Considering Old Age and the Absurd in Harold Pinter’s A Slight Ache

• Autor(a) principal: Querido, Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10451/35066
• topic: Old age; Absurd; Pinter, Harold. A Slight Ache; Intersubjectivity

This article seeks to launch an inquiry into the interplay between the philosophical concept of the absurd and different theories of aging in Harold Pinter’s radio play A Slight Ache. Due to the privileged position it occupies in the interstice of the two, A Slight Ache will be read as a surprisingly complex nexus of reflections on aging, and some of the play’s nuances and half-meanings will thereby be brought more vividly to light. A close reading drawing on theories of aging will show that old age is a theme of paramount importance in A Slight Ache. Furthermore, this article will claim that the combination of the absurd with aging calls for a discussion on intersubjectivity, whose precariousness threatens to doom attempts at meaning-making to failure. Finally, it will briefly discuss resistance as a viable or at least ineluctable reaction to that state of affairs.