“The lover” by Harold Pinter: Conflict of Interests

Abstract

The main theme in “the lover” by Harold Pinter is the conflict between gender role attitudes, a conflict of interest, a situation in which a married couple make uncanny decisions. This paper explores how traditional gender role attitudes in a middle-class family impact the conflict between love and pleasure in Richard and how they provoke a reciprocal reaction from Sarah. Sarah aims to bring peace by playing diverse roles and expects Richard to do the same. Richard’s roles, as both a lover and a husband, are in conflict with each other since he sees Sarah as a whore at a time and looks out for her dignity, elegance and wit at another time. Subject to a number of thinkers who speak of marriage, sex and gender roles, this article offers some insights into patriarchal capitalism applied to the potential of Harold Pinter’s the lover. The results provide the readers with a new perspective for understanding the persistence of gender equality in a middle-class household and have implications for sexual politics.