Betrayal-Harold Pinter

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Modern Drama

Final Project

what is the major theme(s) of the play?Explain

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Disrespect has an impact on the play "Betrayal", by Harold Pinter in many ways. Disrespect is an important theme in this play because it has the power to hold or drive the play forward. It causes stress, insecurities, and lies within this play, that supports its significance as a major theme that Pinter was issuing. I have isolated all the important quotes to support my ideas about disrespect. Each quote demonstrates the disrespect of the characters themselves, their marriages, and/or their friendships. (My book may not have the same page numbers so I'm giving the scenes in the beginning of each quote too.)

In Scene I, Jerry is being disrespectful toward Emma. Emma says, "I thought of you the other day." Jerry responds, "Good God Why? Why"(1)? This is disrespectful because they did have a seven-year relationship, and to just block someone out of your thoughts and ignore your feelings is totally erratic. The fact that nobody really expresses themselves makes each character seem very disrespectful of their own feelings. I suppose you could argue that English people in general are not very emotionally out going and willing to talk about their feelings, but that is just a stereotypical view.

The next quote I want to discuss is about Jerry's disrespect for himself. In Scene I, he says, "The funny thing was that the only thing I ever felt was irritating. I mean irritation that nobody gossiped about us like that…"(). At this point we begin to see Jerry for Jerry. He makes it seem that he should be praised for doing something that is frowned upon by society. This is just one example of how Jerry is disrespectful of the generally accepted social morality.

This next quote shows Emma being disrespectful toward Jerry. In Scene I, Jerry says, "You didn't tell Robert about me last night did you"? And Emma responds, "I had to"(). I suppose you could argue that Jerry is the one who is being disrespectful by being only concerned with his own well being. I think it's only Emma who's disrespectful in this situation. She lies to him by saying that the night before was the night she first told Robert about the affair. The truth was that she actually told him four years earlier. This is an important quote because it gives Jerry a reason to talk to Robert. In essence it helps drive the play forward.

In Scene II, we see Jerry's disrespectful apology to Robert. Jerry says, "I don't know why she told you. I don't know how she could tell you…"(6). Jerry is disrespectful in the sense that his apology is not sincere. After seven years of sneaking around with Emma, he apologizes. What right does Jerry have? I think he's only trying to make sense of it all in his head to make himself not feel guilty about betraying his so-called best friend. I guess it's a good thing Robert has no respect for himself or his wife or his marriage, or else Robert probably would have killed Jerry. I guess that's what makes this play different from most there's no tragedy.

Again in Scene II, Jerry obviously proves us wrong by calling a Robert a bastard. Both Jerry and Robert are being disrespectful. Jerry disrespects Robert, and Robert disrespects his marriage. Jerry says, "Why didn't you tell me?" And Robert replies, "Tell you what?" Then Jerry responds, "That you knew you bastard"(40). In this scene, both Jerry and Robert are being disrespectful. What I mean is, does Robert have the right to play stupid about the question Jerry is asking? I think that Robert is playing Jerry for a fool and the only reason that he wants Jerry as a friend is to use him to find him more talented writers so he can make more money off of him. I find this to be just as disrespectful as the fact that Jerry is angrier about the situation than Robert. In essence, Robert is even disrespectful toward his own marriage for not being angry. A quote that supports my ideas is when Robert says to Jerry, "No, I hadn't thought of telling Judith, actually. You don't seem to understand that I don't give a shit"(41). Any man who has respect for his wife and his marriage would want to get back at his best friend for deceiving him.

In Scene III, Jerry is being disrespectful towards Emma. The way I know this is because Jerry puts his foot in his mouth when he says, "But when I am here you're not free in the afternoons. So we never meet"(51). Up until this point in the scene, Jerry is being very supportive of Emma and her career goals. Its like he's trying to manipulate her. He's trying to make it seem like she's the one who wants to do away with the relationship. Jerry tries to make it her fault by saying, "We're here now"(51). Like saying, look we don't have to do away with this, and she responds, "Not really"(51). She is indicating that they are no longer a couple.

The next quote in Scene III is when Jerry is being disrespectful towards Emma. He say's, "Nights have always been out of the question and you know it. I have a family"(5). (Saying it like she doesn't have a family or that his life with his family is more important.) Emma upset, says, "I have a family too." Then Jerry says, "I might remind you that your husband is my oldest friend." When Jerry says this he is being so disrespectful toward Emma in the sense, all of a sudden his and Robert's friendship is more important than theirs. After seven years, why now? This proves that Jerry is the one who really wants out of the relationship, and this also puts the relationship on hold for the next two years.

Again, in Scene III we see Jerry being disrespectful toward Emma. Emma says, "Its just an empty home"(54). And Jerry responds, "Its not a home." His disrespect is caused from a lack of caring for Emma's feelings. Emma truly believes that the flat is a home for them. Jerry always looked at it as just a spot for the affair. She even tries to personalize the flat by buying a tablecloth for "them".

In Scene IV, we see all three characters together for the first time. We see Robert offending Emma. He says, "Well, to be brutally honest, we wouldn't actually want a woman around, would we, Jerry"(6)? He then further goes on to say, "You really don't want a woman buying you lunch…" and "You don't actually want a woman within a mile of the place." My point is… we see Robert not only offending Emma, but we also see him as disrespecting all women in general.

In Scene V, Robert is disrespecting himself. Robert says, "Any other news"(8)? Emma responds, "No." Then Robert changes the subject and says, "Are you looking forward to Torcello?" The point I'm making is that Robert has no respect for his own marriage. He doesn't even care that his own wife and his best friend are having an affair. To me this is also not respecting yourself.

Just after that quote, Robert is telling Emma how he and Jerry used to write to each other. In this quote Robert is disrespecting his marriage and himself. He says, "Well, we are still close friends. All that was long before I met you, long before he met you"(8). I think Robert is suggesting that he and Jerry will always have a relationship regardless. He's saying that she really doesn't matter to him, and she really doesn't mean anything to Jerry.

In Scene V, Robert's sarcasm is very disrespectful towards Emma and their relationship. Especially when he says, "I've always liked Jerry. To be honest, I've always liked him rather more than I've liked you. Maybe I should have had an affair with him myself"(87). I think that Robert is blatantly disrespecting her and his marriage to prove that he really doesn't care anymore.

In Scene VI, we see Jerry being disrespectful toward Judith. Jerry says to Emma, "We had our drink, and we got home about eight, walked in the door, Judith said, hello, you're a bit late. Sorry, I said, I was having a drink with Spinks"(100). Jerry is lying to Judith to protect himself from getting caught. This is also disrespectful to himself in the sense that he doesn't even notify Spinks that he was going out and shouldn't call his house.

In Scene VII, Jerry is being disrespectful toward Robert and their friendship. When talking to Robert about Torcello, Jerry says, "I thought one went to Torcello by gondola"(11). The disrespect in this is that Jerry already knows all about the trip from Emma. This is also disrespectful on Emma's part because this is when he finds out that Emma lied to him about the speedboats being broken down.

In Scene VIII, there is so much disrespect that derives from a few quotes. I'm going to do my best to link it all together. We see Jerry being disrespectful toward his marriage, his friendship with Robert, and toward Emma. We also see Emma being disrespectful toward her marriage and Robert toward his. Jerry says, "I should have blackened you in your white wedding dress… before ushering you in to your wedding"(15). This quote in particular, drives the play forward in the sense that this is the beginning of the betrayal.

Jerry obviously is being disrespectful towards his marriage by kissing Emma, and telling her how much he loves her. He's also disrespecting Robert as his "best man", by taking advantage of his wife in his own home. On top of all of this he's telling Emma that he should have "Blackened her" or been the first to have her.

In Emma's case the only response to Jerry's disrespectful comment is that her husband is on the other side of the door. She doesn't scream or yell or make any kind of attempt to try to be rescued. Then when Robert enters the room, she doesn't try to tell him his best friend just kissed her, she says, "Your best friend is drunk"(17). That is being disrespectful for not telling him the truth.

It's a real question to determine whether or not Robert is being disrespectful by not stepping into the bathroom sooner. I think he heard every word of their conversation, and chose not to interfere because maybe Jerry would be taking her off his hands so he could go out and betray her. My assumptions may be arguably wrong, but in this sense Robert is being disrespectful.

Part

Disrespect is crucial in producing "Betrayal" because it makes or breaks the play. Without disrespect, there would be no affair at all. These characters would have nothing to discuss besides new talents and their children. I think that Pinter is trying to stir up his audience by utilizing disrespect. What I'm saying is that this play has been the only play we read all semester with no real tragedy or deaths making it very realistic. Pinter could have Robert kill Jerry or Emma for betraying him, but he chooses to make Robert more realistic and that shows how society responds to situations like this most of the time. The thing that Pinter does different is that he makes Robert just as disrespectful as Jerry and Emma. In the following I will be describing my way of presenting this play through casting, acting style, costume, and lighting.

I envision all three of these characters dressed very proper and expensive. Jerry would look like a somewhat weak character but deceiving. Robert would be a much physically stronger man, with not much charm. And Emma would be a very beautiful woman with silk white skin and beautiful flowing hair. Her looks are deceiving.

I think Hugh Grant would play a good Jerry because he usually plays a somewhat ditsy but charming character. He also seems to play characters that say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and we know Jerry fits that profile.

I would also cast the part of Robert, to Russell Crowe. I think that he would play a good Robert because I think that Robert has similar characteristics to the gladiator, in the movie "Gladiator". He compares to the gladiator in the sense that he has this underestimated ability to be mentally stronger than most people. He's usually a very calm, cool, and intelligent character as well.

For Emma, I would cast Nicole Kidman. She's very independent looking and can play the part of a "want to be" upper class character, like she did in "Moulin Rouge." Nicole Kidman also has a very deceiving look with her red hair and I think that would play as a good factor too.

I really based all these choices on the characters' tone of voice when speaking. All present this different but similar type of tone that's kind of stuck up in a way that makes them come across as disrespectful people. In Robert's case his voice is deeper and darker and presents a little bit of fear to others. He says things very unemotional when speaking. This is demonstrated when he says, "It's true I've hit Emma once or twice. But that wasn't to defend a principle. I wasn't inspired to do it form any kind of standpoint. I just felt like giving her a good bashing"(41). For Robert to do things like this is very disrespectful toward Emma and his marriage. It also shows that he can commit these heartless acts with no remorse.

Tone is extremely important in expressing how each character is being disrespectful. Even if the words are not meant to be blatantly disrespectful, good actors can make them seem that way. To prove that Hugh Grant would play a good Jerry, we go back to a quote we talked about earlier. Jerry says, "That you knew. You bastard"(40). Hugh Grant would say this with a confused demeanor. It would be said in such a way that we would interpret it as "Why the hell are you not angry with me?" It would almost be as if he has a questioning look on his face that makes him think about why he's angry and calling him a bastard. And again like I said in the last paragraph, Robert's response is said very calmly, "Oh, don't call me bastard, Jerry." Almost like its even humorous to him in a way. Then Jerry acting like a teenager in love says, "What are we going to do?" He's acting like Robert really means something to him. His tone is acknowledged as being deceiving and disrespectful.

In Emma's case, her tone is disrespectful when she responds from Roberts question, "He wasn't the best man at our wedding, was he"(8)? And she says, "You know he was." This would be as if she was saying that Jerry was the better man in general. Also like saying that Robert is really a nothing to her.

The next thing I want to talk about is costume. It's important to show that these characters are dressed to disrespect. There costumes should also reflect their tones as well.

In the scene where Jerry and Robert meet for a drink at the restaurant, both would be over dressed compared to the waiter who would be dressed nice but not as expensive as the two of them. Robert's attire would give the sense that he is better than everyone one else, and that he is flawless. Robert would be dressed the simplest but only to emphasize his personality. I would have him in a suede V-Neck sweater of a rich mahogany complexion, with black seamless pants, and dressy black zip-up boots. We would also see Robert wearing heavy gold rings to help present his value.

Jerry would be wearing a very expensive suit, with a black jacket and black pants, with a flamboyantly colorful tie, and a white shirt. He would also be wearing a dark pair of sunglasses and firm black shoes. He would appear as a very stiff but out going person because of his tie. He would also never remove his sunglasses in public making sure he doesn't make any eye contact with that person. When the waiter speaks both men talk down to him and don't even look him in the eye.

Emma would be dressed very disrespectful to herself and to her marriage. When she meets with Jerry for the first time in two years, she would be wearing a tight, short, lace like, red dress. She would stand out in a crowd with lots of cleavage showing. This would express to the audience that Emma is one to get around. All in all this would emphasize to the audience that costume also plays a role in staging disrespect as a theme.

Betrayal Harold Pinter

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