the playwright make a diary entry of the day Intruder visited your house
Answers
You are allowed to do as much as is needed to end the perceived or actual threat to your rights. Not more, not less.
That means, at utmost, incapacitating the intruder. Once they are incapacitated, they no longer pose a threat. Your exact response will vary, according to what is actually going on:
If you are, for example, a trained martial artist, people will expect you to be able to pull your punches and assess what damage you do. Most martial arts do offer knockout blows, chokes, or “leg breakers” that will leave the adversary unable to fight. Once that person is down, call the cops.
If you are not trained in combat, you may prefer to be armed. Typically, the more potentially lethal the armamant, the more restraint you need to exercise. So hitting someone with a 2x4 plank can be OK… even hitting them on the head, in order to get a knockout blow. But keeping on hitting once the intruder is down is a no-go.
If you use potentially lethal weapons, such as firearms or knives, you will probably need to give some warning to the other guy that you are willing and able to get serious. As you are not obliged to put yourself in danger, this is balanced by who the other guy is: Some drunk teenager, or an armed and dangerous type? If they are armed, you can shoot first, because to give warning would mean to put yourself in jeopardy.
Whatever you do, your goal can only ever be to knock the fight out of the other guy. Get them down and call the cops. Anything else is no longer self-defence, but a crime in its own right.
So typically, the order of escalation would be
Try to scare off the intruder
If that doesn’t work, try to detain the intruder for long enough to have the cops handle it (like lock him/her in).
If that doesn’t work, try to incapacitate the intruder by whatever means are sure to result in the intruder no longer being a threat, while not putting yourself at undue risk. Again, what this means in detail depends on who you are and who the intruder is. If you’re 6′6″ and a martial artist, and the intruder is a drunk teenager, it will be viewed very differently from when you’re a slim, petite lady with no combat training whatsoever and the intruder is some kind of violent gang member. In one case, it might be perfectly reasonable to use a firearm, in the other, it probably wouldn’t. It is not possible to cover all options here, so use common sense.
That being said, it is also true that you need not suffer the intruder in your home. Which is why the usually easiest and best reaction to end the threat - running away - is not required by law.
Allowances are made for you being scared, and the law has mechanisms for dealing when the perceived threat is way above the actual threat (which is why pro burglars are almost never armed. Carrying a weapon not only increases the time they need to serve if caught, it also allows the other guy to shoot first, which would be a big mess).
Above all, your aim is never to kill, maim or injure. Your goal is to make the other guy stop the attack. The less force required for that, the better for everybody.
10 August 2000
Sunday
dear diary,
Today was a very interesting day . I have got the script for my next play.
I was just preparing to go for today's dress rehearsal , when there was a knock on the door . To my surprise there was a young , flashy fellow standing at the door . Before could welcome him inside the house , he charged in , took out his gun and threatened to kill me .
I was scared , but put on a brave front and tricked him into submission . I never thought I could do so. Though it was very difficult for him to accept it, he fell for the story I had weaved. On the pretext of escaping , I pushed him into the wardrobe , locked it , and called the police and handed him over . He has just been taken . I regret not being able to go for the rehearsal. May be tomorrow . Well! I am exhausted!
good night
(Gerrard)