英国当代剧作家哈罗德·品特的剧作《回家》是一部表现家庭伦理失衡的剧作。该剧以女主角露丝伦理身份认同及变化为伦理主线。在寻求身份认同过程中,最初她迫切渴望得到丈夫特迪家人的认同,然而,特迪家人始终将她视为“局外人”,使得她的身份认同诉求多次受阻。获得身份认同的努力失败之后,她最终决定放弃成为这一家人的家庭成员。从文学伦理学批评的视角看,她的决定是具有转折性的伦理选择,预示着她已经选择放弃与这个家庭有任何形式的亲情伦理关系。尤其当露丝被特迪家人“物化”为一件可以用来性交易的“商品”,要靠出卖自己肉体谋生的“站街女”之后,她与丈夫家人的伦理关系发生了彻底的变化。“站街女”这一新身份引发了整个家庭伦理秩序的失衡,“家”的核心内质也随之发生了变化,“家”也因此于露丝失去了任何意义。陪同丈夫回家省亲的露丝实际上已经无“家”可归。露丝的身份诉求失败也反映出日益商业化的社会对于西方传统的家庭伦理和成员关系深层次的影响。

Harold Pinter's The Homecoming (1965) dramatizes the broken family structure and the discord with each other while presenting the failed appeals of Ruth's identity. The process of Ruth's quest for the identity and love constitutes the main ethical line of the drama. Initially, Ruth is eager to be accepted by her husband Teddy's family; later, however, prevented by Lenny's deliberate distortions, Max's vicious misinterpretations and Teddy's betrayal, she eventually abandons the endeavors. From the perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism, Ruth's choices demonstrate that she has decided to terminate any familial relationship with the family, particularly, when she is proposed and devalued into a prostitute who has to earn her keep, which causes the imbalance of the ethical family structure. Since the essence of “home” has been changed, this “home” becomes meaningless to Ruth and actually for her there is no “home” to go. In The Homecoming, Pinter tries to illustrate his idea about the family value: the family is only an “empty shell” without the family warmth. Moreover, Ruth's failure also reflects that the materialized social value pervade and smash the traditional family ethic and kinship.