betrayal context + critics Flashcards
What were the swinging 60s?
Youth driven, cultural revolution - flourishing in art, music + fashion
What did the mini skirt mean for women?
Symbolised a growth in female independence as women broke away from tradition gender rules; challenged trad ideas of modesty
How did Britain suffer economically in the 70s?
Skyrocket in inflation + unemployment; strikes, power cuts + states of emergency
What did the invention of the contraceptive pill mean in the 60s/70s?
Allowed women to take control over fertility + was a form of liberation; stimulated new era in British attitudes towards relationships
What did the legalisation of abortion mean for women?
Allowed women to take control over their bodies + family planning
Women no longer had stresses w family planning bc abortion was an option
What happened to marriage/divorce in the 60s/70s?
70s saw an increase in divorces
Decrease in amount of women marrying (may have been influenced by abortion/pill legalisation)
No pregnancy outside marriage issues anymore
What did Pinter stick w?
Stuck w his principles + politics
What did Pinter love?
Star athlete; loved cricket
What did Pinter have?
“Capacity of loyalty to people” to his male school friends BILLINGTON
What did Billington say about the ending?
“There’s an unresolved ending where the audience is left to make up their mind”
What did Pinter realise? What did he mean by this?
“Our conversations are non linear and non logical”
We may sometimes be communicating w someone but aren’t rlly having proper dialogue
What did Pinter once recognise?
“The hidden violence of cricket”
What does Billington say about Pinter’s view of friendship?
“Pinter had a sacerdotal view of male friendship”
Who says silences whether long/short are moments of intense emotions?
Hall
What did Pinter refuse to do?
Refused to do national service in 40s
He wasnt a pacifist but had an “instinctive reaction against authority” BILLINGTON
Who was Pinter’s first wife?
Vivienne Merchant
What happened after the affair w Joan Bakewell + Pinter was revealed?
Daniel (son) couldn’t forgive Pinter for the way he treated his mother + estranged him
What was the Pinter + Bakewell affair?
7 year affair
What is pinteresque?
Colloquial language, persistent tension; irony
What happened with the letters in Pinter’s affair?
In 1962 Joan went on holiday to Venice with her husband.
Went to American express hoping to receive a letter from Pinter but ended up with one addressed to her husband from his mistress.
How did Pinter describe 1970s London?
“A good place to have an affair”
What did one of the letters from Pinter to Bakewell say?
He was “counting the days until we are reunited again”
What does Cohn say Jerry does in the final scene?
“Verbal rape”
How were Michael Bakewell + Pinter connected?
Michael Bakewell helped get Pinter’s plays aired on the BBC radio
Who says Jerry manifests paradoxical innocence?
Billington
Who were Joan Bakewell’s children?
Harriet + Matthew
How did Bakewell + Pinter meet?
Joan + Michael were having a party at their flat and she went out to talk to a stranger, finding herself “captivated” by Pinter
J + M had previously seen a Pinter play on its opening night but P+M were already working together
What does Joan describe about Harriet?
Pinter loved to toss Harriet in the air, like Jerry tosses Charlotte
What does Hall say about silences?
“Silences whether long or short are moments of intense emotions”
Who said Pinter had a sacerdotal view of male friendship?
Billington
What does Hall call the play?
It’s a play about self betrayal;
What does Bakewell call Emma?
“My character Emma is the stronger + Harold had in fact written a fem. play”
What does Billington say about Jerry?
“Jerry manifests a paradoxical innocence”
What does Billington say about Emma surviving?
“Emma survives this network of deceit w great style, the 2 men are spiritually annihilated by it”
