« Because they die in our name » : responsabilité et engagement dans Party Time de Harold Pinter

Abstract

This article focuses on Party Time (1991) in the light of a relational conception of commitment. The play underlines interdependency and exposes the failure of a system based on autonomy. Thanks to the apparition of Jimmy, a character both spectral and vulnerable that acts as a figure of otherness, commitment turns into responsibility. Finally, it is up to the spectator to acknowledge this responsibility and to participate in the construction of meaning. Commitment is not seen as a pledge for a cause, but rather as a realisation that we are all responsible for what happens to others.

Keywords

• Party Time
• Harold Pinter
• drama
• responsibility
• commitment
• autonomy