psychological
Loneliness was an impactful emotion for the young Pinter's psyche. Growing up an only child, Pinter felt compelled to fill in the silence of his childhood with theatrical dialogue, dreaming up entire conversations among imaginary friends. Later, Pinter's time spent in evacuation during the war would further familiarize him with loneliness.
economic
Pinter grew up a "working class Jewish boy." (At least, this was the description British tabloids used for him later in his life, when he became involved with the aristocratic Lady Antonia Fraser.) He grew up along Lower Clapton Road, decidedly separate from, by his own description, "the richer, the 'better-class' Jews, strutting with their mink-coats and American suits and ties." (Billington, 2) His later success would