In the play 'The Homecoming' by Harold Pinter, a family deals with the unexpected return of the eldest son and his wife, Ruth, on a visit from America. The rest of the family were unaware that Teddy had taken a wife. The arrival had a profound effect on each member of the family who are an unusual group consisting of an aging father, his two sons and his younger brother. Because of this unexpected event we see the intricacies of the relationships of the family and how these develop and change. The homecoming does not necessarily bring about change in a good way if viewed as a whole. If certain characters are looked at individually though, we see many things that happen are positive for that person.

The play would seem to centre around Teddy as he was the one returning home to his family. In fact, the attention is focused on Ruth. Max's first reaction to her is abusive and he immediately calls Ruth a tart: 'We've had a stinking pox-ridden slut in my house all night.' This shows us how Max views women as he has never even set eyes on Ruth before this meeting. His words do not shock anyone and appear to be perfectly acceptable and normal. Even Teddy does not seem to surpris

Ruth suddenly has power. She knows how to manipulate and use her body to gain what she wants: 'I'd like something to eat. I'd like a drink. Did you get any drink?' Her tone has changed. She is confident and demanding. Her sentences are short and abrupt and the men are now answering to her. Teddy is upset by these occurrences. He does not show it very much but his tone also changes and he becomes defensive, his words revealing repressed anger: 'You're way behind. All of you. There's no point in my sending you my works. You'd be lost.'

Teddy, sensing Ruth's mood, suddenly starts to talk about returning to America which is a change of attitude for him. We learn that Ruth was a glamour model before she married Teddy and it is easier to understand his urge to return home. Ruth has been accepted very quickly by the family and she is in a situation which is familiar to her. Their lifestyle does not shock her with it's concept of gender roles and it is obvious she is in control of the men. It is now clear that Teddy is no longer comfortable with his family and it is also clear that Ruth is of more interest to them than Teddy is. They are not totally hostile towards Teddy but often the tone is not friendly. He is quite a strange character. When his brother is kissing his wife he makes no audible protest or exclamation of surprise. The dramatic effect of this would be very tense because the audience would be waiting for an overdue outburst of anger or violence from Teddy which is never going to happen. This gives the whole play a surreal air and is shocking to read and watch which is probably what Pinter was aiming to do. It seems Teddy is expecting something like this. It is not totally surprising really considering the line of work Lenny and possibly Sam are involved in and the attitude they have to women. I think Teddy realises that it would be useless to interfere and that he would not be able to reach Ruth.

Ruth is not easily intimidated and listens to Lenny, only speaking in short sentences compared to Lenny's long speeches. This shows that it is in fact Lenny who is ill at ease. At the end of their encounter Ruth and Lenny engage in a power struggle of their own. Ruth clearly wins with her cool, detached replies. She also introduces a sexual aspect into the conversation:

RUTH. If you take the glass...I'll take you.'

From the very beginning of the play we are given an idea of their attitude to women. We learn that there is no woman in the household because Max's wife Jessie had died. It later becomes clear that Lenny is a pimp and owns flats in which to conduct his business, Sam is a chauffeur and it is easy to believe that the people he drives around are clients of Lenny's girls. When Lenny first meets Ruth he tells her about a mee

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ruth Max's, Lenny Ruth, Lenny Teddy, Jessie Jessie, Ruth Teddy, Harold Pinter, Ruth Ruth, Max McGregor, Ruth Lenny, Max Sam, 'the homecoming', effect family, ruth lenny, attitude women, didn't fight,
Approximate Word count = 1885
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)