The World of the Absurd Characters in the Plays of Pinter

Abstract

Harold Pinter often maintained silence on the information about characters. Pinter's writing process is one of 'finding out' about his characters by following
how they proceed from his initial image of them. Pinter is an acute observer
of human behaviour and is well aware that the individual psyche is very complex
and does not always operate according to reason. Pinter's approach to
characterisation may be found in the list of characters given in the beginning
of the text. Age and sex of the character is only mentioned, nothing more. The
information of the characters lies at the heart of the plays. The unfolding drama
of each play is an ongoing process of exploring how the characters relate to
each other, and what the true extent of an actual relationship is.
Pinter's characters just talk. One can take little they say at face value.
Pinter's characters may contradict themselves; they may have more than one
name; what they say is open to several interpretations. To say that they fail
to communicate is only partly true. More often they refuse to communicate. Fearing
to expose or reveal themselves, they use words as 'a violent, sly, anguished
smokescreen which keeps the other in its place. Pinter calls this smoke screen
'A stratagem of nakedness.'