回归 The Homecoming

After having lived in the United States for several years, Teddy brings his wife, Ruth, home for the first time to meet his working-class family in North London, where he grew up and which she finds more familiar than their arid academic life in America.

Much sexual tension occurs as Ruth teases Teddy's brothers and father and the men taunt one another in an Oedipal game of oneupmanship [ citation needed ] , resulting in Ruth's staying behind with Teddy's relatives as "one of the family" and Teddy returning home to America and their three sons without her. [ 2 ]
Act one

The play begins in the midst of what becomes an ongoing power struggle between the two more dominant men, the father, Max, and his middle son, Lenny. Max and the other men put down one another, expressing their "feelings of resentment," with Max feminizing his brother Sam, while, ironically, himself claiming to have himself "given birth" to his three sons.

Teddy arrives with his wife, Ruth. Teddy reveals that he married Ruth in London some six years ago, and that the couple subsequently moved to America and had three sons during the six years prior to his returning to the family home to introduce her. Ruth's and Teddy's discomfort with each other, marked by her restless desire to go out exploring after he goes to bed and followed by her sexually suggestive first-time encounter with her brother-in-law Lenny, begins to expose that there are severe problems in the marriage. After a sexually-charged conversation between Lenny and Ruth, Ruth exits and Max, awakened by their voices, comes downstairs. Lenny does not mention Teddy's and Ruth's arrival at the house, and instead engages in more verbal sparring with Max. The scene ends in a blackout.

When the lights come up the scene has changed to the following morning. Max comes down to make breakfast for the clan and discovers, when Teddy and Ruth appear the next morning, that they've been there all night without his knowledge. Max is initially enraged, assuming that Ruth is a prostitute, but finally he understands that Ruth and Teddy have married and that she is his daughter in law. He appears to make some effort to reconcile with his son Teddy, as the act ends.
Act two

This act begins with the men's ritual of sharing the lighting of cigars, ending with Teddy's cigar going out, prematurely and symbolically (Lahr, Casebook 47–48). That is followed by Max's sentimental series of reminiscences of family life with Jessie and the "boys" and his experiences as a butcher. These reminiscences abruptly end with a cynical twist.

After Teddy's marriage to Ruth finally receives Max's blessing, Ruth lets her guard down, relaxes, and reveals some facts about her previous life before meeting Teddy. This leads Teddy abruptly to suggest their returning home to America immediately. Apparently, he knows something about her past history about which the audience (and his brothers) are just getting an inkling. That life begins to emerge and to become further recognizable to the other men, as soon as brother Lenny initiates dancing with her; he turns her over to brother Joey (said to have a good touch with the ladies), who begins to make out with her on the sofa. As Max and Teddy look on, Max tells Teddy that he doesn't need to be ashamed of Ruth's social status, and assures Teddy that he is a "broadminded" man. Max further asserts that Ruth is a woman of "quality" and "feeling". These remarks are punctuated by Joey and Ruth rolling off the couch onto the floor, still embracing.

Ruth takes command of the men, asking for food and drink, and the men attempt to satisfy her demands. Ruth goes upstairs for what they say later turns out to be a two-hour sexual interlude in bed with Joey, without going "the whole hog" (82); Lenny, whom the family considers an expert in sexual matters, labels her a "tease" (82); Joey insists that "sometimes" a man can be "satisfied" without "going any hog," suggesting that Ruth is good at this "game" too.

While Ruth is still upstairs, getting dressed but perhaps not getting ready for their trip back to America (contrary to Teddy's expectations), Lenny and the others reminisce about Lenny's and Joey's sexual exploits. By that time most of the "family" members (and the audience) have recognized Ruth to be unhappy in their marriage—except perhaps Teddy, who keeps insisting that she simply needs to "rest" but nevertheless appears willing to leave her there, and Sam. Max gets the idea that Ruth could come to live with the family, while she works part-time as a prostitute. The men discuss this plan in considerable detail, seeming half-joking to irritate Teddy, and half-serious. Max even suggests that Teddy could refer Americans he knows to Ruth when they visit London.

Ruth comes downstairs "dressed" and presumably ready to join Teddy, who is still waiting with his coat on and their packed suitcases. Teddy informs her of the family's proposal (without going into much detail about the prostitution part of it), and then offers her a choice to stay with the family or return to America with him. Ruth appears interested in the idea of staying, and begins to negotiate the terms of the arrangement. Teddy prepares to return to America without her. During this scene, Sam collapses onto the floor. After acknowledging the possibility that he has died and the inconvenience that would pose for them, the others mostly ignore him.

The final tableau vivant (96-98) depicts Ruth sitting, " relaxed in her chair ," as if on a throne, [ 3 ] with Sam lying motionless on the floor, Joey, who has walked over to Ruth, placing his head in her lap, and Lenny, who stands looking on. Max, after repeatedly insisting that he is not an old man, and getting no reply from Ruth, who remains silent, Max beseeches her, "Kiss me"—the final words of the play—as Ruth just sits and " continues to touch JOEY's head, lightly ", while Lenny still " stands, watching " (98). In this "resolution" of the play (its dénouement ), what might happen later remains unresolved. Such lack of plot resolution and other ambiguities characterize most of Pinter's dramas (Merritt, Pinter in Play 1–4, 66–86, and throughout).