Pinter's Feminine Talk against Masculine Vulgarity in the Homecoming: A Stylistic Analysis

Abstract

This paper aims at exposing unjust power relations prevalent amongst the personages in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming (1964) considering discursive arrays of the text. Since the study revolves principally around textual clues, it focuses on some excerpts derived from the play. Power relations are scrutinized on two planes, i.e., the ones among the male personae regarding issues of masculinity and those present between the sole female character and other male personages in terms of male domination over femininity. It is strived to, firstly, implement the percept of Grice's maxims to demonstrate how individual characters flout the maxims and, hence, what the possible implications might be concerning power questions. Afterwards, the researcher endeavors to apply politeness principles, explored by Brown and Levinson, so as to reveal the ways in which Pinter unveils men's vulgar mainstream attitude toward women in patriarchal communities, as shown in the talk of male personae in the all-male tribe of the play. Ultimately, Mick Short's notions of turn-taking and topic shift have been taken into consideration to divulge in what manner personages undermine each other's superiority through interruptions, topic control, and turn length. It is anticipated that the analysis might disclose how Pinter has purposely concocted an intricate pattern of dramatic dialogues to make the audience aware of the unequal power dynamics rampant in patriarchal societies. The findings may illustrate how Pinter adroitly depicts an exemplary female character that might rise from anonymity to the pinnacle of domination over male personae.