Characterisation of Teddy in THE HOMECOMING

A detailed Summary of Characterisation of Teddy in THE HOMECOMING

Explore the characterisation of Teddy and his significance in the play as a whole, starting from a close examination of his words and behaviour on p.86 to p.89 ('I think we'll go back..." to "You just rest. I'll go pack").

We see straight away that Teddy, who ostensibly should be relaxed in his home, is tense. He talks incessantly, posing questions and seeking reassurance, while Ruth speaks and acts with confidence. When Teddy announces: "I think we'll go back" and asks Ruth if she agrees that they should return home, she simply answers with a contrasting self-assurance: "Why?"(III.86). Teddy's insecurity is apparent in every line, as his rhythms and tone of speech contradict the apparent meaning of his words. For example, responding snappily to Ruth's accusation that he does not like his family he says, "Of course I like them. What are you talking about?" but he is unable to continue the speech by producing some evidence to support this statement and there is a telling silence (III, 87). This episode reinforces the fact that the power in this relationship seems to belong to Ruth. For instance, Teddy rambles: "Look. I'll go and pack. You rest for a while. Will you? They won't be back for at least an hour. You can s

leep. Rest. Please"(III, 89), to which Ruth just looks at him in commanding silence. In retrospect we may look at Teddy's pleading for her to rest, as more of an attempt to claim possession than to offer solace, a comparison can be drawn to earlier in Act III when Teddy says to Ruth: "I'm with you". This suspicion is reinforced when we realise that this is one of three times that Teddy has begged Ruth to "Rest" in just four pages of text, even though as he says himself "It's morning. It's about eleven o'clock"(III, 88). Teddy seems desperate to stop his wife being revitalised by this "unclean" house, even though he is, or at least his makes himself, powerless to stop this happening.

Teddy is a complete outsider to his family; this is affirmed when Lenny reassures him that he belongs to the family unit. Any reassurance from Lenny, the most predatory member of the family, is bound to be untrue! All Teddy has is Ruth, and in spite of the intellectual wall he has built around himself, he is isolated and in need of the emotional buttressing Ruth has provided. Thus, his request, "You just rest. I'll go pack"(III, 90), can be seen as him pleading that she remain with him, both at this particular moment and metaphorically in the marriage.

Nevertheless, Teddy is unlike his two brothers and his father. Perhaps he and his uncle, Sam, who is equally unlike his brother Max, were born outside the family unit and that is why they feel such kinship and are so different. However, this conclusion only puts Teddy in a worse light, for while Sam cannot stand up to the family because he lacks the physical strength, Teddy does not oppose the family because he lacks the moral courage. Although he does not like the family's way of life he ultimately proves himself to be wholly conversant and submissive to it. One is left unable to disagree with the statement Pinter himself made to John Lhar 'that if ever there was a villain in the play, Teddy was it' and the identical words of Sir Peter Hall and Paul Rogers that Teddy is 'the biggest bastard of the lot'.

Teddy's education at graduate level seems to have removed from him normal human emotion and instinctive feeling and actions. He uses philosophy to distance himself from life, using this as a reason to allow him to surrender to the peculiar horrors that are going on around him. Michael Craig who played Teddy perceptively commented: "He's an awful man, Teddy. He rationalised his aggressions, but underneath he's an Eichmann" (qu

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Approximate Word count = 1684
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English