Gothic Spaces in Pinter’s The Room and The Birthday Party

Abstract

One obvious preoccupation both Theatre of the Absurd and Gothic Studies share is their responsiveness to the inner workings of the human mind; another is that both exhibit tendencies of repressed emotions and individual experiences by capturing social dysfunctions. These psychoanalytical underpinnings are the defining traits of both gothic fiction and absurdist literature. Using qualitative research methods and close textual analysis, this article unfolds the painful social layers of Harold Pinter’s plays. The repressed fears, deep-seated anxieties, and behavioral imbalances resulting from a claustrophobic atmosphere, often a room or a damp chamber, texture their world. To do this, a close textual reading approach is adopted. The theoretical grid for the article is Freud’s theory of Uncanny and his concept of Unhomely. Also, the plays have been approached through Vidler’s (1992) idea of Architectural Uncanny. Although the amount of scholarship available is fertile, no exhaustive study of Pinter’s plays has been conducted from this perspective. The study is unique in that Pinter’s works have not been previously analyzed through the critical lens of gothic theories. The article’s main argument is that the motifs, tropes, and trappings that are scattered throughout the body of Pinter’s dramatic works evoke a strong image of a dark Gothic world characterized by excessive anxiety and frustration. The article explores the effect of the uncanny produced through such psychological and social derangement and, from the gothic perspective, examines how Pinter’s dramaturgy conjures up the terrifying psyches of the characters. The gothic analysis shows how the characters in an absurdist play take defensive positions and strategies against the social world. The article further interlinks gothic terror psyches and fears to highlight the ensuing sense of displacement characters feel in the light of the theory of uncanny and homely. This article analyzes three early plays of Pinter: The Room, The Birthday Party, and The Caretaker. Gothicity in Pinter’s plays emerges as a strong impulse, a driving force through which Pinter puts across the social invasion, oppression, injustice, and individual freedom.