Betrayal and Endgame

Throughout my reading of Betrayal, all I could think about was how it seemed like a more realistic representation of Endgame. The settings were different, and the content of the dialogue was different, but all in all, they were very similar.

The pauses in the stage directions are the most obvious likenesses. Both Pinter and Beckett want their characters to communicate just as much, if not more, through their silences, as through the words they speak. While descerning meaning behind Beckett's silences can be difficult because of the almost nonsensical flow of conversation and pretty much barren plot, Pinter's silences in Betrayal are loaded with memories and unspoken suspicions and accusations. Admittedly, there is not much of a plot to Betrayal either, but at least the relationships between the characters are more defined, and the setting is relatable. The first scene places Jerry and Emma, former lovers, meeting together after several years apart. The conversation is slow and polite. The pauses that fill the dialogue can be used by the actors to generate a variety of emotions; awkwardness, perhaps, or regret, or nosalgia.

Another likeness to Endgame is the simplistic set. Beckett calls specifically for a bare room with two window, and little else. Pinter is concerned more with the action between the characters than with their surroundings. Each scene begins with a very brief description of the surroundings: "Scene Two. Jerry's House. Study. 1977. Spring (p. 13)." Pinter doesn't give any indication as to what Jerry's study might look like, but leaves that decision up to the director. The set could be elaborate or sparse, but by leaving out any specifics, Pinter shows that his concern is with the characters.

Betrayal also has few characters; Endgame consisted only of four. Pinter limits the dialogue to the three involved with the love-triangle he describes: Jerry, Emma, and Robert. This too, is important: Pinter is not concerned with any outsider's opinion of the affair between Jerry and Emma. Does Jerry's wife have suspicions? If Robert was having affairs, then perhaps Jerry's wife is too, and everyone is playing everybody. Do Robert's partners know that he is married? All of these viewpoints are excluded because he wants the focus to be on only these three.