Literature in English XII-XV century

HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA

20042165038
April 14, 2009

Mid-term paper
An analysis of the text: “Tea party”.
Introduction
First I would like to highlight that “Tea party” is a very rich text in matters of content
and structure, although it seems very easy to understand, it is not the case
because of the continuous variation of the “focus” and the manipulation of the
language depending on the situation.

The author, Harold Pinter uses an intricate narrative structure that swings from a
very plain description to a complex structure full of perceptions and reflections.
Furthermore, Pinter puts in writing a series of shades of meaning consequently the
reader should “grasp” and analyze many of these aspects in order to create a
retrospective and truly understand what he meant.

Particularly, the events that take place in the text are few; a middle-aged self-made
business man who engages a young secretary, marries a beautiful young wife, and
takes his new brother-in-law into his business, but it is not clear the order in which
these events take place, so it is also a matter of analysis to organize and decide
whether the events are in the present or in the past.

Consequently, after reading carefully every paragraph of the “tea party” one as
reader should "put two and two together" in order to understand and interpret the
whole essence of the text. Now I will analyze the text contrasting it with the
essentials, one by one.
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

The art of fiction

Principally, I would like to say that one of the aspects Henry James highlights the
most are the characteristics of a novel, although “tea party” is not a novel, it has
many of these characteristics. First, Henry James states that the only obligation we
may hold a novel is that it be interesting (pg 16), in fact, at the beginning one may
think that “tea party” is not interesting enough due to the extension of the story
(only 19 paragraphs) and the scarcity of events, but at the end, the richness of the
story is not itself in the length but on the content, the value of every event is given
by the reader because Pinter shifts the responsibility of the "meaning" of this story
to the interpreting reader, who is going to to put himself in the character`s shoes
and interpret what is happening.

Another aspect is regarding the form of the text, in Henry James’ words: “The form,
it seems to me, is to be appreciated after the fact: then the author`s choice has
been made, his standards has been indicated; then we can follow lines and
directions and compare tones and resemblances” (pg 15). According to this, its
appreciable the form in which “Tea party” is structured, for example, sometimes the
language he uses to illustrate a situation is very objective and punctual as in:

“I am close friends with all my family, including my mother and my father. Often we
sit and listen to Bach. When I go to Scotland I take them with me”. (Pinter, 1963)

But, in some paragraphs, the language used turns into more subjective and what
he narrates becomes questionable for the reader. A series of shades of meaning
gives various perspectives or possibilities as in:
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

“But it is not so easy to do this when you see double, or when you are blinded by
the object, or when you do not see at all, or when you are blinded by the object”
(Pinter, 1963)

In this extract, we can access the character thoughts and interpret the words used
in different way. For example when he says “but it is not so easy to do this when
you see double” one may think that he refers to his eye problem and the fact that
his eyes are getting worse, or another perspective is that he may refers to the way
he “sees” or perceives the world as he is blindfolded, because he has certain
anxiety in regard to the objects around him, so he may interpret those things
differently.

Another example is when he says “blinded by the object”. We as readers don’t

really know which object is he referring to, it may be one real object like the nails or
screwdrivers he mentions or maybe he is referring to the object of perception of the
sexual betrayal of his wife and secretary which is blinding him, finally we conclude
that he is blinded by his thoughts and he is really afraid of “knowing” the truth.

Flat and round characters

The designation of round and flat characters in this text is not difficult to define in
“tea party” due to the nature of the characters. The emphasis is not on them but on
the act of narration itself. We as readers really know that the narrator has a wife, a
secretary, a brother-in-law, two sons, and a physician, but they are all flat
characters, they do not go under a substantial change during the story.

The real emphasis in the story and the only round character is the narrator. He
develops during the story; he is a complex and realistic character who is suffering
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HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

of paranoia and anxiety because he thinks there is a sexual betrayal of his wife and
secretary. And all his thoughts about this betrayal led him to have an internal
struggle with himself, and we as readers can see the depth in his personality within
this thoughts.

Technique as discovery

When we talk about technique we should talk about many things. First as Shorer
says: “For technique is the means by which the writer`s experience, which is his
subject matter, compels him to attend to it; technique is the only means he has of
discovering, exploring, developing his subject, of conveying its meaning, and,
finally, of evaluating it.” (pg 102) according to this we should know about the author
and some aspects of his writing. The author of the text in this case Harold Pinter: a
writer, an actor, a poet and a political activist who won the 2005 Nobel laureate in
Literature. In most of his works, Pinter often involve strong conflicts among
characters who struggle for dominance and these works are marked by some
aspects like, irony, and menace.

In “Tea Party” Pinter uses all of those elements and also explores the themes of
territorial conflict, betrayal, and paranoia. The technique used by Pinter involves
the actively participation of the reader because he uses the figure of irony and two
meaning words often, for example:

“My eyes are worse. It is not that I do not see. I do see” (Pinter. 1963)

In this fragment, one may thing that he is just talking about his sight, because he is
having problems in his eyes but a deeper analysis of the text suggests that he is
very paranoiac and he can “see” that something wrong is happening around him,
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HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

despite he has no evidence, he keeps “seeing” things with his mind's eye view
generated by the use of a vivid language, and at the end we as readers must
interpret what is real or not.

Technique in fiction takes many elements to be analyzed; but there are two
particularly important respects: The uses of which language to express quality of
experience; and the uses of point of view not only as a mode of dramatic
delimitation (Shorer, 1948). Keeping in mind this, the language Pinter uses two
types of language according to his view of reality. First, he uses a straightforward
and objective language when he is peaceful and still for example:

“My job goes well. My family and I remain close friends. My two sons are my
closest friends” (Pinter, 1963)

On the other hand, sometimes the narrator turns anxious and paranoiac, in this
moment his perception takes an odd twist and the language he uses is to describe
is very vivid and graphic:

“With my eye at the keyhole I hear goosing, the squeak of them. The slit is black,
only the sliding gussle on my drum, the hiss and flap of their bliss. The room sits
on my head, my skull creased on the brass…..” (Pinter, 1963)

And the type of language is one element of the narrator point of view; we can see
the element of duality during the whole text. He is both external and internal, both
narrating and experiencing, consequently this shifting of narrating is the evidence
of a psychological change and a variation of point of view.
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HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

Pinter technique is often compared with the technique used by Frank Kafka, in
matters of their work. They both use certain rhetorical devices in their writing such
as a raise of complex issues of individual identity oppressed by social forces,
language, and vicissitudes of memory, but Pinter adopts it to everyday domestic
kind of life while Kafka involved a lot of mystery.

Plot in the modern novel

Although “Tea party” is not a novel, we can contrast many of its elements in order
to analyze it and understand its structure. According to Arthur Honeywell (1968)
the plot must meet three criteria:

1) It must have a definite beginning and a definite ending.

It is quite difficult to set up a beginning and an ending in “tea party” because most
of the times the main character is just narrating random events and usually the
starting point of a story establishes a setting and explains the reasons to develop a
plot; but it is not the case in “Tea party” and at the end we do not get any clue of
the conclusion of the story; there is an open ending, so the responsibility of
analyzing and concluding the events is for the reader.

2) It must be sequential

The sequence in Tea party is not lineal; the events are shown at random because
the emphasis of the story are not the events themselves but in the narration itself
and the way all the events are put together to create certain atmosphere for the
main final scene, in which the narrator sits blindfolded at the party and questions all
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

that happens to him but at the same time Pinter questions the reader who should
interpret all these situations.

And the cause and effect pattern is unclear; past and present are jumbled, for
example he narrates sometimes in present: “My job goes well. My family and I
remain close friends… and sometimes he narrates in past: “All winter the skies
were bright. Rain fell at night”. (Pinter, 1963) so he created a mixture or
simultaneous effect, in fact, the narrator describes some events in the past to
explain or to contrast the current events such as in:

“I do not remember being like my sons in any way when I was a boy. Their reserve
is remarkable. They seem stirred by no passion”. (Pinter, 1963)

Consequently, the act of remembering seem to have certain consequences in the

way the narrator acts and thinks, and also give sequence to the current events.

3) The events which make up the progression must be related in the more general
sense off all belonging to the same “world” or “reality” (Honeywell, 1968).

When one starts reading “Tea party”, there is a confrontation with a variety of facts
and events that seem to be incongruous and inconsequential. For example, he
starts narrating when he goes to see his physician about his eyes. then about his
good relationship with his family and after that he talks about his hobbies so at the
beginning there is not a strong connection among the events, however, as the
structural relations emerge all starts to have more relevance and to be more
coherent, for instance, there is one element which encompasses the whole story:
He is very anxious about something to do with his sigh. It has certain implications
in the development of the text, because he sometimes refers to his sight as
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

“seeing” things with his mind's eye, and probably that he “imagines” things and
“sees” them but he is afraid of verify it.
We can see this “anxiety” aspect about his eyes and sight throughout the text:

“He is clearly skeptical on the subject of my eyes. According to him my eyes are
normal, perhaps better than normal.” (Pinter, 1963)

"After the wedding my brother in law asked my dear wife to remove her glasses.
He peered deep into her eyes. You have married a good man, he said. He will
make you happy” (Pinter, 1963)

"My wife is happy," he states, "We love with the light on . . . In the morning her
eyes shine” (Pinter, 1963)

Conclusion

The story related in Tea party is very interesting in many perspectives; it explores
many themes like conflict, betrayal, and paranoia. However, the author Pinter tries
to give us as readers a big responsibility to explore those issues within larger
questions of perception, verification, and from a critical position.
Also in this story we are sharing the point-of view of the other character we are in
his shoes, and we can experiment how one individual lives in his reality and
fantasy at the same time , and this helps us reflect in our own perception of reality
as individuals and the way to see the world.
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

ANALYSIS ABOUT ELIZABETH I

CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS QUARRELS:

In the film “Elizabeth I” I could understand that before Elizabeth became queen
England was in a religious conflict because, on one hand was the Catholics whose
had the support and approval of the Queen Mary who was catholic but, she was
dying of cancer and the next queen will be Elizabeth who was protestant so, that all
Catholics whose served the Queen asked to her to signature a paper to kill to
Elizabeth, because if Elizabeth became queen England would cease to be Catholic
and converted to Protestantism. But the Queen Mary did not signature doing that
Elizabeth became queen.

Elizabeth convinced the bishops that she had to be Supreme Governor of the
Church of England not the Catholics. For that reason, Elizabeth was call heretic for
the Pope so, he decided excommunicated her and commanded to Catholics that
lived in England to kill to her saying “who kill to Elizabeth will be received in heaven
by angels”. Finally, Elizabeth discovered what Pope was planning against her so;
she murdered all Catholics that were helping to the Pope and she continued being
queen.

ELIZABETH I, MARY OF GUISE RELATION:

Elizabeth I was the England queen and Mary of Guise was the Queen of Scots but
her family was French; they had differences because Mary of Guise wanted that
Elizabeth did not govern to England. For that reason, Mary of Guise tried to invade
England, having fights with the English army, in one of that fights Mary of Guise
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20042165038
April 14, 2009

found a child hurt (he was an England soldier) she was irritated for that so, she left
that child with life and she sent him to back to England with a
French flag with blood and he should say to the Queen Elizabeth that did not send
children to the war.

Mary of Guise promised to the Queen not to attack it more if she marries with her
nephew and they have a child (heir), finally the Mary’s nephew did not get married
with Elizabeth, and then Mary of Guise was killed by a servant of Elizabeth.

THE QUEEN’S SUITORS:

*DUQUE DE ANJOU: He was Mary of Guise’s nephew. The reason he will

become a king was that if they will get marriage and have a heir, Mary of Guise did
not attack to Elizabeth any more.

*THE SPAIN KING: He offered his hand to Elizabeth for they will get married but
she did not accept, because for the marriage issue as an aspect of foreign policy or
a diplomatic ploy. He wanted to be king because so he could govern to England
and Spain not only Spain as in that moment happened.

* ROBERT DUDLEY: He was sincerely loved with Elizabeth, but he was not an
important person, I mean, he was a high social or politic level in England for that
reason, they could not get married and because he was married with another
woman. He wanted became in king because Elizabeth and he was fell in love.
 Literature in English XII-XV century
HERMAN MAURICIO MARTINEZ GAMBA
20042165038
April 14, 2009

FEATURES OF THE VIRGIN QUEEN’S PERSONALITY:

 The Queen Elizabeth was a was a woman naked in the loving aspect,
because when he was fourteen years she had a love affair with the husband
of his stepmother Thomas Seymour (Woolf), and then, when she became in
queen had a love affair that everyone knew with one of her servants Robert
Dudley who was married.

 The Queen Elizabeth was a woman that had the appearance of did not have
feelings (Woolf), I really think that she showed that image to the people
because the Catholic Church but specifically the Pope wanted to kill to her
and because she suffered a lot when she knew that the man that she love
was married.