Literature and Culture

Abstract

Both Shakespeare and Pinter expose and condemn the betrayal of/by women in their plays by revealing its causes and tragic consequences. The possibilities for resisting the betrayal of the female in these authors' plays are explored in this paper through a comparative analysis of The Winter's Tale and Ashes to Ashes. While Shakespeare describes alternatives to wars, destructive powers, and chaos-such as the love, happiness, and cosmic order which are restored at the end of The Winter's Tale-Pinter leaves it up to the audience to imagine the alternatives for themselves. Ashes to Ashes thus reminds us only of the first half of The Winter's Tale-the prevailing feeling is that of jealousy, betrayal and loss; the prevailing imagery is that of mothers losing their children; and the prevailing season is winter. The happy resolution that happens in The Winter's Tale is not offered to Pinter's audience; however, there is a possibility to imagine it and hope for it. The theoretical framework of the paper relies on the critical insights of Hughes,