As I've recently read the script and seen the film of Betrayal (full thoughts here), I wanted to examine a scene in closer detail, as I thought there must be layers that I missed the first few times. I chose this scene because it's one of my favourite exchanges of dialogue in the play; it says so much with dialogue that initially seems random. As I re-read it, I began to understand the dynamic better, but given that this is a Pinter play, it can have probably have many interpretations. While writing this post, I read this essay on JSTOR about the communication in the play, which I found very interesting. It analyses the play on a much more sophisticated level than me! The article informed some of my analysis of this scene, but I couldn't find a good place to cite it in the text so I'll leave the link here.
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This scene is the third scene from Betrayal by Harold Pinter, but in terms of chronology it is the third-last, taking place in the winter of 1975. During the scene, Emma and Jerry break up their affair. Very little is said explicitly about their feelings about one another, but an exploration of the relationship is conducted through a conversation about the flat. Through the seemingly mundane discussion of the logistics of meeting up and the flat, the contrasting views of their relationship become clear as the scene goes on. Also, through conversation techniques and the information that the characters hold, Pinter shows the veiled motivations and emotions of both characters.
In this scene, Pinter uses the features of conversation, such as turn-taking etiquette and changing the subject, to show that Emma is in charge of the conversation. Combined with the information games she plays with Jerry, this gives her a lot of power in the scene. At the beginning of the scene, Jerry says, "What do you want to do then?" - he defaults to Emma to decide, implying a listlessness that continues throughout the scene. Emma's response, "I don't quite know what we're doing, any more, that's all", sets the scene for the dissolution of their relationship. She then introduces the first topic of conversation, the flat, which she uses to emphasise the fizzling out of the affair. Emma introduces new topics four times in the scene, while Jerry only does this once (starting the discussion of Emma's job and the logistics of meeting up). This shows that Emma has most of the control over the direction of the conversation, and that she is determined to formally end the relationship, as she keeps driving the conversation towards discussion the emptiness and obsolescence of the flat (representing the affair). Firstly, she introduces the fact that they haven't been in the flat since September. After this conversation, and the discussion of each other's schedules (introduced by Jerry), she changes the subject to the question of if he can afford to keep the empty flat going, starting the debate of whether or not it was a "home". Finally, she turns to the matter of breaking up the flat and its contents. She also decides when the conversation is over, stating "I'm leaving now". This control over the subject and length of the conversation implies that she had an agenda for this meeting, and when all the points have been discussed, she leaves. Jerry is much more listless and quiet; in fact, in the last few lines of the scene, when Emma is preparing to leave, he doesn't speak at all, and when Emma hands him the keyring for him to remove her key, he just looks at her, delaying taking the key. This suggests that, although he regrets the end of the affair, he seems somewhat resigned to it. Overall, the structure of the conversation shows that Emma is more determined to end the affair than Jerry.
The information game that Emma plays with Jerry is emblematic of the play as a whole, and shows how people use information to gain dominance in a conversation. Emma asks Jerry if he can remember when they were last in the flat; Jerry answers, "In the summer, was it?", to which Emma replies "Well, was it?", wrong-footing him by immediately questioning his answer. She then interrupts him to say, "It was the beginning of September", showing that she knew more than she let on and was testing him. The interruption with the correct answer asserts her dominance in the conversation, and makes the audience realise that there is now no telling how much Emma knows and is concealing from Jerry. She is deliberately testing him, and he has failed. This makes Jerry defensive, and he replies with another question "Well, that's summer, isn't it?". Emma's reply "It was actually extremely cold", again contradicting him and showing her dominance in the discussion, due to the knowledge that she has and Jerry lacks. This situation is characteristic of the play as a whole; one character often "tests" the other's knowledge by asking them questions that they themselves know the answer to, ensuring that they maintain dominance, explicitly or implicitly, in the relationship. Due to the (mostly) reverse chronology of the play, this works on a meta-level as well. In the play, the characters play information games with each other to ascertain how much they know, asking them questions that they already know the answers to. Meanwhile, the audience, who already knows how the narrative plays out, has to observe how the characters behave and react in order to work out how much they know at that point. One theatre critic noted that "Pinter’s narrative method takes "what next?" out of the spectator’s mind and replaces it with the rather deeper "how?" and "why?"." In using this method, Pinter explores how people behave differently (or not) according to what knowledge they have, and how well people can hide their true knowledge or intentions, as characters who seemed ignorant turn out to be knowledgeable.
The blame for the breakup of the affair is hidden within discussion of the logistics of meeting up. Interestingly, neither party shows any kind of guilt or remorse about betraying their respective spouses; Emma and Jerry concerned only with the state of the relationship itself. This is another betrayal of their respective marriages; to have an affair is one thing, but to feel guiltless about it for seven years is something else. Although both characters initially discuss that it is the logistics that keep them apart, it becomes increasingly clear that this is not the true reason. Jerry begins the discussion by implicitly placing the blame on Emma, by saying "You've been so busy, your job, and everything". There is a hint of resentment from Jerry over Emma's job, perhaps because it gives her a purpose and independence from him. The main reason for his annoyance, though, is that she now has less time for him. Jerry pushes the blame for the demise of the relationship onto Emma by saying, "But you're not free in the afternoons", suggesting that her lack of availability is the problem. Emma resents him blaming her, which is shown by her response, "But look at the times you're out of the country. You're never here", which shifts the blame onto him. However, Emma realises the true nature of the problem; the fact that they have grown apart and no longer have the same interest in and enthusiasm for the relationship that they once did. She shows this by her references to the past, saying that "In the past... in the past we were inventive, we were determined"; this suggests that they are no longer "determined" and "inventive", and that this is the real reason for the fizzling out of the affair. Emma goes on to say that "it seemed impossible to meet...impossible... and yet we did"; the repetition of "impossible" emphasises how difficult it was, but shows that in the past they succeeded where now they are failing. By saying this she recognises that the logistics are not the problem; the problems are with the relationship itself. Jerry's response, "It would not matter how much we wanted to [meet up] if you're not free in the afternoons and I'm in America" firmly disregards the emotional side of the matter and returns to the practical side. Jerry's blaming of the logistics could suggest that he is in denial about the problems in their relationship; coupled with his silence and later reluctance to take Emma's key, which would admit that the affair was over, this seems likely. At the end of the scene, Emma aggressively shatters his pretence that the logistics are the problem by saying, "Do you realise this is an afternoon? It's the Gallery's afternoon off", adding that "We close every Thursday afternoon"; this clearly shows that there is in fact time for them to meet up, and their whole conversation has been based on something which they both know is not true. This makes the audience re-evaluate the whole scene, and shows the distance and lack of honesty about the relationship between Emma and Jerry.
Throughout the scene, the flat is used as an extended metaphor for Emma and Jerry's relationship. Emma introduces the flat as a way of measuring the relationship by asking if Jerry remembers when they were last there. By using the concrete object of the flat, both characters avoid having to openly say what they are thinking, maintaining a distance from each other. The forgone investment in the flat, the lack of purchase of an electric fire, symbolises the lack of investment in their relationship in recent times, signalling its end. Furthermore, Jerry's comment "We're here now" is met with "Not really" from Emma, suggesting that their hearts are not really in the relationship. The discussion of the flat also introduces their differing views of the relationship. Emma calls the flat "an empty home", the word "home" suggesting that she sees the affair as an important long-term relationship, and the flat was a meaningful place of comfort and happiness for her, perhaps an escape from her cold, absent husband. Jerry takes a different view, saying, "I know what you wanted... but it could never...actually be a home", acknowledging her wish for it to be more of a "home", but showing that this was impossible due to the fact that they are both married to other people. He then tells her "You have a home. I have a home", keeping his house with two children firmly separate from his clandestine flat and mistress. Emma then asks Jerry, with a slightly accusatory tone, "It was never intended to be the same kind of home [as their respective family homes], was it?". This suggests that she views this as a kind of betrayal: he realised she wanted it to be a home, but for him it was never intended to be anything more than a bit on the side. Thus the clashing views of their relationship are made clear as Emma realises that their affair has meant something different to both of them. This is further explored when Jerry says that he saw the flat as not a home, but "a flat...you know". Emma interrupts, "For f***ing"; her interruption with the sharp expletive shows her anger that he views their relationship as being merely about sex. Moreover, the use of the expletive suggests that she sees his view of the relationship as something vulgar and superficial. Jerry's protest of "No, for loving" is met with a sharp "Well, there's not much of that left" from Emma, openly acknowledging that their relationship is over. Emma's realisation of the differing views of their relationship, whether it happened during the scene or was something she previously realised and is repeating now, seems to be an important factor for her in the end of the affair. The breakup is cemented in the discussion of the selling of the flat; the bed and furniture that they bought together is to be sold off by Jerry, and Emma returns her key to him, symbolically showing the dissolution of the seven-year long affair. Overall, the flat symbolises the breakup of Emma and Jerry's relationship in two ways: through the differing views of the space and also through the literal breaking up and sale of the flat.
In conclusion, it is possible that the true reasons for the breakup of the affair can be found hidden within the scene. Jerry's insistence that the logistics are the problem shows that he is in denial of the true reason of the end of the affair, while Emma drives the conversation on, wanting to formally end the affair as she recognises that they have grown apart from each other. These differing views of the relationship are also explored in their attitudes to the flat, with Emma viewing it as a place with emotional value, Jerry as a functional place. It could be said that their differing wishes for the relationship was, ultimately, the reason for its end.