The Homecoming

The Homecoming Characters

The main characters in The Homecoming are the academic Teddy, his wife Ruth, his brothers Lenny and Joey, and their father Max.

Teddy

A professor of Philosophy who has spent the last six years in America, Teddy separates himself from his toxic family. He secretly married Ruth, and they live in the United States with their three children. Teddy wants to return to America, but he doesn't refuse to allow her to stay and work as a prostitute. He resigns himself to return alone and raise his sons.

Ruth

Teddy's sexual, enigmatic wife, Ruth is unhappy in her marriage and feels stifled by her husband's career in academia. Ruth was once a photographic model but has stopped since having children. She flirts with her husband's brother the first time they meet and enjoys the attention she gets from Teddy's family. Although she acts coy, Ruth revels in the power her sexuality gives her over men. She agrees to work as a prostitute for the family.

Max

Max is the abusive patriarch of Teddy's family. He is a retired butcher and still complains about having to support the family. Max demands respect from his family and hits them with his walking stick when he feels disrespected. Temperamental and hot-headed, Max is often arguing with his sons and his brother. It is his idea to have Ruth stay, and he begs her to kiss him at the end of the play.

Lenny

The middle brother, it is strongly implied that Lenny is a pimp. Lenny and Max are the most dominant males in the family, constantly vying for power. Lenny flirts with Ruth despite knowing she is married to Teddy and kisses her in front of him.

Joey

The youngest brother, Joey wants to be a professional boxer and spends a lot of his time training. Joey is bewildered when he sees Ruth kissing Lenny, and he also feels the need to get involved. The two never have sex, but they get physical in front of Teddy. Joey is enamored with Ruth and listens to her demands.

Fig. 4: Joey dreams of being a professional boxer.

Sam

Max's brother, Sam is in his 60s and works as a chauffeur. He is the only one who thinks the family's plan to make Ruth a prostitute is crazy. Sam is depicted as an outsider, and Max is routinely mean to him.

Setting of The Homecoming

The Homecoming is set in a working-class flat in North London in the 1960s. The play's setting is important for two main reasons: first, it offers a glimpse into the intersection between gender and class issues, and second, it differs completely from Teddy and Ruth's life in the United States, offering Ruth sexual liberation and freedom.

Fig. 5: The play is set in a working-class flat in London.

The language used in the play, especially the dialogue surrounding women, is often degrading, offensive, and distasteful. The language used in the play reflects the patriarchal, rough-and-tumble setting of working-class London. For example, when reflecting on his late wife, Max says,

The men in Teddy's family speak to and about women with blatant disrespect. They are used to a cruel life where they can barely make enough to get by. The men have never been taught how to treat a woman, especially a middle-class woman like Ruth.

Ruth, however, doesn't mind the setting at all. In fact, in working-class London, away from her husband's dull life in academia, Ruth finally experiences some liberation and freedom. In London, she doesn't have to be a mother and wife like she was in the United States. She feels desirable again, profiting off her beauty and sexuality as she did when she was a model. For Ruth, working-class London offers liberation from a life she always felt constricted by.

The Homecoming Analysis

While the play depicts a physical homecoming for Teddy, the more significant homecoming is Ruth's figurative one. For Teddy, returning to London simply means reuniting with his family and introducing them to his wife. He doesn't seek out any special connections, and the trip is largely more physical than emotional. In fact, after six years away, the most emotional connection occurs not between Teddy and his estranged immediate family but between Teddy and his uncle Sam.

For Ruth, though, the trip to London is a much more meaningful homecoming. Instead of returning to any specific people or place, she finally returns to herself. Ruth spent the last six years of her life being Teddy's wife and the mother of his children. She was forced to give up a job she loved and even her own appreciation for her body when she stopped modeling. Now that she's in London, however, and Teddy's family allows her to escape her life as a wife in the United States, Ruth is finally able to reclaim her body. Being a prostitute allows Ruth the opportunity to reclaim her identity and rebuild who she wants to be. She's coming home to her true self instead of the woman Teddy expects her to be.

Ruth and Teddy's "homecoming" is an emasculating force for Teddy. While Teddy is in his family's presence, his father and brothers completely disregard his role as Ruth's husband. They ignore Teddy in their conversations, get physically intimate with Ruth in front of him, and even tell Teddy they plan to prostitute his wife. Teddy's emasculation is symbolized by his cigar blowing out when he's smoking with his brothers, just as his role as the traditional patriarch is blown out by Ruth's disregard for her role as a mother and wife.

When Ruth refuses to return to the United States, Teddy is forced to raise his sons without their mother. The lack of a feminine presence perpetuates a cycle reflecting his father's and brothers' household in London.

The Homecoming Themes

The main themes are the power of femininity and familial competition.

The Power of Femininity

By the end of the play, it is clear Ruth has become the most powerful member of Max's household. The men submit to her authority: Joey puts his head in her lap, Max begs her for a kiss, and Lenny agrees to her demands. Ruth has effectively used her sexuality and femininity to work for her. She enchants the men with her good looks and uses her power to get the men exactly where she wants them. The men fall under her feminine wiles in a matter of days because they are so starved for real female connection. Although she is physically weaker than them, they do whatever she asks because they crave her attention and validation.

Fig. 6: Ruth becomes more powerful when she embraces her feminine sexuality.

Ruth stays behind in London mainly to reclaim the power of her femininity. When she became Teddy's wife and a mother, she lost autonomy over her body. She had to provide for her children and act as an obedient housewife. She finally finds freedom by charming Teddy's brothers to allow her to stay with them and reclaim a power she had previously lost.

Familial Competition

Teddy's family also reveals the theme of familial competition. From the beginning, it is evident the men vainly feel the need to compete with one another. They are constantly peacocking, trying to out-perform and overpower one another. The competition between the men becomes toxic as they degrade and physically assault one another to feel more powerful. As a result, the men treat each other more like enemies than they do family. Instead of confiding in one another, they are constantly trying to steal what they perceive the other has. This is especially apparent in Ruth, who the brothers feel no qualms about stealing from Teddy. They view their physical relationship with her as more of a game than anything serious and meaningful.