Abstract
My main argument is that Pinter, in the course of The Birthday Party (1957), The Caretaker (1959), and The Homecoming (1964), explores, inter alia, gender and gendered conflicts in a post-war, western setting. And that Pinter gradually shifts the focus from men and the masculine discourse to a discourse in which the female element is given, or perhaps, demands and consequently seizes the dominant position.
I shall be arguing that the role designated to the male characters, who are either passive or overtly authoritarian, paves the way for the charge of the feminine brigade. And that the male characters are driven by a profound feeling of fear or angst. This emotional confusion, it seems, is always accompanied by anger, which is sometimes directed inwards, sometimes outwards. Hence, the men s characters either object to having power or they indulge in it, slowly turning the world against them.
In this way, male power becomes a colossus on clay feet, far more vulnerable than what is expected. It equates to a dictatorship which, though perceived as perfectly potent, is in fact hollow and weak. What is perceived as male supremacy, it turns out, is most of all seeking support from habits and a traditional understanding of sex roles. The mental base which normally accommodates males structural and social influence is corroded and leaves masculinity open to the brutality of nature and the establishment s changing set of values.
Insofar as this argument can be ascertained, the playwright succeeds in presenting a condensed and poignant study of the dramatic transformation in the relationship between men and women that was just starting to pick up pace in society while he was writing his first plays.
The main title refers to my argument that Ruth, the only female character of The Homecoming, allegedly overturns the masculine discourse in the course of the play in favour of a dialogue which is much more pro-feminine. And that this change is closely related to contemporary society's understanding of sexuality.