ABSTRACT
LESTARI, VALENTINA WIDYA. The Ideas of Radical Libertarian Feminism as Reflected in the Main Characters of Anais Nin’s Ladders To Fire. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
Ladders to Fire is one of Anais Nin’s novels which becomes the representation of how women fight towards sexism in the society. It reveals the struggle of two women named Lillian and Djuna to reach their true happiness and pursue their passions by having freedom in their sexual preference. The author of this novel, Anais Nin, expressed herself through the women characters. In her life, Nin was well known as an erotica writer who bravely wrote about sexual life. At that time, she could liberate herself from society’s limitation through her writings.
Therefore, there are two problem formulations related to the topic. The first problem analyzes the characteristics of Lillian and Djunaas seen from their relationships with men and women in the novel. The second problem analyzes the reflection of radical libertarian feminism ideas on Lillian and Djuna’s characteristics.
The writer applies library research as the method since the source of the data is collected from books and web-sources. The research used feminist literary criticism as the approach to analyze the characteristics of Lillian and Djuna in Ladders to Fire which reflect the ideas of feminism, specifically radical libertarian feminism.
ABSTRAK
LESTARI, VALENTINA WIDYA. The Ideas of Radical Libertarian Feminism as Reflected in the Main Characters of Anais Nin’s Ladders To Fire. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Ladders to Fire adalah salah satu novel Anais Nin yang menjadi gambaran bagaimana wanita berjuang melawan diskriminasi seks di masyarakat. Novel ini mengungkapkan perjuangan dari dua wanita bernama Lillian dan Djuna untuk meraih kebahagiaan dengan memiliki kebebasan dalam kehidupan seksualnya. Penulis novel, Anais Nin, mengekspresikan dirinya melalui tokoh-tokoh wanita di dalam novel. Dalam hidupnya, Nin dikenal sebagai penulis erotis yang berani menuliskan kehidupan seksual. Pada saat itu, ia dapat membebaskan dirinya dari batasan-batasan social melalui tulisannya.
Oleh karena itu, terdapat dua pokok permasalahan berkaitan dengan topic yang akan dibahas. Pokok permasalahan yang pertama menganalisa karakteristik Lillian dan Djuna yang dilihat dari relasinya dengan pria dan wanita di dalam novel. Pokok permasalahan yang kedua menganalisa gagasan-gagasan feminis radikal libertarian yang tercermin pada karakteristik Lillian dan Djuna. Studi pustaka digunakan sebagai metode dalam penulisan skripsi ini karena data-data yang ada diperoleh dari buku dan web. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan feminisme dalam mengalisa karakteristik dari tokoh Lillian dan Djuna pada novel Ladders to Fire yang mencerminkan gagasan-gagasan feminis, khususnya feminis radikal libertarian.
THE IDEAS OF RADICAL LIBERTARIAN FEMINISM AS
REFLECTED IN THE MAIN
CHARACTERS OF ANAIS NIN’S
LADDERS TO FIRE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
VALENTINA WIDYA LESTARI Student Number: 124214032
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
THE IDEAS OF RADICAL LIBERTARIAN FEMINISM AS
REFLECTED IN THE MAIN
CHARACTERS OF ANAIS NIN’S
LADDERS TO FIRE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
VALENTINA WIDYA LESTARI Student Number: 124214032
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
vii
And the day came when the ri
sk
it took to stay tight inside
the bud was more painful than
the risk it took to blossom.
viii
I dedicate this work
for my parents, Ibu
and Bapak, for their
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to God for His eternal blessing and strength that I receive abundantly in my life. Second, I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka M. Hum., for his guidance and patience during the process of writing this thesis. Besides, I also thank Adventina Putranti, S.S., M. Hum. who had enlightened and advised me that lead to the betterment of my thesis during the process of revision. For all the lecturers in English Letters Department who had kindly shared the knowledge and experiences with me.
My biggest gratitude goes to my parents for endlessly supporting me through the prayers and affection in my life. I specifically thank my mother for always reminding me to believe in myself even when self-doubt haunts my head. I also thank my brothers Pandu and Mamas. I am really thankful for the jokes and affection shared through the night video calls which successfully boost my mood up.
My heart also goes to Claudia, Raymond, Nina, Andira, Pieter, and Ami for the memories during these years of friendship. I thank my boarding house mates, Suciana and GG, for the tears and joy shared in the middle of nights. The upcoming distance definitely cannot stop us. I express my love and gratitude to all of you.
x
A. The Description of Lillian and Djuna ...28
1. Lillian ...28
xi
b. Lillian’s Characteristics as Seen from Her
Relationships with Women. ...33
2. Djuna ...36
a. Djuna’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationships with Men. ...37
b. Djuna’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationship with Women. ...40
B. The Reflection of Radical Libertarian Feminism Ideas on Lillian and Djuna’s Characteristics ...43
1. Avoiding Maternal Life. ...43
2. Considering Normative Heterosexuality as a Form of Women’s Oppression. ...45
3. Being Androgynous. ...47
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...51
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...55
xii ABSTRACT
LESTARI, VALENTINA WIDYA. The Ideas of Radical Libertarian Feminism as Reflected in the Main Characters of Anais Nin’s Ladders To Fire. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
Ladders to Fire is one of Anais Nin’s novels which becomes the representation of how women fight towards sexism in the society. It reveals the struggle of two women named Lillian and Djuna to reach their true happiness and pursue their passions by having freedom in their sexual preference. The author of this novel, Anais Nin, expressed herself through the women characters. In her life, Nin was well known as an erotica writer who bravely wrote about sexual life. At that time, she could liberate herself from society’s limitation through her writings.
Therefore, there are two problem formulations related to the topic. The first problem analyzes the characteristics of Lillian and Djunaas seen from their relationships with men and women in the novel. The second problem analyzes the
reflection of radical libertarian feminism ideas on Lillian and Djuna’s
characteristics.
The writer applies library research as the method since the source of the data is collected from books and web-sources. The research used feminist literary criticism as the approach to analyze the characteristics of Lillian and Djuna in Ladders to Fire which reflect the ideas of feminism, specifically radical libertarian feminism.
The results of the analysis are as follows: The first character, Lillian, is described having bisexual characteristic for having sexual interests toward men and women. Therefore, Lillian’s characteristics are observed through her relationships with men and women. In her relationships with several men named Gerard, Larry, and Jay, Lillian is presented as a powerful and passionate woman. Besides, Lillian is also an attractive and generous person from as seen from her relationships with women. The second character, Djuna, is depicted as a lesbian who lives her own life independently. She also avoids all kinds of maternal or marriage life and has androgynous characteristic. Their characteristics reflect the ideas of radical libertarian feminism which are avoiding maternal life, considering heterosexuality
as a form of women’s oppression, and being androgynous. Through their struggle
xiii ABSTRAK
LESTARI, VALENTINA WIDYA. The Ideas of Radical Libertarian Feminism as Reflected in the Main Characters of Anais Nin’s Ladders To Fire. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Ladders to Fire adalah salah satu novel Anais Nin yang menjadi gambaran bagaimana wanita berjuang melawan diskriminasi seks di masyarakat. Novel ini mengungkapkan perjuangan dari dua wanita bernama Lillian dan Djuna untuk meraih kebahagiaan dengan memiliki kebebasan dalam kehidupan seksualnya. Penulis novel, Anais Nin, mengekspresikan dirinya melalui tokoh-tokoh wanita di dalam novel. Dalam hidupnya, Nin dikenal sebagai penulis erotis yang berani menuliskan kehidupan seksual. Pada saat itu, ia dapat membebaskan dirinya dari batasan-batasan social melalui tulisannya.
Oleh karena itu, terdapat dua pokok permasalahan berkaitan dengan topic yang akan dibahas. Pokok permasalahan yang pertama menganalisa karakteristik Lillian dan Djuna yang dilihat dari relasinya dengan pria dan wanita di dalam novel. Pokok permasalahan yang kedua menganalisa gagasan-gagasan feminis radikal libertarian yang tercermin pada karakteristik Lillian dan Djuna. Studi pustaka digunakan sebagai metode dalam penulisan skripsi ini karena data-data yang ada diperoleh dari buku dan web. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan feminisme dalam mengalisa karakteristik dari tokoh Lillian dan Djuna pada novel Ladders to Fire yang mencerminkan gagasan-gagasan feminis, khususnya feminis radikal libertarian.
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literary work becomes the reflection of society’s issue. It can be reflected through novels, dramas, poems, and short stories. Wellek and Waren state that a novel is a picture of real life manner (1956: 216). One of the issues is women roles in the society. Women are often positioned as the lower and more marginalized gender rather than men in patriarchal society. Patriarchy simply means the universal oppression by men. Adrienne Rich defines patriarchy as:
discrimination in the society. Their major aim is gender equality in every social aspect. According to Jo Freeman, the idea of universal equality is that behind the differences, men or women are born to have the same right. Women should have the same rights and duties in life as men have (1975: 439). Most feminists ask for equality in the sense of living. In USA, feminism appears as a form of rebellion toward gender inequality. The first wave of feminism took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emerging out of an environment of urban industrialism and liberal socialist politics. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage (pacific.edu, July 29, 2016).
As women have acknowledged about their rights in society, they voice for women’s liberation and gender equality through feminism movement. We (re:
women) deserve to be equal with you, for we are in the fact the same. We possess the same capabilities; but this fact has been hidden, or these abilities have, while still potentially ours, been socialized, educated, ‘out’ (1995: 13). As time goes by,
feminism movement is divided into several types regarding their concern which follows the major issue in the society. There are many types of feminism movements as one of them is radical feminism. Similar to other feminism types, radical feminists also fight for women’s equality. Yet they claim that women oppression is basically located on sexism. This kind of oppression is the most fundamental oppression and causes long-term suffering for its victim, specifically women. They argue that women should fight toward sexism which traps and limits them.
is the most fundamental of all the oppressions human beings visit on each other (Tong, 2009: 49).
Radical feminist then splits into two parts which are radical libertarian feminist and radical cultural feminist. These two types have different perspectives about how women should act towards their sexual life. Radical libertarian feminism is one type of radical feminism whose goal to remove women’s oppression by encouraging women to become androgynous. As Tong notes the radical libertarian feminists’ argument:
Radical libertarian feminists claimed that gender is separable from sex and that patriarchal society uses rigid gender roles to keep women passive (“affectionate, obedient, responsive to sympathy and approval, cheerful, kind and friendly”) and men active (“tenacious, aggressive, curious, ambitious, planful, responsible, original and competitive”) (2009: 51). They suggest women to become androgynous, a person whose feminine and masculine characteristics to achieve gender equality. Unlike radical libertarian feminism which encourages women to become androgynous, radical cultural feminism has different perspectives toward sexism. As Mary Daly states that:
She rejected the pluralist model of androgyny, according of women and men have separate but supposedly equal and complementary traits, and the assimilation model of androgyny, according to which women and men exhibit feminine as well as masculine traits. As she saw it, both of these models of androgyny were deficient because neither of them asked whether the concepts of masculinity and femininity are worth preserving (Tong, 2009: 59)
The novel entitled Ladders to Fire by Anais Nin is first published in 1946. It is the first novel of the series Cities of the Inferior. The other novels of the series are: The Winter of Artifice, Under a Glass Bell, Children of the Albatross, A Spy in the House of Love, and Seduction of the Minotaur. Ladders to Fire reveals
the struggle of two women named Lillian and Djuna to reach their true happiness and pursue their passions by having freedom in their sexual preference. The author of this novel, Anais Nin, expresses herself through the women characters. In her life, Nin is well known as an erotica writer who bravely writes about sexual life. At that time, she can liberate herself from society’s limitation through her writings. This novel becomes the representation of how women fight towards sexism in the society. Ladders to Fire isone of Anais Nin’s novels which has different attitude about women’s sexual life in that era.Thus, the writer wants to
analyze the idea of radical libertarian feminism in Anais Nin’s Ladders to Fire through Lillian and Djuna characteristics. These two characters have courage to fight for their rights in patriarchal society. Later on, by discovering the characteristics of the Lillian and Djuna, the reader will get the message and understand the idea of radical libertarian feminism as reflected in Ladders to Fire.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the previous explanation, the writer then formulates two problems:
2. How do Lillian and Djuna’s characteristics reflect the ideas of radical libertarian feminism?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on the two problems formulated above, the writer aims to answer the questions. The first goal is to find out the characteristics of Lillian and Djuna in Ladders to Fire. The second goal is to reveal how the ideas of radical libertarian feminism are reflected through Lillian and Djuna’s characteristics in the novel.
D. Definition of Terms
There are several terms need to be explained in analyzing Anais Nin’s Ladders to Fire to avoid misunderstanding. Those terms are character, feminism,
radical libertarian feminism, masculine, feminine, and androgyny. 1. Character
Abrams explains that characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what they do-the action (1971: 21).
2. Feminism
women and an ideology of social transformation aiming to create a world for women beyond simple social equality (1995: 183).
3. Radical Libertarian Feminism
Radical libertarian feminism is one type of feminism whose goal to achieve the equality between men and women by rejecting patriarchal society’s assumption towards sexism and gender. They claim that women’s oppression is
basically located on men’s dominance. Therefore, they demand for freedom in
every aspect of life including sexual preference (Evans, 1995:64). 4. Masculine
Abstract masculinity, according to Nancy Hartsock, is a mode of conceptualization that emphasizes mutually exclusive dualities. She suggests that this accounts for hierarchical dualism in social institutions which underpin gender domination. Evelyn Fox Keller suggests that masculine connotes autonomy, separation, distance and particularly objectivity (Humm, 1995: 163).
5. Femininity
A term which describes the construction of ‘femaleness’ by society and which
connotes sexual attractiveness to men. The World feminists interpret ‘femininity’
more positively. For example BudhiEmecheta describes how the self-creation of femininity enables her women characters to become strong and independent (Humm, 1995: 93-94).
6. Androgyny
8 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
A literary work may have many perspectives. Anais Nin’s books have been
discussed before to reveal Nin’s motives through her novels. Several researches have been done towards one of Anais Nin’s entitled Henry and June. One of the
researches is an undergraduate thesis entitled Radical Libertarian Feminism as Seen in the Main Character of Anais Nin’s Henry and June by Lusi Maria
Widjanarko (2008) from Sanata Dharma University. It concerns on the characteristics of Anais Nin as the main character and how Nin’s characteristics
reflect the ideas of radical libertarian feminism.According to Widjanarko in her research, Anais Nin has several characteristics such as unfaithful, bisexual, adventurous and seductive woman. Widjanarko also states that the radical libertarian feminism as a part of radical feminism concerns about women’s
freedom in private sphere
From Nin’s characteristics which reflect the ideas of Radical Libertarian Feminism, we can see that women who doesn’t bounded by the gender and sex classification can do what a man usually does. By having an ability to do what men usually do, a woman can get equal position and freedom (2008: 60).
Widjanarko’s statement above concludes that women should have freedom
areoften portrayed through the women characters in her books, there is relation about Nin’s characteristics in Henry and June and the characteristics of women
characters in Ladders to Fire.
Nin’s characteristics are also revealed in an undergraduate thesis entitled Nin’s Motivation to Establish Relationship with Henry and June in Anais Nin’s
Henry and June written by Ika Dewi Widiastuti (2011) from Sanata Dharma
University. Nin is described as attractive, smart, hypersexual and independent woman. These characteristics aim to reveal Nin’s motivation to establish
relationship with Henry and June. The result of this research states that Nin’s
motivation is purely to fulfill her needs such as psychological need, sex need, safety need, love and belonging needs. Based on the analysis, it can be said that Nin’s motivation to establish relationship with Henry and June is to fulfill her
needs. She fulfills her needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and she also reaches
the top level, the actualized person (2011: 53).
Another research of Nin’s novel comes from Ohio University Press. In the
whose distrust of others keeps her from revealing her true self (ohioswallow.com, 2015).
In this research, the writer aims to reveal the women’s characteristics in Ladders to Fire which reflect the ideas of radical libertarian feminism. Since the
previous researches which have been mentioned focus on Nin’s characteristics as the author, it will be very useful as the supporting sources for the writer to reveal the characteristics of the women characters in the Ladders to Fire. Anais Nin has been described as bisexual, independent, and attractive woman in the previous researches, therefore the women characters in Ladders to Fire may be the portrayal of Nin’s characteristics.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Characters plays important role in the flow of a story. M.H. Abrams explains that characters are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, whoare interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what they do-the action (1971: 21).
According to Robert Stanton, character is generally used in two ways. The first character marks out the person who appears in the story. The second character refers to the traits or the elements in somebody’s personality that makes
up each of a person. A character’s reason of behaving as he does is his motivation
From the definitions of character in the previous paragraphs, it is clear that character is one of the important elements in a story that has motivation in his/her emergence. To analyze the characteristics of characters in a story, the theory of characterization is needed. Henkle in his book acknowledges that there are two types of characterization which are major character and secondary character. Major character usually is the most important character in a story that functioned to help the reader in drawing the theme, used by the authors in order to communicate their human qualities. A major character is also the most complex character. Secondary character or minor character usually is the character, who has limited function in the story. His character is less complex and neccesary to become the background of the major character (1977: 87-97).
Moreover, Murphy points out nine ways to see the characterization of characters in literary works (1972: 162-173). Those are:
a. Personal description
Personal description refers to the description of the character as real person’s
appearance, such as face, skin, eyes, and clothes. b. Character as seen by another
The author describes a person’s characteristics through the eyes and
opinions of the characters. The reader can get it as the reflection image of particular character.
c. Speech
The author gives the readers a picture of someone’s characteristics in the
character whenever the character speaks, has conversation with others, and whenever the character says/states his/her opinion.
d. Past life
Past life influences someone’s characteristics. The author gives the readers
clues to some events that have helped to shape someone’s characteristics. It can be seen through the author’s direct comment and the person’s thought.
e. Conversation of others
Someone’s characteristics can be described through the conversation of
other characters in which they say, their opinions or everything about that person. f. Reactions
The author gives a clue of someone’s characteristics through the reaction of
the character in the novel toward various events and situations. g. Direct comments
To understand someone’s charateristics, the author gives a clue by describing or commenting a person’s characteristics directly.
h. Thoughts
The author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Through this way, the reader can understand the character’s mind and feeeling.
i. Mannerism
Someone’s characteristics can also be seen through his/her mannerism and
2. Theory of Feminism
Patriarchal society often positions women as powerless. Men are believed as superior and women as inferior. As Montagu states in his book, women have been conditioned to believe that they are inferior to men, and they have assumed that what everyone believes is a fact of nature. Because men occupy the superior positions in almost all societies, such superiority is taken to be a natural one (1953: 23). Men’s superiority has driven women’s role lower in the society. As Montagu continues in her book about her concern of this superior power of men.
Why is that, in most of the cultures of which we have any knowledge, women are considered to be a sort of lower being, a creature human enough , but not quite so human as the male; certainly not as wise, nor as intelligent; and lacking in most of the capacities and abilities with which the male is so plentifully endowed? (1953: 27).
Patriarchal society has given a streotype that women are the second sex. They are controlled under a system which gives them less opportunities rather than men to develop themselves in the society. Women’s freedom is limited
because of the gender system in patriarchal society.
Instead of being openly coerced into accepting their secondary status, women were conditioned into embracing it by the process of sex-role streotyping. From early childhood, women were trained to accept a system which divided society into male and female spheres, with appropriate roles for each,a nd which allocated public power exclusively to the male sphere (Eisenstein, 1983: 6).
Sex meant the bilogical sex of a child−was it born anatomically a male or a female member of the human species? Gender was the culturally and socially shaped cluster of expectations, attributes, and behaviors assigned to that category of human being by the society into which the child was born (1983: 7).
Because of this gender streotype, women undergo social injustice that they do not have equal opportunity in social life. Society holds the false belief that women are, by nature, less intellectually and physically capable than men, it tends to discriminate against women.
They make movement called as feminism. This movement splits into three time periods or called as ‘waves’ and have different aims. The first-wave
feminism starts in the 19th and early 20th century. The goal of this wave is to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The second-wave starts in 1960s until 1980s. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights are dominant issues, and much of the movement's energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex.The third-wave starts in the 1990s until 2000s and it is informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking(pacific.edu, August 9, 2016). Overall, all feminism waves concerns to change the social structure to make it less oppressive to women. Some feminists declare that their goal is to understand women’s oppression in term race, gender, class, sexual preference and how to alter it.
Therefore, the basic goal of feminism is the liberation of women. As Humm states in her book that the liberation of women is the chief goal of feminist theory. Contemporary women’s liberation or feminist action, is consciously
revolutionary. It breaks with reformism; it is internationalist and it simultaneously attacks the state, cultural ideology and the economy (1995: 151).
3. Theory of Radical Feminism
Radical feminism arises in the second-wave feminism. The second-wave starts in 1960s until 1980s. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights are dominant issues, and much of the movement's energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex (pacific.edu, August 9, 2016). Unlike other feminists who perceive themselves as reformers, radical feminists perceive themselves as the revolutionaries rather than reformers.
Unlike reformist feminists, who joined fundamentally mainstream women’s rights groups, these revolutionary feminists did not become interested in women’s issues as a result of working for government agencies, being appointed to commissions on the status of women, or joining women’s educational or professional groups. Instead, their desire to improve women’s condition emerged in the context of their participation in radical social movements, such as the civil-rights and anti–Vietnam War movements (Tong, 2009: 48).
class. Therefore, the explanation for women's oppression is seen lying in sexual oppression. Women are oppressed because of their sex.
Early radicalism is gender difference school in that it sees both male and female character as marred by society: by patriarchy and by capitalism; by ‘the system’, as would probably have been said then. But the sexes had been harmed in separate ways, and women the more. In contrast to other feminist analysts, early radicals were, though less than their successor, concerned to point the finger of blame at men; it may be that the notion of patriarchy entails this, though it would depend on how its regime was thought to have begun (Evans, 1995: 64).
It is clearly stated that radical feminists think that the root of oppressions toward women is men’s dominance. Radical feminists aim to break the rigid
gender roles that society has imposed to free both men and women. As Humm continues that they sometimes believe that they must rage a war against patriarchal society and the gender system. Radical feminists focus on the roots of male domination and claim that all forms of oppression are extensions of male supremacy (Humm, 1994: 183). In the movement to pursue women equality, there comes two different perspectives. The radical feminism then splits into two areas. a. Radical Libertarian Feminism
According to Rosemarie Putnam Tong, radical libertarian feminists think that people, men or women should explore both feminine and masculine sides of themselves. Every woman should have a sexual experiment whether with herself, with other men, or with other women. Moreover, there are four basic ideas of radical libertarian feminism noted by Tong in Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction Third Edition. The first idea is being androgynous.
Androgyny, an ancient Greek word−from andro (male) and gyn (female)− . . . seeks to liberate the individual from the confines of the appropriate. . . . [It] suggests . . . a full range of experience open to individuals who may, as women, be aggressive, as men, tender; it suggests a spectrum upon which human beings choose their places without regard to propriety or custom (Eisenstein, 1995: 60).
Based on the quotation above, being androgyny means having the good characteristics of male and female. By being androgyny, a wowan has extricated hersef from rigid gender system. Radical libertarians claim that an exclusively feminine gender identity is likely to limit women’s development as full human
persons. Thus, they encouraged women to become androgynous persons, that is, persons who embody both (good) masculine and (good) feminine characteristics or, more controversially, any potpourri of masculine and feminine characteristics, good or bad, that strikes their fancy (Tong, 2009: 50).
The second one is allowing lesbianism. Radical libertarian feminists argue that heterosexuality is a form of women’s oppression where there is a tendecy
women are positioned lower than men. They become the pioneer of lesbian media of women. Lesbian theorists argued that lesbianism is much more matter than a matter of sexual preference. As Eisenstein writes based on radicalesbians’
argument:
She is the rage of all women condensed to the point of explosion. She is the woman who, often beginning at an extremely early age, acts in accordance with her society . . . cares to allow her . . . . She may not be fully concious of the political implications of what for her began as personal neccessity, but on some levels she has not been able to accept the limitations and oppressions laid on her by the most basic role of her society−the female role (1983: 51).
to buy into the limitations and restrictions placed upon her by the social expectations of acting like a “true woman” (1983: 51). Radical libertarians argue
that since a woman does not need a male body to achieve sexual pleasure, she does not have to engage in sexual relations with a man unless she wants to. Therefore, they suggest lesbian as another sexual preference for women to express themselves.
If a woman wants to be a true feminist, she must become a lesbian. She must do what comes “naturally,” thereby freeing her own consciousness from the false idea that she is deviant, abnormal, sick, crazy, or bad because she enjoys sex with women, not with men. (Tong, 2009: 71-72).
The radical feminists think that lesbian is the only way of a woman to find her whole self in a relationship. They hope by being lesbian they can cultivate the treasures of their femininity and find self-realization within herself. There are also two types of lesbian which are the ‘masculine’ and the ‘feminine’ which is often being called as the ‘butch’ and the ‘femme’. The butch is a woman who adopts
what will be considered masculine characteristics while the femme is a feminine lesbian.
(Tong, 2009: 74). Another view comes from Evan’s book quoting Firestone about
women’s maternal life. Therefore women must rebel; women must control
fertility. Women must own their own bodies and new technology. And women must control childbearing and rearing (Evans, 1995: 68).
Maternal life, as we can see, can limit women roles in the society. They are bounded with the obligation to raise children in which spend most of her life.
The claims of reproduction, too, have kept women from the productive sphere, and so from the road to freedom. It is not childbearing as such that necessitates this, but the whole structure built on and resting upon it, of reproduction, sexuality, and the socialization of children (Evans, 1995: 73). The fourth idea is supporting pornography. Pornography is defined sexual material depicting and encouraging violent and coercive sexual degradation (Humm, 19995: 212). Therefore pornography is socially regarded as an act againsts society’s norm and moral. According to Tong in her book, the radical
libertarian feminists urged women to use pornography to overcome their fears about sex,to arouse sexual desires, and to generate sexual fantasies. These feminists claimed that women should feel free to view and enjoy all sorts of pornography, including violent pornography (2009: 68). They views pornogography as women’s freedom to pursue sexual pleasure without any
limitation. Women should be free to enjoy all kinds of pornography whether involving themselves or not. Maggie Humm also states that pornograpphy expresses and reproduces the hierarchical difference between masculine and feminine which is part of culture (1995: 212). By this means, some feminists agree that pornography should not considered as women’s sexual objectification
that a true feminist should not limit herself to a certain sexual encounters. Further, she notes that feminists theory takes the view that pornography does not, in fact, violate the norms of heterosexuality but operates to sustain them (1995: 212).
b. Radical Cultural Feminism
Radical cultural feminists believe that women are better than men. They differ from radical libertarians who raise the idea of being androgynous, these radical-cultural feminists express the view that it is better to be female/feminine than it is to be male/masculine. Thus, women should not try to be like men instead they should try to be more like women by emphasizing women values.Radical cultural feminists argue that femininity is better than masculinity. Women should pursue gender equality with feminity and sexual relation must relate with emotions not just pleasure.
She rejected the pluralist model of androgyny, according of women and men have separate but supposedly equal and complementary traits, and the assimilation model of androgyny, according to which women and men exhibit feminine as well as maculine traits. As she saw it, both of these models of androgyny were deficient because neither of them asked whether the concepts of masculinity and feminity are worth preserving (2009: 59). Besides, they view pornography as women’s sexual abuse where women are put as the object of men’s sexual pleasure. Pornography basicly leads to sexual
harassment which ables men to opress women. Radical cultural feminists reject all forms of pornography and prostitution because it is only connected with pleasure and makes women as men’s sexual fulfillment (Tong, 1998: 97-104).
reproduction control towards women and supporting abortion, the radical cultural feminists states that women's oppression is not caused by female biology and reproductive possibilities but rather by men's jealousy of women's reproductive abilities. That is why the radical cultural feminists reject reproduction control towards women because it is linked as men’s control through woman’s natural
ability.
C. Theoretical Framework
There are three theories which are used to analyze Ladders to Fire. Those are theory of character and characterization, theory of feminism, and theory of radical feminism. Firstly, by using the theory of character and characterization, the writer analyzes the women’s characteristics in the novel which are revealed through the dialogue and author’s descriptions. There are many women characters in Nin’s Ladders to Fire, yet the writer’s concern is only on the three women
characters who are Lillian and Djuna since they are the main characters in the novel. Their actions, dialogues, thought, and experiences are examined in order to get deeper understanding of the characters, which is related to the concept of radical libertarian feminism.
Secondly, the theory of feminism is used to answer the second questionabout how Lillian and Djuna’s characteristics reflect the ideas of radical libertarian feminism. Since the theory of feminism is various, the writer’s focus is
The radical libertarians encourage women to explore both feminine side and masculine side of themselves. They also concern women’s freedom in all life aspects including sexual preference in social life. The ideas of radical libertarian feminism can be seen in Ladders to Fire through how the women characters break the old custom of patriarchal society and let women have such freedom to fulfil their passion and sexual preferences. The relation between women’s
23
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
Ladders to Fire is a novel by Anais Nin, an American author, which consists
of 190 pages. She was born on February 21 1903 to Cuban parents in France. Nin spent her time in Spain and Cuba but lived most of her life in the United States where she became an author. As an author, Nin wrote many journals and books. She was better known as a person who recorded everything in her diaries and regarded as one of finest erotic literature writers. For Anais Nin, her writing and her life were not separable, they were both part of the same experience. She
claimed that “it is the fiction writer who edited the diary” (ohioswallow.com, June
28, 2016). Ladders to Fire was published in 1946 by Swallow Press in New York. This is the first volume of the series Cities of the Interior, the other four novels of the series are Children of the Albatross (1947), The Four-Chambered Heart (1950), A Spy in the House of Love (1954), and Seduction of the Minotaur (1961). Ladders to Fire reveals the struggle of two women named Lillian and Djuna to
reach their true happiness and pursue their passions by having freedom in their sexual preference. The author of this novel, Anais Nin, expressed herself through the women characters. In her life, Nin was well known as an erotica writer who bravely wrote about sexual life. At that time, she could liberate herself from
Nin’s works generally tell a story about how women fight toward sexism in
that era. The explosion of the feminist movement in 1960s gave feminist
perspectives on Nin’s works. She had a special appeal to feminists yet Nin
disassociated herself from the political movement at the moment. Noel Riley
Fitch, the author of Nin’s biography book, noted that Nin’s works has changed
many women in the world and gives different perspectives about women’s roles in the society. “She would talk in very Lawrencian language about following your
own desires and needs, living freely,” Fitch said. “Women still adore her. They
say she changed their lives.” (news.usc.edu,August 9, 2016). Moreover, Fitch also
quoted a statement toward Nin’s works from Kate Millet, the author of Sexual
Politics, “the first real portrait of the artists as a woman.”
Ladders to Fire is one of Anais Nin’s novels which has different attitude
about women’s sexual life in that era. This novel becomes the representation of
how women fight toward sexism in the society. In this first volume of the series of Cities of the Interior, Nin introduces all the characters who are Lilian, Djuna,
Helen, Sabina and Jay, the male character. As Gunther Stuhlmann also states in the foreword of Ladders to Fire that all characters are presented fully in the first volume, Ladders to Fire. They are developed later in the succeeding volumes. As each book came out, however, it was received as if it were an independent novel (Nin, 1946: ix).
Ladders to Fire is divided into two parts, the first part is This Hunger and
fight over old custom where bisexualism and lesbianism are still considered taboo. Lillian is a woman who is very adventurous in her love life. She has several
relationship with men and once builds a marriage but it does not work. Lillian’s
sexual interest is not only towards men, but also women. They are Djuna, Helen, and Sabina whom Lillian is attracted to. As they also have interest with woman, they share affection and passion with Lillian. These four women then try to reach their own happiness by pursuing their natural desire and freedom. With their effort, they make that it is not impossible to have sexual attraction both in male and female. They show that human, specifically woman, should be free to
experiment their sexual interests without being limited by society’s assumption.
B. Approach of the Study
In conducting the analysis towardLadders to Fire, the writer uses Feminist Literary Criticism approach since this research focuses on the struggle of the
women characters to break patriarchy’s gender stereotype. Maggie Humm states
criticism is to reform gender streotyping which put women lower and more marginalized in patriarchal society.
The writer chooses this approach to analyze the ideas of radical libertarian feminism as reflected in Ladders to Fire. There are two main characters in the novel named Lillian and Djuna who have similar sexual preference and use it as the freedom to pursue their passion. Their struggle becomes the reflection of
feminism, specifically radical libertarian feminism, which fight over patriarchy’s
gender streotyping.
C. Method of the Study
In this study, the writer used library research as the method to gather the data and theories. Library research is defined as the systematic study and investigation of some aspect of library and information science where conclusion are based on the analysis of data collected in accordance with pre-established research designs and methodologies (hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca, August 9, 2016). This is the most relevant method to conduct this study since it concerns on the document sources. The primary source is the novel entitled Ladders to Fire with foreword by Gunther Stuhlmann by Anais Nin. Secondary sources are used to support this study which are collected through jurnals, books and dictionaries. There are also web-based sources to gather all the supporting information in this study.
28 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
A. The Descriptions of Lillian and Djuna
Based on the two problem formulations discussed in the chapter one, this part of the study aims to answer those formulated questions. The analysis is divided into two subchapters. The first subchapter aims to answer the descriptions of Lillian and Djuna as the main characters. It consists of the general description of Lillian and Djuna, specifically their relationship with other men and women. The second part contains the reflection of radical libertarian feminism ideas on Lillian and Djuna’s characteristics.
1. Lillian
In Ladders to Fire, Lillian is one of the major characters besides Djuna. She is presented as a powerful woman. Her powerful characteristic is mostly shown through her relationships with several men named Gerard and Jay. Lillian is the woman who plays men’s roles on her relationships by being more responsible and initiative. She works outside to supply her lovers’ daily needs and makes
decision firstly. She also becomes the one handling her relationships with no men’s interference.
has two children. Yet she is not happy and feels lost in her own family and house. Thus she leaves her family and continues her adventurous love story.
Besides having relationships with men, Lillian also builds relationships with women. She is depicted as a bisexual woman who is very adventurous with her love life. There are several women becoming Lillian’s affairs named Djuna,
Helen, and Sabina. Djuna is firstly presented as Lillian’s besfriend who is developed later becoming one of Lillian’s lovers. They build a relationship
because of the equal power in between. Lillian and Djuna share equal affection and support each other with no one side dominancy.
As a woman, Lillian is very attractive. She owns the charm which can make her surroundings admires her beauty and personality. One of the women who is attracted with Lillian’s personality is Helen. In Ladders to Fire, Helen is firstly
presented as one of Jay’s affairs who later also becoming Lillian’s affair. She is
married and has two children, yet Helen decides to leave her family because she wants to pursue her passion of living in freedom. Both Lillian and Helen admire each other for being very passionate of their dreams. The mutual attraction of being courage and passionate between them can successfully build a relationship.
Another woman who is attracted with Lillian’s charm named Sabina. As
well as Helen who is firsly presented as one of Jay’s lovers, so does Sabina. When
attraction. Sabina is also attracted with Lillian’s personality and power. Lillian
and Sabina admit hating and regard men as an obstacle in women’s freedom.
a. Lillian’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationship with Men
Lillian’s powerful characteristic is obviously shown in her relationships
with men. The word powerful is defined as the ability to control or influence people or things. Lillian is often positioned both as a husband and a mother by her lovers. In her relationship with a man named Gerard, Lillian is the one who takes initiative and makes decision. Gerard is presented as a passive man who always hands over his will to Lillian.
She fell in love with an extinct volcano. Her strength and fire were aroused. Her strength flowed around his stillness, encircled his silence, encompassed his quiteness (1995:7).
The moment she sat near him he recaptured his quality of a mirage: paleness, otherworldliness, obliqueness. He appropriated woman’s armor and defences, and she took the man’s. (1995: 8).
Lillian realizes that Gerard always becomes dependent and can not fulfill her need of an equal life companion. Thus she ends her relationship. To preserve this fatal secret: you, Lillian, are too strong; you, Gerard, are not strong enough (which would destroy them), Gerard (like a woman) wove false pretexts. The false pretext did not deceive Lillian (1995: 12).
Lillian works outside and takes care of everything in her house because Jay is a powerless companion. As a woman, Lillian fulfills every man’s desire. It is
reflected in the quotation below:
His helpness made him the ‘homme fatal’for such a woman. His hunger for anything metamorphosed her into an Aladdin’s lamp: even his dreams must be fulfilled (1995: 65-66).
Jay is very helpness and has no contribution in their relationship. He is like a beggar begging for a mercy from Lillian and Lillian fulfills it. Jay gives Lillian the savor of the present, and let her take care for the morrow as shown in the following descriptions:
Nothing could prevent her from feeling that she was not Juliet waiting on the balcony, but Romeo who had to leap across space to join her. She had leaped, she had acted Romeo, and when woman leaped she leaped into a void (1995: 55).
She was his confessor and his companion, his collaborator and his guardian angel. At this moment he treated her as if she were a man (or the mother) (1995: 69).
Once again she had worn the warrior armor to protect a core of love. Once again she had worn the man’s costume. Jay had not made her a woman, but the husband and mother of his weakness (1995: 87).
From the descriptions above, Lillian obviously shows her powerful characteristic. Through her actions of taking men roles in her relationships, it shows that Lillian can not passively wait for her lovers to handle the relationships. She has no fear to show her power and becomes the one whose more responsibility rather than men.
life to pursue it. Once, Lillian is married with a man named Larry and has two children. They live in a beautiful house which is filled with Lillian’s decorations
yet the house does not seem to belong to Lillian. The house is built for peace and harmony, like other houses, yet it does not suit Lillian’s personality and passion.
She always feels like a stranger in it because she has not been able to show her own character which is adventurous. In her marriage, Lillian is obligated to take care of her family and play role as a good mother and wife. She feels trapped and anxious about her life and nature as a woman. Lillian knows that marriage and maternal life do not seem suit her personality. Hence, Lillian decides to leave her family to pursue her desire.
The care Lillian spent in the house, on her husband and children came from some part of her being that was not the deepest Lillian. Who had made the marriage? Who had desired the children? Lillian had made all this and lived in it, but it had not been made out of the deeper elements of her nature, and she was a stranger in it (1995: 24).
Lillian’s adventurous life is also supported by her attractive personality.
She owns the charm which can attract her surroundings. In her relationships Lillian always becomes the one who both builds and ends it. She attracts her lovers by using her charms, femininity, and power. Djuna, one of Lillian’s affairs,
once says that Lillian is a femme fatale woman who can easily move from one circumstance to another and attract men by an aura of charm. Lillian’s
attractiveness is also shown from Jay’s impression toward her. At the first time
From the very first Jay hated her, hated her as Don Juan hated Dona Juana, as the free man hates the free woman, as man hates in woman this freedom in passion which he grants solely to himself. Hated her because he knew instinctively that she regarded him as he regarded woman: as a possible or impossible lover (1995: 128).
By the quotation above, it is clearly stated that Lillian owns attractive personality which can impress Jay. Besides, Lillian’s description about her attractive characteristic is also noted when she cooks and enters kitchen. Lillian is described as someone who always becomes the central of her surroundings. When she starts to cook, the entire kitchen is mesmerized as if she puts a spell in it. Lillian’s charm and power are reflected even in her cooking as mentioned in the
quotation below:
When she cooked, the entire kitchen was galvanized by the strength she put into it, the dishes, pans, knives, everything bore the burnt of her strength, everything was violently mashalled, challenged, forced to bloom, to cook, to boil. The vegetables were peeled as if the skins were torn from their resisting flesh, as if they were the fur of animals being peeled by the hunters (1995: 4).
b. Lillian’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relatioship with Women
Lillian is described as a bisexual woman who has sexual interests towards men and women. Hemings states that bisexuality as a sexual preference in which women should explore within themselves.
Based on the quotation above, having sexual interests toward men and women has become one of women’s freedom. Women who have courage to consider
themselves as bisexual are no longer submissive towards old customs.
In Ladders to Fire, Lillian builds relationship with several men who are Gerard, Larry, and Jay yet it can not satisfy her hunger for such love and affection. She falls in love with them yet she will feel empty in her relationships, therefore she also adventures her sexual life with women named Djuna, Helen, and Sabina. In her courtship with Djuna, Lillian feels a complete affection from Djuna. Djuna plays important role in Lillian’s life because Lillian’s desire and
needs are fulfilled through Djuna’s affection.
But it was Lillian who was drowning, and it was Djuna who was able always at the last moment to save her, and in her moment of danger, Lillian knew only one thing: that she must possess Djuna. It was as if someone had proclaimed: I need oxygen, and therefore I will lock some oxygen in my room and live on it. So Lillian began her courtship (1995: 41-42).
The quotation above concludes that Lillian wants Djuna to be her lover. Lillian feels equal power in her relationship with Djuna because they encourage each other. It is shown in the following quotation: They exchanged jewels, clothes, books, they protected each other, they expressed concern, jealously, possessiveness. They talked. The relationship was the central, essential personage of this dream without pain (1995: 21).
Later, when Lillian finds out that Jay has an affair with a woman named Helen, she is also attracted with Helen. Lillian’s attraction toward Hellen is not an
She gave Hellen such faith as lovers give. She gave to the friendship an atmosphere of courtship which accomplished the same miracle as love. On a magnificent day of sun and warmth Lillian said to her: “If I were a man, I would make love to you.” (1995: 83-84).
Lillian then ends her relationship with Helen since she starts to feel like a hostage and it traps her. She meets and falls in love again with a woman named Sabina, one of Jay’s affairs. Lillian admires Sabina’s body and feels her passion
and her soul in Sabina’s. It is shown in the quotations below:
Lillian wanted to reach out to her, into these violet shadows. She saw that Sabina wanted to be she as much as she wanted to be Sabina. They both wanted to exchange bodies, exchange faces. There was in both of them the dark strain of wanting to become the other, to deny what they were, to trascend their actual selves. Sabina desiring Lillian’s newness, and Lillian desiring Sabina’s deeply marked body (1995: 145).
Lillian saw her for the first time the woman she had always wanted to know. She saw Sabina’s eyes burning, heard her voice so rusty, and immediately felt drowned in her beauty. She wanted to say: I recognize you. I have often imagined a woman like you (1995: 125)
Furthermore, Lillian is also presented as an attractive woman. Attractive characteritsic as defined by Huffman is having the physical properties – size, shape, facial characteristics, and manner of dress – will attract other people’s preference toward someone (2000: 594). Lillian owns those criterias which make her attractive and can impress not only men but also women. Djuna, as a woman, is also attracted to Lillian for her beauty and sensual appearance. Djuna feels amazed by Lillian’s beauty and admires it. She always compliments the way
Lillian behaves. As one of Djuna’s admiration toward Lillian is noted in the
Another admiration toward Lillian comes from Sabina. Sabina admires Lillian’s soul and beauty. Lillian’s attraction drew Sabina’s attention for Lillian
has nice and pleasant appearance. Hence, when both Lillian and Sabina finally build the relationship in between, Sabina feels deeper admiration towards Lillian. Sabina looked at the whiteness of Lillian’s body as into a mirror and saw herself
as a girl, standing at the beginning of her life unblurred, unmarked. “How soft you
are, how soft you are,” said Sabina (1995: 146).
2. Djuna
Another main character in Ladders to Fire is Djuna. Djuna is described as an androgynous woman. Androgynous has been defined as a blance personality of having feminine and masculine chracteristics. Many feminist philosophers claim that androgynous personalities are holistic and have a capacity to experience the full range of human emotions (Humm, 1995: 10). In the novel, Djuna is delineated having masculine and feminine characteristics within herself.
Lillian and Jay who always feel comfortable to talk and share their problem with Djuna. Djuna can always shelter people in any condition.
Besides, the author presents Djuna as a lesbian. Djuna has no interest to establish a relationship with man. She chooses being lesbian as her sexual preference because she argues that men will not give women any opportunity to prove their strength. Therefore when Djuna meets Lillian whose equal power with her, Djuna is attracted to Lillian. Djuna and Lillian’s relationship is a relationship between two women whom both enjoy presenting devotion and affection. Her lesbian side is also shown through her action of denying Jay’s love. Djuna’s
hunger of love can only be fulfilled by the love of women.
a. Djuna’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationship with Men
relationship which involves man and woman, specifically in relationship with man.
Djuna wants to freely pursue her desire with no obstacle from her surroundings. Therefore, she avoids maternal and marriage life because she thinks that both of those things will limit her freedom. This proves that Djuna is self-governed woman. In patriarchal society, it can be said that women are demanded to provide society with children and it can be done legally through marriage. Marriage is considered as women’s function to satisfy a male’s sexual needs and
to take care of his household. These duties placed upon woman by society are regarded as a service rendered to her spouse (Beauvoir, 1989: 427).
After marriage, women are obligated to raise children. This is then being said as natural calling for women. Yet some feminists argue that women should have freedom to choose their own life without being limited by society assumption. Beauvoir in her book states that there is nothing natural in such obligation; nature can never dictate a moral choce; this implies an engagement, a promise to be carried out. To have a child is to undertake as solemn obligation (1989: 522).
Djuna’s decision to avoid maternal life also comes from her bad childhood
obviously avoids maternal life such as raising or taking care of children becauseshe thinks that it will make her imprisoned with all the solemn obligation. It is shown in her dialogue with Lillian:
If they talked about her children and Djuna said: I never liked real children, only the child in the grown-up, Lillian aswered: you should have had children.
“But I lack the maternal feeling for children, Lillian, though I haven’t lacked the maternal experience. There are plenty of children, abandoned children right in the so-called grown-ups. While you, well you are a real mother, you have a real maternal capacity. You are the mother type. I am not. I only like being a mistress. I don’t even like being a wife.” (1995: 46).
Despite her independent characteristic, Djuna owns feminine characteristic which is shown through her generousity and empathy. These feminine characteristics comfort her surroundings as one of them is Jay. One day, Jay comes to Djuna and tells the problem in his relationship with Lillian. Djuna can calm and listen to Jay when he needs a place to shelter on. It is shown in Jay’s statement toward Djuna:
“As if you expected a miracle every day. I can’t let you go now. I want to go places with you, obscure little places, just to be able to say: here I came Djuna. I’m insatiable, you know. I’ll ask you for the impossible. What it is, I don’t know. You’ll tell me probably,. You’re quicker than I am. And you’re the first woman with whom I feel I can be absolutely sincere. You make happy because I can talk with you. I felt at ease with you. This is a little drunken but you know what I mean. You always seem to know what I mean” (1995: 75).
Jay’s statement above shows that Djuna’s feminine characteristics which are
soft and empathetic can comfort him. Jay can not find such the sincere feelings with Lillian because he argues that Lillian is just too powerful. Another feminine side of Djuna is shown from her appearance which can impress Jay.
made of cardboard, that the trembling of the light behind you comes from the footlights, that the sounds are music. You are almost transparent there, like the mist of perfume you are throwing yourself. Throw more perfume on yourself, like a fixative on a water color. Let me have the atomizer. Let me put perfume all over you so that you won’t disappear and fade like a water color.” (1995: 77).
Yet, Djuna does not interested with Jay or any other relationship with men. She refuses Jay and continues her relationship with Lillian.
b. Djuna’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationship with Women
In Ladders to Fire, Djuna is described as a lesbian woman. The term lesbian according to Eisenstein defines someone who has withdrawn herself from the conventinal definitions of feminity. She has refused to buy into the limitations and restrictions placed upon her by the social expectation of acting like a “true woman” (1983: 51). Djuna is never been attached in a relationship with men. She
argues that men will not give women chance to prove their strength therefore women have to give in their strength. Djuna bravely admits that she does not need men’s contribution in her life. She even does not believe in what society classified as women’s natural roles such as marry with men and raise children.
Djuna is only attracted with women. She admires beautiful and passionate women. One day, Djuna watches a dancing opera. She is attracted to the dancers and compliments them as if she were a man.
At such a moment Djuna forgot that she was a woman and looked at the women dancing with the eyes of an artistand the eyes of man. She admired them, revelled in their beauty, in their seductions, in the interplay of black garters and black stockings and the snow-white frills of petticoats (1995: 45).
and feels the equal power in between. Djuna’s attraction toward Lillian is not an
attraction as a friend or sister, but as a lover who wants to embody herself in her lover.
Djuna responded instantly to the quick rhythm, to the intensity. It was a meeting of equal speed, equal fervor, equal strength. It was as if they had been two champion skiers making simultaneous jumps and landing together at the same spot. It was like a meeting of two chemicals exactly balanced, fusing and foaming with the pleasure of achieved proportions (1995: 16). Djuna empathizes Lillian’s sufferings in the relationship with men, therefore
Djuna comforts and showers Lillian with such affection. Djuna wants to guide Lillian and becomes a good companion for her. It is described in the novel: But each time she saw it in Lillian, flaring, uncontrolled, wild, blind, destroying itself and others, her compassion and love were aroused. “That will be my gift to her,”
she thought with warmth, with pity, “I will guide her.” (1995: 23). Djuna and
Lillian build a strong relationship between them. It is a relationship between two women whom both enjoy presenting devotion and affection. Both Djuna and Lillian feels an equal power with no one side domination.
And then Djuna was there, to remove the arrows implanted in Lillian, to cleanse them of their poison, to open the prison door, to open the trap door, to protect, to give transfusion of blood, and peace to the wounded (1995: 41).
Besides, Djuna also has feminine characteristic which attracts Lillian. Lillian sees Djuna’s feminine quality as something hidden and a pure treasure. As
stated in the novel: Outwardly Djuna was the essence of femininity . . . a curled frilled flower which might have been a starched undulating petticoat or a ruffled ballet skirt molded into a sea shell (1955: 22). Djuna’s femininity has also
