Pursuit of Memories in Harold Pinter’s Landscape

Dr. Ishan Gairola

Volume : VI, Issue : X, October - 2016

Pursuit of Memories in Harold Pinter’s Landscape

Dr. Ishan Gairola

Abstract :

It is widely accepted that memories play a significant role in reconstructing the past. Every individual needs memories to be able to experience her/his autobiographical continuity. It would be impossible for an individual to relate her/his past with her/himself without these memories. The strong bond between memory and the past has been a dominant topic in contemporary British literature and, therefore, the significance of memory has been discussed in many literary works. This paper focuses on memories, and the way Pinter demonstrates these to operate on a variety of levels. The play, Landscape, demonstrates an individual’s experiences of self–confrontation, as the character realizes, how unreliable memory is and how it can be shaped according to one’s present desire. It can become a means of comfort and security on the one hand or can separate people by providing them the possibility to live in the past and avoid confrontation with the present on the other hand.