The+Homecoming+Analysis

//__The Homecoming __//__ Analysis __ Harold Pinter’s //The Homecoming//, is an interesting commentary on the dynamic of family and the role that power can play. The six characters each occupy their designated role within in the family hierarchy; Max being the obvious patriarch, Teddy, Lenny and Joey, Max’s sons, Uncle Sam Max’s, brother, and Ruth Teddy’s wife, the only character that seems to be oddly out of place. The family balance becomes thrown off when Teddy unexpectedly returns home, where he had not been for several years, and brings Ruth with him. Not only is the arrival of the seemingly forgotten son a little unnerving to the rest of the family, but the arrival of a woman in the house is a shock as well, so much so that Max accuses Ruth of being a hoar and insists she get out of his house. It is evident throughout the play that the lack of a female presence in the home has affected all the men, an interesting irony considering there seems to be a theme of male power and dominance throughout the play.

The opening scene shows all the men before Teddy and Ruth’s arrival, a look into the dynamic of the relationships before Teddy and Ruth get there. Max comes off as cold and a bit emotionless, arguing with Lenny and refusing to be called “Dad”, he seems to be angry at the world and maybe a bit sad as well. Lenny instantly asserts himself as a powerful figure in the family, provoking his father but never fully over stepping his boundaries, as when Max threatens Lenny in the opening scene Lenny does not respond. Sam does not seem to be a power seeker as Max and Lenny are, but comes off as the only content member of the family, happy with his small success as a chauffeur and loyal to his brother. Though prodded at by Max and Lenny about his job, Sam calmly defends himself claiming to be one of the best drivers in town and says that his passengers always speak highly of him, this reaction seems to a stark contrast to the reactions of the other men throughout the play. Joey is much quieter figure than his father or brother, and seems to be bit of a puppet for both of them. Yet, his status as a boxer and a demolition worker allows him to be silently powerful, possibly indicating that he could overtake both Max and Lenny if he wanted to and an example of how they wield their power over him.

We also have a chance to see Teddy and Ruth before they encounter the rest of the family, as they arrive late in the night. Their relationship immediately comes off as awkward, uncomfortable, and confrontational as they argue about whether to go to bed immediately or stay up for a while, Ruth openly disagreeing with Teddy for most of the conversation. This is the first time we see Ruth asserting some sort of power or dominance over another male character, and it provides some insight as to why the play ends the way it does. It is evident that the marriage is an unhappy one, and Ruth is unsatisfied with her seemingly passive husband, an indication as to why she might choose an alternative life style as she does at the end of the play. Additionally, we see that Ruth is a bit allured by Lenny when she encounters him for the first time and more than willingly takes on the challenge of conversing with him. As he provokes her with a story about killing one of his prostitutes Ruth is unmoved, rather than reacting she challenges Lenny with questions effectively knocking down the dominance he was most certainly trying to assert over her.

When Teddy and Ruth awake to greet the family the next morning conflict arises immediately as Max is outraged when he realizes that something was going on within his household without his knowledge. We see the demeaning of Ruth from another male figure in the family as Max calls her a prostitute. Even as this is going on, Teddy does little to defend his wife other than asserting that she is his wife, another instance of his more passive nature. Max does eventually apologize to Ruth, though it does not happen immediately and seems only to be prompted by Ruth’s kindness towards him. This is one of only a few times throughout the play when Max acknowledges the importance and worth of women, the others being when he reminisces about his own wife. In addition, these seem to be the only time in the play when he is happy and when he relinquishes his power over the rest of the family as he asserts that his wife was “the backbone” of the family. It is clear that he respected and loved her and has been very affected by her death. He talks about how he strived to provide for her and reminisces about a time when the whole family was together when the boys were young, comparing it to Christmas, instantly returning to his callous demeanor once Ruth asks what happened with his career. Perhaps this scene is an allusion to the ending of the play as this monologue is brought on by Ruth’s questioning and coupled with Max’s cigar being the first to go out, perhaps a symbol of his eventual demise to Ruth. In addition, Max instantly starts harassing and putting down Sam, who yet again reacts very calmly to the verbal blows from his brother, maybe an indication of the little power Max actually has over Sam. This is also indicated by the mention of MacGregor by Max who uses the mention of the family friend to insult Sam, yet ultimately Sam is one who hurts Max with MacGregor’s name as he divulges what seems to be a secret affair between MacGregor and Max’s wife at the end of the play.

The next interaction occurs between Lenny and Teddy as yet again Lenny provokes someone else. He questions Teddy about his work in philosophy, asking him questions that Teddy seems to have trouble answering, instantly giving Lenny some sort of power over his brother, and Teddy seems to be uninterested during the entire interaction. Here it seems to be most evident that this is just the way that Teddy is, a sort of passive bystander, one who is contemplative and slow to react as indicated by his title as a philosophy professor. This becomes even more apparent as Lenny, and eventually Joey sexually engage with Teddy’s wife. All the while, Lenny just looks on, he does not react or seem angry in any way, but rather just watches on as his brothers overtake his wife in front of him. Max adds another element to this scene as he comments on the character of Ruth in an ironic way as Joey is on top of her. Max says she is a lovely woman, a mother, a woman of quality and must be a happy wife to Teddy, possibly an indication of the skewed view of women the men in this family have.

Immediately after Ruth’s encounter with Lenny and Joey she begins asserting her dominance over the men, demanding to eat and drink. Finally at this point we see a more aggressive side of Teddy as he speaks about his critical works and the skills he has to be able to write them. This is the one time in the play we see how he views himself on a higher level intellectually than the rest of his family, he comes off as sort of pompous, and this may be why he has hardly engaged at all with them prior to that moment. Teddy’s newly asserted status over the rest of his family is reinforced when Sam, the only seemingly genuine character in the play, says that Teddy was always his mother’s favorite. Teddy’s power over the family is different from that of Max and Sam, it does not come from cruelty or strength over the others but instead from intellect and possibly an outsider’s perspective being that he had been away from the family for so long. He understands the dynamic of this family and this may be why he so easily surrenders his wife and marriage over, it seems like he knew this would happen all along as he never seems shocked by any of his family’s actions.

The closing scene is when we really see Ruth become the most powerful of all the men. They discuss what they are going to offer her and how they are going to prostitute her out for money. Lenny and Max do most of the planning, and Teddy seems to be entirely removed from the discussion aside from a few protests initially. Sam is the only one who really speaks out against the plan reminding the others that she is a wife and mother making him seem to be only voice of reason and concern in the family. Nonetheless, Max and Lenny continue to plan what they are going to do with Ruth, their grand plans only halted with the entering of Ruth into the scene. They propose the plan to Ruth, pleading for her to stay so they can have a woman in the house. The only effort Teddy seems to put in to dissuading Ruth is mentioning that she would have to “pull her own weight” or just go home with him. Ruth is intrigued and begins negotiating with Lenny, demanding much more than they originally intended to give her, all of which Lenny yields to. Upon coming to an agreement Sam divulges his secret about Max’s wife and falls dead on the floor, maybe a symbol of how he can no longer take the chauvinist and power hungry environment of the household. Max too collapses to the floor, but only after realizing that Ruth has finally overpowered him, she sits in his chair and he pleads for her to kiss him, the ultimate symbols of her rise to dominance over the men.