Introduction
Little Eyolf (1894) is a drama by Henrik Ibsen that portrays Norway society. It is a tragedy play. Tragedy play is a play that the main character makes blunder or gets tragic events in his/her life. Sometimes tragedy is not only death in ending, but also in sorrows, such Stanford (2006: 74) states that, “Tragedy which focuses on life’s sorrows and serious problems”. It portrays the life of a child who suffered in his life. It tells about the child craving affection from his parents.
Affection is a warm gentle feeling of caring for or loving (Hornby, 2000: 20). The children are made by their parents at home, the development, and the decline of their personalities most depend on affection, care, and love of the parents. Moreover, many children get bad treatment from their parents or other caretakers. Most of their parents do not care of their children, and most of them do not know that the lack of affection gives negative impacts to their children’s personality.
Based on the fact above, it is interesting to analyze the personality of Eyolf as the main character, and to know how he gets self-actualization in his life. This drama tells
Abstrak
Little Eyolf adalah drama karya Henrik Ibsen yang berasal dari Norwegia. Eyolf adalah seorang anak cacat yang sulit untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya karena kurang perhatian dari kedua orang tua dan lingkungan sekitarnya. Untuk mengkaji kasus ini metode induktif dapat diterapkan untuk memunculkan masalah atas aktualisasi diri sebagai kebutuhan hidupnya. Dengan lingkungan yang kurang mendukung, Eyolf lari dari kenyataan yang dihadapinya dengan mencoba memenuhi kebutuhan pada aktualisasi diri di wilayah imajinasinya. Semangat Eyolf untuk memenuhi kebutuhannya sangat terkait erat dengan teori Maslow tentang kebutuhan manusia. Tragisnya, tidak tercukupinya kebutuhan Eyolf berujung pada kematian. Orang tuanya akhirnya sadar dan menyesal karena telah mengabaikan kebutuhan Eyolf secara fisiologis, kenyamanan, percaya diri, rasa memiliki dan cinta. Keseluruhan cerita menggambarkan perjuangan manusia untuk memenuhi kebutuhan utamanya, serta pentingnya peran serta orang tua terutama dalam memberikan perhatian terhadapa anaknya di masa kecil.
Kata kunci: aktualisasi diri, kebutuhan dasar manusia, kebutuhan fisiologis, kebutuhan keamanan, kebutuhan percaya diri, kebutuhan akan rasa kepemilikan dan cinta.
Abstract
Little Eyolf is written by Henrik Ibsen from Norway. Eyolf is a handicapped boy who finds it hard to find self-actualization since his parents and neighborhoods do not support him to do so. To study this phenomenon, the inductive method is employed to manifest the discussion of the self-actualization. By this unsupportive environment, Eyolf escapes from the reality and lives in his world of fantasy to fulfill his own need. The spirit of Eyolf to find his own redemption is closely related to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Eyolf’s last spirit of self-actualization ends with tragedy. This final scene leaves his parents nothing but regrets and remorse since the needs for physiological, safety, self esteem, belongingness and love are not given during Eyolf’s childhood time. However, in the end of the story, Eyolf gains acceptance and affection from his parents after his death. The story demonstrates the struggle of human to fulfill the human needs during the childhood time and awareness from the parents to take a good sense in giving affection to the children since the early age.
Keywords: self-actualization, hierarchy of needs, physiological need, safety need, self esteem need, belongingness and love need.
Fafan Sujarwo, Meilia Adiana, Imam Basuki.
English Department, Faculty of Letters, University of Jember (UNEJ) Jln. Kalimantan 37 Jember 68121
E-Mail: learner10@hotmail.com
EYOLF’S SELF - ACTUALIZATION IN HENRIK IBSEN’S
about an intelligent boy who lives miserably. The name of the child is Eyolf. He lives with his parents and family; Allmers, Rita, and Asta’s family. He is an unlucky boy, because he must live with paralyzed in one of his legs and Asta’s family never loves him. Therefore, his parents and family do not give the affection to Eyolf. It causes bad effect to his personality.
Hence this thesis discusses the personality of Eyolf deeply as the child craving affection from his parents. The relationship between personality and the needs of human daily life are very interesting to discuss. The main character is also a description of human needs. Parents are created together as a unity; it is an impossible thing to separate each other. The main point the writer wants to analyze is about Eyolf’s motivation to get self-actualization need in Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf.
Little Eyolf is interesting to discuss because there are so many problems in his life; such as, his efforts to solve his problem, getting his needs until the achievement to get his self-actualization. The main character, Eyolf, is showed as the child craving affection done by the adults, the parents or the other caretakers. Most plays are not only entertained to watch or read, but it also gives moral values to the readers.
Research Methodology
Since this research is the qualitative research, the data obtained is the qualitative ones. The qualitative data is non numeric data. It is used in order to comprehend the meaning of verbal words in the story. The data are collected from the analyzed story. In this case the data will be in the written verbal form. Some supportive literary criticism books, especially the ones that are related to the theory of Hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow are also taken.
The research is in the form of qualitative description. As the literary works revolve in many elements, for example, characters and setting, the center of the analysis focuses on the character. Hence, the description of the research will only involve the surrounding environment which is closely related to this particular character. In relation to descriptive analysis, the sorted data are analyzed using Maslow’s theory to perform a plausible descriptive analysis.
Since the problem of self actualization on the main character is discussed, hierarchy of needs by Maslow is truly relevant to put forward. The theory is able to explain the basic needs of human which are crucial in the development of character’s psychology to get a better understanding of human’s needs.
Thus, the approach used is psychological approach. The psychological approach is employed to study the phenomena and problems related to the character’s mind in relation to his acts and his personality development. The discussion on Eyolf as the main character is essential since he could not fulfill his needs during his childhood. The blame is on his parents who are lack of giving more affection and love to Eyolf.
This research is indeed inductive. It is started with the analysis of the play in conjunction with the issue occurs in Eyolf as the main character who experiences lack of
affection during his hardest moment as a handicapped boy. Next, Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs will give a result in how far the needs have been violated. In short, the analysis will show how could possibly a human react to the lack of needs such as physiological, safety, self esteem, belongingness and love and self-actualization. The lack of self actualization may possibly end with tragedy as it happens in the main character.
Result
From the data of Eyolf’s self-actualization in Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf, it is found that Little Eyolf portrays the efforts of Eyolf, the main male character, to achieve his self-actualization. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is established, it is covering physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, self-esteem needs and the last one is self-actualization.
Eyolf does not get fully physiological needs since his father Mr. Allmers loves travelling over town and his mother Mrs. Rita does not care of Eyolf at home, even he does not feel welcome at home. Second, it is safety needs. Eyolf’s childhood experiences no safety because he has to see everyday the quarrel over his parents. He escapes outside with his book to calm himself. The third needs of Eyolf is belongingness and love needs which has never been on the first priority. This happens because Eyolf’s mother sees him as a curse for the family. The fourth needs of Eyolf is esteem need which is also impossible for Eyolf to posses. His parents, however, never trust him of doing great things in the future. The last needs of Eyolf is self actualization. This needs is indeed impossible to get like any other needs since his parents never give a chance to Eyolf to act like he wants to.
This thesis concludes that there are many motives for individual to achieve his self-actualization but if physiological, safety, self esteem, belongingness and love needs are not given to him so Eyolf ends up with committing suicide.
Discussion
Loneliness plays a big role in Eyolf’s mind because in real world he can not get self actualization. His environment never supports him to do so. Her mother is never patient to deal with Eyolf’s fantasy, it is not only because she is not patient but she even does not love Eyolf at all. Her mother sees Eyolf as a hinder between her and her husband. More to the self actualization, Eyolf has gone too far with his own fantasy making himself delusional. He cannot differentiate the difference between reality and fantasy. In the end of the story, he has to live with his outmost challenge of life. He has lost everything; his loneliness and disability lead him to the indiscretion. He was following his loneliness of life by going to the sea. Noticing he could not swim, Eyolf is dragged into the depth of the ocean and drowned with his memory of wonderful life.
symbolism of helplessness of having no genuine love from her parents or people around him. Living in fantasy and imagination brings him peace, only in that place he could gain acceptance. However this kind of acceptance does not come easily. His death might also his endless effort to show his existence to the people around him and he succeeds. This discussion explores on how the relation of self-actualization could possibly be functional if the physiological needs and affection meet the subject.
Maslow puts forward a theory that there are five levels of human needs which have to be fulfilled in one's life. Those are physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, self-esteem needs, and the need for self-actualization. All of the needs are structured into a hierarchy of human needs.
Physiological needs are awfully crucial to the understanding of human behaviour. It is the biggest effect compared with all needs. It must be contented before the individual motivates to the higher order of needs. For instance, somebody who is deficient in food, safety, love, and esteems would be most starving for food more strongly than for other needs.
Parents have very important role to teach their children about the love, they must be taught about it as well as how to apply this love in their life. The children will follow what they see and hear from their parents, every act which they do will be known and followed by their children. At home, the parents teach to speak, to eat, to sleep and to behave because the first education for children begins from their house and it will influence their future life. However, the only physiological need that is given by the parents is limited. Hence, Eyolf is the symbolism of the unwanted child. His paralyzed legs make his life even worse. To get the best of his life, he sits in the beach, and thinks of fantasy to escape from the torturing reality. Eyolf however should find his own ecstasy.
He tries to fulfill the physiological needs on his own. The moral message is for the parents, it is essential for the parents to provide a good affection to his children. The parents are the mirror for his children. Every act which they did will be known and followed by his children. They speak, eat, sleep at home, but Eyolf does not get the physiological needs from his parents.
Childhood experiences are memorable. Whatever happened in the last time when he was a child, it will be always kept in his mind until he grows up. It is really essential for all parents to give a good education to their children, especially in their childhood. It will much influence to their growth of manner. Hence, it is the basic knowledge for them to become a good boy.
The next level is safety needs. When physiological needs have been gratified, somebody may move to the higher order need that is often called the safety needs. Safety needs are the needs when the individual yearning for physical, safety and shelter, freedom from threat or security, calmness, certainty, order. Safety and Security needs include: Personal security, financial security, health and well being, safety needs against accidents or illness and their adverse impacts.
In the drama Little Eyolf, the main character, Eyolf has fulfilled his physiological needs and he will fulfill his next needs, safety needs. Eyolf’s safety need has not been fulfilled because he is an unlucky boy. His father Mr. Allmers and his mother Mrs. Rita always do not give suggestion whether Eyolf asks it or not. He thinks that his problem is not so hard. As the result, it is unhappy and bad experiences for Eyolf’s development.
Eyolf’s childhood experiences shape his character when he is an adult, all of bad treatments from his surrounding makes him become cruel, vengeful and hot-tempered. When he has a power, he realizes to do his vengeance. He does not get the safety need when he was a child.
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layers of human needs are social and involve feelings of belongingness. This aspect of Maslow's hierarchy involves emotionally based relationships in general, such as Friendship, Intimacy, and Family. Hjelle and Zielger say that an individual motivated on this level longs for affectionate relationship with others, namely for a place in his or her
Mrs. Rita has turned into an evil mother, she could barely think of something logical. Her saying of her son as the worse being is the ultimate symbolism of hatred and jealousy. Rita only spends a little quality time with her husband and by the time her husband comes from a long journey, she wants more affection for her and nothing for Eyolf.
Speak of evil, Mrs. Rita has entirely devoured by her madness. To think the son as the gap between her and Allmers is the summit insanity that can not be put into logic. It is crystal clear that Rita does not care about Eyolf, her son. She demands her husband as she has the right to do so. Given this situation, Mr. Allmers is put into inconvenient situation. He loves both Eyolf and Rita, as the readers could see that the Allmers love is not in balance. Mrs. Rita puts herself into conditional questions, where Eyolf’s existence was never existed what it would be. Mr. Allmers unexpectedly answers to this question that he will only have her to love. Mrs. Rita is more assured that Eyolf should not be around.
Mrs. Rita is indeed mad. She could not use her logic or her senses back. Rita is a mother, but in the story, she is quite contrary. Eyolf is left alone, with only a little affection of his father and no love from his mother. As the result, Eyolf needs of love can be assumed as a failure.
Esteem needs present the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity that gives a person a sense of contribution to feel accepted and valued by others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. It may be noted, however, that many people with low self esteem need will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory, but must first accept themselves internally.
More to the self-actualization, Eyolf could only sit nearby the house or the sea since he does not have any supportive motive from his parents. Eyolf is the representation of a loner. Eyolf tries to fulfill the desire to respect and to be respected. His childhood had created a desire to be accepted and valued by parents. He needs the parent’s attention because his father Mr. Allmers and his mother Mrs. Rita do not care of giving affection to Eyolf. Hence, he escapes from the reality and lives in his world of fantasy. In the world of fantasy he could do as he wants and gets what he needs.
Unlike any other boys Eyolf has the problem to perform self actualization, even when he wears new clothes. His existence is never accepted by his surroundings. Since he has no complete legs then his dream of becoming a soldier becomes a subject of mockery to other boys on the beach. Eyolf is better off with the books. However, his parents never give a solution of motivation to build his self esteem. Eventually, Eyolf must face his own problem all alone.
Inside the house he only sees madness and outside he can not go with other boys. His aunty Asta rarely talks to him and the uncle never genuinely cares him because his uncle purpose is only to get Rita’s attention. Here, through the process, Eyolf does not successfully achieve his self-actualization. He will succeed when all the layers of Maslow’s hierarchy of human (physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, and esteem needs) are well gratified, so she/ he can achieve this highest level. From this last level someone can prove her/ his capacity in the way of reaching his willingness but Eyolf is not.
Next, there is a shocking event from Eyolf as he has grown tired to see madness inside his family. The event is also a sign of his final act to draw attention from his parents.
Last, his desperate need of acceptance leads him into an epic end. Ignorance makes his family blind. They never really know and care to Eyolf. In the final subchapter there will be more clearly explanation about Eyolf’s death as the symbolization of his endless effort to get attention from his family, from people whom he knows. Eyolf’s death makes his parents Mr. Allmers and Mrs. Rita unhappy. Eyolf is sinking down in the sea and he has passed so far the sea. Eyolf is suffering over there. Mr. Allmers and Mrs. Rita want to help his child Eyolf, they also want to see his child Eyolf before his death and say sorry for do not care of him in his whole life.
His father Mr. Allmers and his mother Mrs. Rita have neglected their child. They have played with life and death. Mr. Allmers egoism has prevented him from really loving the child but himself. He was badly affected by his ambition and his cruel wife.
Conclusion and Suggestion
The readers know from the analysis on the needs of Eyolf’s self-actualization in Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf, Little Eyolf portrays the efforts of Eyolf, the main male character, to achieve his self-actualization. The theory used to analyze the discussion is hierarchy of human needs by Abraham H. Maslow. There many levels to get self- actualization. Those are physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, self-esteem needs and the last one is self-actualization.
The first need of Eyolf is physiological needs. He suffers in his childhood because his father Mr. Allmers loves travelling over town and his mother Mrs. Rita does not care of Eyolf at home. Eyolf is unhappy at home because his parents ignore him. The second need of Eyolf is safety needs. Eyolf’s childhood experiences unusual childhood including his handicapped leg. Hence, it is really essential for his father Mr. Allmers and his mother Mrs. Rita to give a good affection to Eyolf, especially in his childhood but it never happens.
The third need of Eyolf is belongingness and love needs. He does not get belongingness and love need from his father Mr. Allmers, his mother Mrs. Rita. His father Mr. Allmers never gives affection because he is busy writing Human Responsibility book at his room. The fourth need of Eyolf is esteem needs. He tries to fulfill the desire to respect and to be respected from his father Mr. Allmers, his mother Mrs. Rita but they always put no respect and affection to Eyolf in his life.
The last need of Eyolf is self actualization. His father, Mr. Allmers, has been a restless and half reluctant slave to Mrs. Rita imperious temperament. Mr. Allmers has dreamed and theorized about responsibility and has kept Eyolf poring over his books. Mr. Allmers goes up into the infinite solitudes, yearning towards selfless love and filled with a profound and remorseful pity for the lot of poor maimed humanity. He will help Eyolf to bring his desires into harmony. Mr. Allmers will create a conscious happiness in his mind but he fails in the end.
This thesis concludes that there are many motives for individual to achieve his self-actualization. Firstly, he has to be able to fulfill his needs and to solve the problems by believing and struggling for his self actualization. Secondly, it is crucial to convince ourselves that we can do what we want to be, as long as it is suitable with our talent and tries to actualize to make it true. The true happiness never comes if people do not work together to make it happen.
Acknowledgements
Kusumaningputri, S.S, M. Pd for the never ending guidance and patience throughout the entire process of writing the thesis. My dearest father, Hidayat and my mother, Hj. Saedah who always encourage me in every step of my study; mentally, financially and always pray for my success.
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