Betrayal
It should be no surprise that betrayal is a major theme in the play. In fact, the play might be more accurately titled "betrayals" in the plural given the sheer amount of lying and deceitfulness that occurs throughout. In almost every scene, the characters confront another instance of betrayal. To name a few: Robert discovers that Jerry and Emma are having an affair, Jerry discovers that Emma lied about when Robert found out about the affair, and Robert admits to being unfaithful with Emma. At a certain point, it becomes difficult to keep track of the extent of the lies being told, and just as one might be feeling sympathetic towards a particular character, is it swiftly revealed that they, too, have committed a grievous act of betrayal.
In this way, Pinter seems to suggest that bad behavior engenders further bad behavior. In other words, each time a character performs an act of betrayal, they are continuing a painful and unending cycle. One could then suggest that a certain form of karma is at work throughout the play, and that Pinter is demonstrating that each character is to blame for the wrong that is done to them. One can imagine that if any of the characters possessed the honesty and dignity to confess to their wrongdoing, the bleak result of the play might have been avoided. Pinter, however, makes it clear that his characters fundamentally lack such honesty and dignity.
The Difficulty of Expression
Two stage directions appear again and again throughout: "Pause" and "Silence." In fact, pauses play such a prominent role in all of Pinter's dialogue that the phrase the "Pinter Pause" has been coined to describe this aspect of his work. Throughout Betrayal, Pinter also frequently uses the three dot ellipses (...). In the case of Betrayal, these various forms of pause demonstrate the character's inability to adequately – and meaningfully – communicate with one another. Their conversation is stilted and never quite seems to address what needs to be said. Thus, the pauses, and the silences they create, make the distance between them all the more evident. Here, Pinter dramatizes at the difficulty we all have sometimes when it comes to expressing ourselves. Rather than write charmingly fluid and pleasant dialogue, he instead seeks to replicate conversation at its most painful, and perhaps most real.
The Fallibility of Memory
Throughout the play, characters discuss things that happened years ago and remark at how time has gone by. Yet the memories that the characters share are frequently shown to be incorrect or wrong in their details. For example, in Scene One, Emma and Jerry remember a scene in which Jerry threw Emma's daughter, Charlotte, up until the air and caught her. Emma tells Jerry that Charlotte still "remembers that" moment (p. 12). Jerry then remarks to Emma that "it was in your kitchen"; however, Emma corrects him and says "it was in your kitchen" (p. 13). In Scene Six, a nearly identical exchange takes place. Here, Pinter suggests that while so much of our lives are based on our memories of the past, our memory is nonetheless fallible. Rather than rue our inability to have a perfect recall of the past, he seems to suggest that we should instead focus on living in the present moment.
The Business of Art
The three principle characters of the play are all involved in the world of art: Jerry is a literary agent, Robert is a book publisher, and Emma runs an art gallery. Yet while all of them are involved in the business of art, none of them actually create art themselves. In fact, they express their criticism of art and literature. In particular, both Robert and Casey speak critically of Casey's work: Jerry says "he's over the hill' and Robert says "his art does seem to be falling away" (p. 35). At the same time, both men are pleased that Casey's work "sells very well" given that Jerry is his literary agent and Robert publishes his books (p. 36). Here, Pinter appears to condemn those who turn to art not for its truth or beauty, but in the hopes of making money. Moreover, he seems to draw a connection between his character's immoral behavior and their regard. In this way, he encourages us to focus not on the financial aspects of art but rather the way a work of art makes us think and feel.
The Relationship Between Life and Art
According to a biography of Pinter written by Michael Billington, Pinter engaged in several extramarital affairs during his life, including one during the time he was writing Betrayal. While it would be impossible to determine the exact extent to which Betrayal is based on Pinter’s own life, Pinter nonetheless offers a commentary on the relationship between life and art through the figure of Casey. During Scene Four, Emma, Robert, and Jerry begin to discuss discuss Casey’s life and work. Jerry tells them that Casey has left his wife and is currently “writing a novel about a man who leaves his wife and three children and goes to live alone on the other side of London to write a novel about a man who leaves his wife and three children” (p. 53). While Casey’s example is slightly more exaggerated than Pinter’s own, it is true that both men are essentially writing about experiences in their own lives. Here, Pinter seems to suggest that art is drawn from life and experience – whether that experience reflects well on the artist or not. So, while Emma expresses her belief that Casey’s writing is “bloody dishonest,” Pinter oppositely makes the case that there is honesty in writing about one’s life.
Sexism and Gender Relations
In the most basic sense, Betrayal is a play about how men and women interact with one another: it is a play about friendship between men, and the love between man and woman. At the same time, it is also a play about sexism and misogyny. In one scene, Emma asks if she can watch Robert and Jerry play squash together; however, Robert responds, "we wouldn't actually want a woman around, would we, Jerry?" (p. 57). Elsewhere, Robert casually admits to physically assaulting Emma for the sole reasons that he "felt like giving her a good bashing" (p. 33). Thus, Pinter seeks to question how one could both feel love towards women while acting so cruelly towards them. In doing so, he does not shy away from portraying heinous behavior, particularly in the case of Robert. It is a troubling element of the play; however, Pinter makes it clear that he does not condone Robert's behavior.
Impermanence
To conclude the first scene in the play, Emma says "it's all all over" (p. 23). While this line comes near the beginning of the play, it highlights the attention that Pinter draws towards endings. Indeed, in many ways, Betrayal is a play about endings: the end of Jerry and Emma's affair, the end of Robert and Emma's marriage, and the end of Robert and Jerry's close friendship. In order to emphasize the play's insistence on endings, Pinter places the chronological ending of the play first. As a result, the reader is acutely aware of where each scene will ultimately lead. It is a unique feature of the play, and one that reminds the reader that everything is impermanent.
