ABSTRACT

Pause Harold Pinter, Betrayal

Commentary This opening extract from the first scene of Betrayal is punctuated by pauses which are typical of Pinter’s plays and of much modern dramatic writing. As the scene develops the audience is given more clues which confirm what no doubt has been suspected from very early on in the play, that Jerry and Emma have had an affair some time in the past. Jerry’s com­ ment, ‘You remember the form. I ask about your husband, you ask about my wife’ is followed moments later by his calling her ‘Darling’, followed by the reply, ‘Don’t say that’. The dialogue continues to provide more clues until the details are finally spelled out by Jerry later in the scene, the only thing I really felt was irritation . . . that nobody gossiped about us . . . I nearly said, now look,. . . she and I had an affair for seven years

By the time the audience receive that exposition of the background, all that needs to be confirmed is the length of the affair, although this is the

first time it is overtly acknowledged. Why is it that the members of the audience almost certainly know what to expect before they receive that confirmation? First of all, the title of the play, Betrayal, is one of the fram­ ing devices which might contribute to the audience’s reading of the scene. Secondly, there are clues in the dialogue; Emma and Jerry recollect how long it is since they have been alone. They also make comments such as ‘Just like old times’ and ‘I thought of you the other day’ which suggest a past relationship. However it is also the silences and pauses which contrib­ ute to the audience’s reaction to the scene because it is primarily these which determine the tone of the exchange and the implication that there is a strong sub-text. The pauses draw attention to what is not said and help create the impression from very early on in the exchange of words that this is more than just a meeting of old friends.