Multiple Identities as an Exploration of “Otherness” in Harold Pinter’s The Room

Abstract

By assigning characters multiple names in his works, thus making audiences unsure of who these characters actually are, playwright Harold Pinter explored the menace present in realism. Through his poeticism, Pinter constructed the function of names as signifiers of which characters could either alter or be designated with when occupying society’s various spheres, allowing for numerous interpretations concerning even a singular character. In this essay, I will look at the multiple identities of the character Rose from The Room and examine how these identities construct a sense of “otherness” against her crafted reinvention of self.