Harold Pinter, born on 10th October 1930 in London, was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists who had a writing career for more than 50 years. His well-known plays include – The Birthday Party (1957), Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978). Each of the plays was adapted to the screen. The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981), The Trail (1993) and Sleuth (2007) are some other plays written by Harold, which were adapted to the screens by other directors.
Pinter’s plays are ambivalent in plots, characters, settings and endings. They begin with a pair of stereotypical characters and their stereotyped relationship, which is disturbed by the entrance of a stranger. With the entry of the strange, the couple breaks down as their fears, jealousies, hatreds, sexual preoccupations, and loneliness emerge from beneath the screen.
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‘The Room’ was Pinter’s first play and became the hallmark for his upcoming plays. The play is set in a single room where Rose is having a ‘one-person dialogue’ with her husband, Bert. Rose constantly compares the warmth of her room with the damp and cold weather outside. The characters enjoy the warmth of the room while threatened by the cold.
They hear a few knocks on the door, and this enters Mr. Kidd, the landlord. Mr. Kidd asks the couple questions regarding leaving the room. The questions are mostly answered by Rose while her husband remains still. The conversation between Rose and Mr. Kidd creates an exchange of irrational dialogue between them. She is again interrupted by a young couple, Mr. And Mrs. Sands, who are looking for a flat as well as her landlord.
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After the departure of the couple, the door knocks again. Moreover, this time an intruder who is black and blind taps with his stick and is here to deliver a mysterious message to Rose from her father. The black man is represented as a ‘death who taps in with his stick to claim its victims. Eventually, the sight of death scared Bert, who immediately attacked and beat him until he was motionless. The play ends with the death of the black man, and Rose is struck blind as she shouts, “Can’t see. I can’t see. I can’t see”.
The play is surely an interesting one with lots of hidden symbolism. Moreover, if you want to know more about it, then here are some quotes that will surely take you by surprise.
1. “It is very cold out. I can tell you. It’s murder.” – Rose
As we have discussed earlier, Rose doesn’t like cold and damp weather. She constantly compares the comfort of her living room with the outside world. The room is Rose’s living space. She has been accustomed to the comfort of her house, and she feels threatened by anything unknown to her. She feels safe in her space, and she coldly refers to the outside weather as ‘murder’.
2. “But I think someone’s down there.” – Rose
Rose is quite a chatterbox. She constantly talks about something or other. At one point, she is talking about the weather, and then, after a little bit of pause, she starts to speak about something else. The apartment where Rose lives with her husband is quite warm and comforting. In every conversation with her husband, she will bring up the topic of the basement. According to Rose, the basement is cold and not suitable for accommodation. She is not sure about the people who live in that basement, but at least she is aware that there is someone who lives down the basement.
3. “That’s it. You’re the wife of the bloke you mentioned then?” – Mr. Sands
Rose is now engaged in a conversation with a young couple. The couple, Mr. and Mrs. Sands, were looking for a flat in the neighbourhood. They mention the name of the landlord with whom they were supposed to meet. Rose greets them and informs them about the landlord. After some time, Mr Sands confused Rose as the wife of the landlord. In this particular scene, we see the three people engaged in a conversation, but the conversation doesn’t flow on a good track. The communication is very irrational. A few instances are – repeating the same names, confusing one name/person with another etc.
4. “I hope it’s not too dark out. I hope it’s not too icy. My husband is in the van. He doesn’t drive slow, either. He never drives slow.”- Rose
Continuing the conversation with the couple, Rose brings back the topic of the weather. She is concerned about her husband, who is driving outside. Her husband Bert is a van driver, and no matter how painful the weather becomes, he has to go out for his job. The weather is icy and chilly compared to the rest of the days. As the weather becomes more turbulent, her concern for her husband grows with each passing moment.
5. “He’s been waiting to see you.”- Mr. Kidd
As the couple takes their departure out of Rose’s room, Mr. Kidd enters. Moreover, he is here to meet Rose specifically. Mr. Kidd describes that there is a man who is living downstairs and wants to meet her. Mr. Kidd is quite irritated by that man. Eventually, Mr. Kidd is an old person, and in old age, no one wants to take the burden of some unnecessary troubles. He doesn’t want to be bothered anymore. He talks with Rose and asks her to meet this man and see what he is trying to convey. Here, Mr. Kidd acts as a messenger between Rose and the man who is waiting for her.
6. “The room is occupied.” – Rose
The conversation between the couple and Rose continues as they speak about the neighbourhood. Eventually, the couple compliments the room and the comfort. Rose gladly appreciates the compliments. Soon their conversation turns around as the couple speaks about their intention to visit the neighbourhood. Moreover, the couple is looking for a flat. They visited downstairs, where a man informed them about the availability of a vacant room in the neighbourhood. Weirdly, that vacant room turns out to be the room of Rose and Bert. Eventually, as Rose hears the news, she bluntly replies that the room is occupied. We could see her being defensive about her place because the room is like heaven to her. Moreover, she cannot accept the fact that one day she has to bid goodbye to her favourite gathering place.
7. “Who is he?” – Rose
As Mr. Kidd informs Rose about a peculiar man living downstairs, who is persistent in meeting her, she is surprised. Moreover, All throughout her life, she never met the person who was living downstairs. As a matter of fact, she doesn’t even know the man’s name. Eventually, a complete stranger who didn’t bother to meet the people living above is now specifically asking for her to meet him. Rose is not comfortable meeting with him. Moreover, she replies back to Mr. Kidd that she is not interested in meeting up with this weird man.
8. “You don’t think he is going to go away without seeing you after he has come all this way, do you? You don’t think that do you?.” – Mr. Kidd
The conversation between Rose and Mr. Kidd continues. Moreover, Mr. Kidd is nagging in front of Rose to meet with the man while Rose constantly refuses his advice. Both of them are now in an argumentative state. Eventually, no one is willing to accept their defeat. While Rose has her reasons for not wanting to see a complete stranger, Mr Kidd wants this trouble to get over quickly. He doesn’t want to be bothered by it anymore. Moreover, what might seem like a casual encounter between two persons, here, the man who is living downstairs is signified as ‘death’. Death doesn’t wait for anyone. Nor can you escape from it. Eventually Death will come at your door when your time is over. You can choose to ignore it, but that will not keep him away.
9. “Well, you can’t see me, can you? You’re a blind man. An old, poor blind man. Aren’t you?” – Rose
Mr Kidd leaves the room and almost immediately enters a man who is black and blind. He introduces himself as Riley. Rose doesn’t bother to introduce herself to the man. Rather as soon as the man enters the room, she shows her rage. She shouts at the person who, according to her, has filled the landlord’s mind with crappy thoughts. He is the one who doesn’t want them to live here anymore. He is the one who gave the information about a vacant room to the couple. Rose is angry at him. She doesn’t want to live in her comfort space which is why we can see her impolite side while talking with the blind man.
In short, the summary of this play is the symbolic dimension. Eventually, it is Pinter’s genius to achieve such symbolic resonance at the same time that he maintains an eerily naturalistic surface.