertainty and unpredictability of human condition itself.

As mentioned above， the room awakens peoples uneasiness and horror， and demonstrates human existential crisis. At the same time， under the existential crisis lies the menacing human relationship. To put it another way， because of the rooms seeming security， the characters are involved in an existential struggle—struggle to defend themselves and struggle for the control of the room and domination of others. In peoples struggle， both mental and physical， interpersonal relationship proves to be alienated， or even hostile. What deserves our attention is that Pinter puts the image of room in a state of extreme edge of living， which is of great help to manifest menacing interpersonal relationship. The living edge is partly indicted by the isolated place of the room， such as the vague and lonely basement in The Room， the faraway seaside town in The Birthday Party， etc.， which gives Pinters plays a philosophical and metaphysical meaning， and partly is indicted by peoples estranged social existence. The extreme of living demonstrates Pinters concern for the relationship between human beings in a pure and straightforward way.

For instance， Pinter adopts the image of room to adumbrate the atmosphere of uncertainty in The Birthday Party， so as to accentuate Stanleys sense of loneliness. In this play， for Stanley， the room can be a refuge from threat outside and can prove his existence and identity in the world. Stanley lives in his own room and need not worry about being controlled by others outside the room. So he is dreadful of losing it. Thus existential fear is revealed. Losing the room implies homeless and wandering life. Life is struggle， to Stanley， and also to everyone in the world. While the room is the home for Stanley， the arrival of the new visitors is definitely the bad news for him. Pinter takes the advantage of the image of room to exhibit the sense of menace， leading to the reinforcement of the artistic effects.

In conclusion， a plain room in a remote place has become the most remarkable image in Pinters plays. The way of arranging all the happenings in a fixed room is thought to abide by the demand of the traditional theatrical theory， and more importantly the image of room keeps reminding people of the ubiquitous and ineluctable menace.

References：

[1]Cohen，Robert，Theatre[M].California：Mayfield Publishing Company，2000.

[2]Dean，Michael，British Literary Dictionary[M].New York：G.K.Hall.Co.，2008.