KATE GRENVILLE'S LILIAN'S STORY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Letters
By
MARTUMPAL JONATAN
Student Number: 034214013
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
KATE GRENVILLE'S LILIAN'S STORY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Letters
By
MARTUMPAL JONATAN
Student Number: 034214013
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
iv
Through this piece of work firstly I would like to thank my beloved
family, Papi & Mami, Eci, Tepi & Kito for the never-ending love, gift, and
support.
My chief debt goes to Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji S.S.,M.Hum., my major
advisor, who has willingly spent his precious time to read and correct this thesis;
and who has patiently encouraged and supported me in finishing this thesis with
his advice. Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude for my co-advisor for
this thesis, Adventina Putranti S.S., M.Hum whose advice has helped me very
much in improving this work.
I also thank all my friends from the English Letters 2003 especially, to
bang Ricat and Mba Put, thank you for the great friendship ! To Monic, thanks for
the love we share. Also, I would like to thank my best pals in grinjing apartment:
Togel, Hormon, SiKol, SiOm, Kuncung, and all the newcomers, I thank them all!
Last but not least I would like also to give my gratitude to “Ibu” and “Bapak” in
Pakem.
v
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW... 5
A. Review of Related Studies ... 5
A. Lilian’s Character Development ... 23
1. Lilian’s Characteristics as a girl ... 23
2. Lilian’s Characteristics as a young lady... 29
3. Lilian’s characteristics as a woman... 44
B. Freedom and Responsibility Revealed by Lilian... 52
1. Lilian’s freedom and responsibility as a girl... 54
2. Lilian’s freedom ad responsibility as a young lady... 56
3. Lilian’s freedom and responsibility as a woman... 60
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 65
vi
Martumpal Jonatan. Freedom and Responsibility Seen in the Main Character of Kate Grenville’s Lilian’s Story. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Lilian’s Story tells about Lilian’s life from childhood until her adulthood, which is told by Lilian. Lilian is a different person from most other female specifically and ge nerally from other people around her. This difference, seen from the characterization, is the main reason of showing that Lilian foregrounds some philosophical ideas. Thus the writer discovers that Lilian has made most of her choices throughout her life revealing certain philosophical ideas of existentialism i.e. freedom and responsibility.
Two questions are formulated to scope the problems to discuss. The first question is on how the character development of the main character in Kate Grenville’s Lilian’s Story is described, and the second question is on how the existentialist ideas, especially of freedom and responsibility, are revealed through the character development.
In this research, the writer used a qualitative study in examining the work. This study applies the moral-philosophical approach to make an analysis towards the problem formulation. Moral-philosophical approach is used since the main aim of moral-philosophical approach is to probe a certain philosophical issue such as existentialism.
vii
Martumpal Jonatan. Freedom and Responsibility Seen in the Main Character of Kate Grenville’s Lilian’s Story. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
Lilian’s Story berkisah tentang kehidupan Lilian dari masa kecil hingga dewasa yang diceritakan oleh Lilian. Lilian adalah orang yang berbeda secara khusus dari antara para perempuan lainnya dan secara umum dari kebanyakan orang di sekitarnya. Perbedaan ini bila dilihat dari karakterisasi merupakan alasan utama yang menunjukkan bahwa Lilian mengedepankan ide-ide filosofis tertentu. Oleh karena itu, penulis mendapati bahwa Lilian telah membuat kebanyakan pilihan selama hidupnya yang menunjukkan ide- ide filosofis pada eksistensialisme, yakni kebebasan dan tanggung-jawab
Untuk membatasi cakupan permasalahan yang akan dibahas maka dua buah pertanyaan telah dibuat. Pertanyaan pertama adalah pada cara penjabaran perubahankarakter utama dalam Lilian’s Story karya Kate Grenville, dan pertanyaan kedua mengenai pengungkapan ide- ide eksistensialisme mengenai kebebasan dan tanggung-jawab melalui perubahan karakter tersebut.
Pada penelitian ini penulis menggunakan studi kualitatif. Studi ini menerapkan pendekatan moral- filosofis dalam analisis terhadap rumusan permasalahan. Alasan digunakannya pendekatan ini karena tujuan dari pendekatan moral- filosofis adalah untuk meneliti isu filosofis tertentu seperti halnya eksistensialisme.
1
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Freedom has been problematical for a long time. As a concept that is
considered important, the meaning of freedom seems to be relative and unstable.
According to Mary T. Clark in her book The Problem of Freedom, the understanding
on freedom is due to when and where freedom took place. If seen geographically,
easterners and westerners tend to view freedom differently. She says, “Easterners
have tended to see freedom as liberation from internal constraint of egoistic desires
and anxieties in the interest of unity and self-control.” (Clark, 1973:2)
Meanwhile, according to Clark, through history the westerners’ thought has
shifting views towards the concept of freedom. The changes depend much on how
people in a certain period view their nature. From the period of early Greek
philosophers until modern scientific era, Warnock concluded that there are two
dominating modes of human view towards the world. They are the world as
mechanized nature and the world as the non- mechanized one. (Clark, 1973: 16-17)
The idea that the world is the mechanized nature occurs since the early Greek
monist in 460 B.C. until 17th century scientist. They agreed that reality is in terms of
matter in motion. Therefore, there is no room for human freedom since everything in
this world is determined by matter, as what the monist say, or by the law of physics
proclaimed by scientists. (Clark, 1973:15-16)
On the contrary from the above- mentioned concept of the mechanized world,
see the world as something that is not always predictable. For example, in the case of
human being, “some aspects of the human act are open to scientific investigation;
others like motivation, decision, and intentio n are not.” Clark continues her statement
by reassuring that contemporary science consent to the “non- mechanized universe”
(Clark, 1973: 17)
A man of literature and a prominent philosopher of the twentieth century who
is on the side of the non- mechanized world is Jean Paul Sartre. He proclaimed that
human condition is a non-determined creature. His philosophy of existentialism
supports the unpredictability of human’s freedom through the existentialism basic
idea, i.e. existence precedes essence. As quoted from Kaufman on Sartre’s
Existentialism is Humanism, this idea means that “Man first of all exists, encounters
himself, surges up in the world-and defines himself afterwards. If man as the
existentialist sees him as not definable, it is because to begin with he is nothing.”
(Kaufman, 1986:290)
Freedom, according to Sartre, cannot be separated from the realm of human
being. This inseparable condition is interestingly, said by Sartre, a curse. His famous
saying is “human is condemned to be free”. He said so because he sees freedom is
unavoidable for human being since there is always choice that must be made in
whatever condition, though deniable for one might pretend to be fully determined by
situation (that there is “no other choice”). Even when a woman decided not to choose
anything, Sartre said that, she already chose to remain passive upon the choices. He
wrote many essays and some books of philosophy related to those ideas. However,
interestingly though Sartre is saying of total freedom in human being, he did not
Still related with freedom, remembering that literary work is closely related
philosophical ideas, in this thesis the writer would like to draw the same philosophical
theme (Sartre’s existentialist freedom) from a literary genre called novel. An
Australian winning Vogel award entitled Lilian’s Story is chosen to show the ideas of
existentialism especially on freedom and responsibility. Here, the writer seeks those
ideas from the character. Therefore, the theory of characterization is used to help the
writer revealing those philosophical ideas.
From the characterization (the depiction of the character) of the novel, the
writer discovers that Lilian has made most of her choices throughout her life
revealing some concepts of existentialism. Thus, it can be said that Lilian’s Story,
through its main character, represents the ideas of freedom and responsibility by
foregrounding an existentialist heroine named Lilian. However, as a dynamic
character, Lilian has undergone character development, and it affects her freedom and
responsibility.
Therefore, the discussion in this research is on revealing the existentialist
aspects shown by the characterization of Lilian that has been through three
developing stages of her life. The distinction can be seen through the stages of her
period of age, which apparently represented through each of the chapters of the novel,
i.e. A Girl, A Young Lady,and A Woman. To limit the scope of the study, the writer
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is the character development of the main character in Kate Grenville’s
Lilian’s Story described?
2. How does Lilian’s development reveal the existentialist ideas of freedom and
responsibility?
C. Objectives of the Study
The first objective of the study aims on showing the characteristics of Lilian
in Kate Grenville’s Lilian’s Story. The second objective of the study aims on finding
the existentialist ideas, such as freedom and responsibility, which are revealed by the
5
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
In this part, the writer reviews some criticisms that are related to this study.
The first is the study on the novel, and the second is the study on the related topic that
is taken from two undergraduate theses of Sanata Dharma students. The first study,
i.e. on the novel, tells about the characteristic of the main character in the novel that is
eccentric and different. This supports the characterization shown in this thesis.
Moreover, the second one, the study on the topic of existentialist freedom, supports as
the comparison towards the analysis of Lilian’s freedom in this thesis.
In www.litteprofessor.typad.com the writer found a review on Lilian’s Story
stated that the main character in Lilian’s Story is an eccentric person who has
subjectivity of her own. The novel is said as showing the condition of the period of
history during the world wars, when technology was advanced and new fashions were
began to emerge. However, Lilian was not affected much by them.
[…] the novel almost entirely ceases to notice "history" altogether. There are quick glimpses of WWI and WWII, of new technologies and new fashions, but Lil's more and more eccentric subjectivity manages to register change in only sidelong fashion
Moreover, it is said that Lilian is having her own way of life that simply
different from the rules that is common in her society. And at last, she was actually
building her own history since this book is, also considering the significant title, is a
story told by Lilian.
knew that little Dianne would grow up listening to the telling and retelling of the story of the day she was dandled by Lil Singer, and might tell it herself at last" (214).
From undergraduate thesis of Sanata Dharma student’s, the writer reviews two
works. The first study is written by Erwin Alex Saputra Pinem in his thesis entitled
Freedom of Choice as Reflected in the Main Characters in Steinbeck’s East of Eden,
and the second is Hastuti Widianingsih’s Existentalist Concept of Freedom in the
Main Character of Bernard Malamud’s the Assistant.
Pinem’s thesis deals with the topic of Freedom. Steinbeck’s East of Eden
according to Pinem is having the philosophical issues of the nature of the conflict
between good and evil. He analyzes the setting and the characters in the novel to
explore the idea of freedom to choose the good and evil.
The same as Pinem’s thesis, Hastuti Widianingsih’s study discusses the topic
of Freedom. Widianingsih applied the philosophy of existentialism particularly
through Jean Paul Sartre’s ideas. Here, she found that existentialist concept of
Freedom is revealed through the major character, Morris Bober. Bober, Pinem said,
undergoes a misfortune situation since the novel starts. However, he gradually
realizes that self-determination can set him free from miseries and anxieties. Since
most of the data is shown through the character in the novel, Pinem also applied the
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theory on Character
Robert Stanton in “Introduction to Fiction” said that there are two meanings
of character. The first meaning is all individuals who exist in the story, and secondly
character is the combination of interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles that
makes up each of these individuals.
Moreover, Stanton divides character into central character or the main
character, and the minor ones. In this writing, the writer will focus on the main
character. Main character according to Stanton is the character that through her or his
experience everything that appears in the story is appropriate.
Accordingly, from Abram’s we can infer that there are individuals revealed in
the novel whose moral, disposition, and emotional qualities are interpreted by the
readers through the dialogues and actions presented by the author. Furthermore, to
assist the reader to Interpret qualities possessed by individuals within a narrative,
Abram says that the author makes a characterizing process, which means
“establishing the distinctive characters of the person in a narrative” (Abram, p.24).
E.M. Forster in Aspect of the Novel divides character into two category, flat
character and round character. “A flat character is constructed around a single idea or
quality, meanwhile a round character has multiple characteristics in them.” In other
words, Forster indicates that the round character cannot be expressed in a single
phrase for the character must have plural characteristic. Therefore, a round character
has more than one characteristic and experiences change in his or her development
Furthermore, Roberts and Jacobs in Fiction said that the choices that the
characters make in each action or speech no matter small or seemingly unusual can be
an accumulating part of a total portrait.” (1987:119). Thus, from the choices that the
character made, the reader can draw certain conclusions from them.
Also, in showing the primary quality (- ies) of the character, the reader may
conclude it (them) from the characterization. This quality is called as the character’s
major trait. It is explained further that round characters have the capacity to change
or to grow (1987:120-121).
In the ways to describe characters (characterization), Murphy exposes nine
particular ways that an author usually applies. They are,
a. Personal description
In this way, Murphy firstly shows that an author may reveal his or her
characters through their appearance and clothes.
b. Character as seen by another
The author describes a character through the other’s perspective. The readers
get as it were reflected image.
c. Speech
The author use this technique to give the reader the understanding on the
character in the book through what that person says, whenever a person speaks,
whenever he or she is in conversation, whenever he puts forward an opinion.
d. Past life
By giving the reader the clues on a person’s past life, the author can give us an
by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thought, through his
conversation or through the medium of another person.
e. Conversation of others
People do talk about other people and the things they say often give a clue to
the character of the person spoken about. Therefore, the author can also provide
the reader on a person’s character through the conversation of other people and
the thing they say about him.
f. Reactions
The author may also present the characters through how they respond towards
certain events or situation.
g. Direct comment
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.
h. Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
He can tell us what different people are thinking. Unlike in the real world, in the
novel we accept this omniscience (capability in knowing anything). The readers
then are in a privileged position. Thus, we have a secret listening device plugged
in to the inmost thoughts of a person in a novel.
i. Mannerisms
The author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or eccentricities, which
2. Theory on Existentialism
Existence comes before essence. This is the basic assumption of existentialism
both for those existentialist thinkers who are atheist and those who are Christian.
According to Sartre in Existentialism is Humanism, this assumption means “that man
first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world-and defines himself
afterwards. If man as the existentialist sees him as not definable, it is because to begin
with he is nothing. He will not be anything until later, and then he will be what he
makes of himself.” (Kaufman, 1986:290)
As the consequence of the existence that precedes the essence, human being
must create his or her own essence or meaning. It Oppose to the philosophical
movement which concern on the true nature of human, which means that human is
definable, a single concept that can be applied for all human.
The first principle of existentialism according to Sartre is “Man is nothing else
but that which he makes of himself”, and “he is what he wills, and as he conceives
himself after already existing as he wills, to be after that leap towards existence.
“What we (the existentialists) mean to say is that man primarily exists-that man is, before all else, something which propels itself towards a future and is aware that it is doing so. Man is, indeed, a project which possesses a subjective life, instead of being a kind of moss, or fungus, or a cauliflower. Before that projection of the self nothing exists; not even in the heaven of intelligence: man will only attain existence when what he purposes to be.”
There are some major topics proposed by existentialism that the writer uses to
be the viewpoint on analyzing the novel. These topics are mostly based on Sartre’s
idea and since they serve as a united system, all of the concepts are parallel and
related with each other. They are being, freedom, facticity, bad faith, and
responsibility therefore the aspects of facticity, being, and bad faith only supports the
freedom and responsibility.
Before we come to freedom, it is necessary to point out the method used by
Sartre to approach his idea of existentialism. The method is called phenomenology,
this is the study popularized by Edmund Husserl, which concerns the relation
between subject and the phenomenon (object) in terms of human consciousness. In
phenomenology, consciousness plays the dominant part.
Sartre agrees with Husserl that the realm of consciousness is the main aspect
of human being. Consciousness, as the subject, has the ability to differ itself from the
object observed and it always works by referring to objects. The objects of
consciousness can be a single object (phenomenon) and plural or unlimited objects
(phenomena), not only material such as tables, computer, or buildings, but the object
may also be abstract concepts such as government, democracy, and value.
There are two kinds of consciousness, reflective consciousness and
pre-reflective consciousness. Pre-pre-reflective consciousness is the consciousness that refers
solely to a certain object; meanwhile reflective consciousness involves the object and
the subject into the act. This can be explained in a situation when someone for
example sees a book on a table. The act of noticing that there is a book is the
pre-reflective consciousness. But when the observer said that, “I notice a book…” it
already involved the “I” as the subject to appear in the statement.
Moreover Sartre argues that another characteristic of consciousness that
supports freedom is negation. Consciousness has the capability to negate, that is, to
say what is not. The negation occurs whenever the subject distinguishes one object
that value of feminism. Moreover, negation especially occurs between the object
observed and the subject. For example by saying,” Although this society is dominated
by patriarchy, it is not a must for me to fully obey its ‘rule’ since it is a mere value. I
know an alternative for this (e.g. feminism) although I entirely realize that I do not
belong to feminism either. It is my choice, in relation with my project for the future
sake.” Therefore, negation creates choices for the individual. In this case, whether to
prefer patriarchy or feminism, or other value, or even invent a new value.
a. Freedom
According to Sartre, being can be classified into two major kinds. The first is
being in- itself. This kind of being is described by Sartre as “brute existence”. It is the
characteristic of an object, which is self-contained. This characteristic is held by thing
(and animals). The latter is being for-itself. This being is “coextensive with the realm
of consciousness”, and the nature of consciousness is always refers to objects. It is the
being that always needs to be filled; this characteristic is the same with the
consciousness of human. In other words, in being for- it-self and being- in- it-self, Sartre distinguishes between those beings through the presence and absence of
consciousness.
As the creature that holds this consciousness, it is clear that human has the
characteristic of the being for- itself, and as described before, consciousness always
separates subject and the object. In this way, there is a sure gap between the subject
and the object. Thus, according to Sartre, there exists a space for the subject to
from the object. The subject can rely on itself to interpret and respond the object. This
gap creates a space for the subject freedom.
Besides the room for separation between subject and object that creates a
free-play space for the subject, the capability of consciousness to negate builds the
possibility of the subject to differ itself from the object perceived. This creates
choices. So, freedom is the combination between nothingness (gap, free space) and
the ability to negate (state what is not). And both of them are held in the subject’s
consciousness.
The application for the above reasons for freedom in Sartre’s view occurs in
the level of individual’s consciousness; therefore, it maintains freedom through each
individual. For example when a society holds the tradition of strict patriarchy, (e.g.
women do not have the rights to vote and to obtain education) then a woman, who
realized that she can choose and that this situation is preferable, applied her freedom
by firstly realizing that she and the rule of patriarchy is of no absolute bound.
Secondly, by simply realizing this, she already negates the situation by thinking a
“no” for patriarchy. So, even in the level of thought, freedom already exist, and this
thought will continue latter through considerably related acts that support the
woman’s idea of her freedom.
Therefore, freedom is the condition of every human being. There is no human
being who is not free, since, as Sartre puts it,” every human is condemned to be free”.
It does not matter whether one is in prison, in war, being a slave, or if one is
physically disable. Freedom is unavoidable; however, Sartre also said that one might
deny one’s freedom as if he or she has no choice anymore as if he or she has been
Besides supported by the realm of subject and object in consciousness,
freedom is also supported by another aspect, namely facticity. Facticity is a term that
is used by Sartre to point on the situation in which human being lives. There are five
kinds of situation that serves as the freedom’s facticity; past, place, environment,
fellowman (other people), and death. At first, it seems that facticity limits human’s
freedom since those situations are unavoidable. However, according to Sartre this
situation apparently serves as the supporter of freedom, in relation to “project to the
future”. Therefore freedom walks along together with facticity.
b. Responsibility
Being responsible in existentialism is unlike the simple responsibility: taking
the consequence of one has done. Responsible means being the “maker” of every
object seen and every event in surrounding the subjects surrounding. Since the
concept of freedom is vast, so the responsible is also far more extended than what is
usually held in common sense. “This absolute responsibility”, according to Sartre, “is
simply the logical requirement of the consequences of our freedom”. Since freedom is
deep rooted in the level of consciousness where everything occurs, all the perceptions
are coming through, and choices are being made, so is responsibility. Because
everything comes into individual’s mind, therefore the individual is responsible
towards everything inside his mind.
Moreover, since there always are choices, therefore the subject always makes
choice by his or her own account. For example, when a woman decides to remain
silent upon her surrounding when she knows that it already remark an injustice, for
to remain silent. Therefore, she is responsible to choose to be beaten, each time her
lover did the violence towards her. So, she, not anyone else, has to make up her mind
whether to live with this situation or to deal with it. Remain silent, enjoy the
masochism, run from this violent man, or call the police (put this man to prisoner, or
loony bin), etc.
Sartre gives a radical example in a situation when there are not as much
choices as the situation of the woman above. The example given is related with the
period of war during the time of Sartre writing his book Being and Nothingness. From
the following situation we can also see that the total responsibility always haunts
human existence. And the individual is not only responsible for what he makes of
himself, but he is responsible for the community event as well.
“Thus there are no accidents in a life; a community event which suddenly burst forth and involves me in it does not come from the outside. If I am mobilized in a war, this war is my war; it is in my image and I serve it. I deserve it because I could always get out of it by suicide or by desertion; these ultimate possibilities are those, which must always be present for us when there is a question of envisaging a situation. For lack of getting out of it, I have chosen it.”
This means that even during the hardest time of war, there still are two kinds
of choices, suicide and flee. Whatever choice has been made and according to
whatever value the chosen one is based upon, it depends on the individual’s decision.
By choosing not to attempt on suicide, he chooses to stay alive. Therefore he is
responsible to take the consequence. To say of suicide does not mean that a person’s
life is not valuable, but it means that it depends on the person himself on how he
values his own life.
Some people might try to avoid this total responsibility. This act is seen when
is not existed. This act reveals remorse in a person’s mind. However, it will be “a
waste of time” and will add more adverse to himself. Again, it was his responsible.
Still related with the example from the time of war, Sartre added
“It is therefore a waste of time to ask what I should have been if this war had not broken out, for I have chosen myself as one of the possible meanings of the epoch which imperceptibly led to war.” (p.531)
This kind of act is a waste of time because the war is chosen by the person
(instead of death). Therefore, because the person has chosen the war day by day, it is
the person himself who have the responsibility if it is going to be four empty years.
(p.531)
Responsibility also related to other people as well. This happens because the
existence of other people is undeniable. Although a person is free to choose anything,
he cannot choose without considering other people as well because everything he
does, though seems insignificant, will always affect other people as well. (p.196a).
Total freedom might be misunderstood as the freedom to fulfill as much pleasure a
man can obtain. Actually, a person can only have pleasure in a world if he takes into
account the effects of his actions upon other people.
In Existentialism is humanism, Sartre insists that the act of someone
represents the truth of what one belief as the best choice for everyone under the same
situation. In Existentialism is Humanism he said,
C. Theoretical Framework
The theories mentioned in this chapter will be useful for analyzing the
problem formulations in this thesis. The theory of character development and
characterization in the books written by Forster, Guerin, Murphy, Roberts, and
Stanton will be useful to answer the first problem formulation, which is the
description of the character development of Lilian. Then, the theory of existentialism
specifically by Sartre from his books and other books written by Kaufman, Warnock,
Barret, and Binkley will support the answer for the second problem formulation on
showing the main character’s existentialism.
Sartre’s ideas of freedom and responsibility in his philosophical concept of
existentialism will be the basic. Knowing those concepts, the writer could draw the
18
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is the novel Lilian’s Story written by Kate Greville.
This novel was primarily published in 1985 by Unwin Paperbacks, Australia. The
second and the third edition were published in 1991, by Unwin Paperbacks, and in
1995 by Allen and Unwin, Australia. This work contains of three major chapters in
280 pages.
Kate Grenville besides writing Lilian’s Story has also written other novels
Dark Places, Bearded Ladies, Dreamhouse, Joan Makes History, and two other
books about writing. Lilian’s Story won the Australian Vogel literary award in 1994
and it has been filmed , produced by Marian Macgowan, and directed by Jerzky
Domaradzky.
In www.contemporarywriters.com the review on the author of Lilian’s Story,
Kate Grenville, stated that her work has been well received in Australia since the
published collection of short stores entitled Bearded Ladies in 1984. In 2001 she was
awarded an international recognition, the Orange Prize for fiction with her book The
Idea of Perfection. Not only as a novelist, has she also taught creative writing for
twenty years.
Furthermore, her style of writing is poetic. The process of the writing includes
experience in the place. After the research, she tries to use the language in the times
the book is set in (www.wikipedia.org)
When questioned about it, she (Grenville) replied "I would never write a sentence that didn’t have a nice rhythm, or at least I wouldn’t leave it to be published like that." She uses italics for direct speech since she tries to give the idea of continuity during dialogue. She gets the ideas for topics from life experiences. Her books are based on experiences that she wonders about. Her books are based on history with distortions so that readers would consider ideas that they might not otherwise want to deal with. One truth was distorted, but another was revealed
The three chapters of Lilian’s Story are A Girl, A Young Lady, and A
Woman. In a girl, Lilian Una Singer is born in a family where the mother, Norah, is a
person who suffers a psychological stress that is caused by her husband, Albion. She
grew as a tomboy who always wanted to have attention from other people around her.
However, her obesity gives the attention that she did not expect. She was alienated
and being mocked by her school friends. In the next two chapters again the story tells
much on how people see her through the size of her body. Moreover, suspected as a
crazy woman, Lilian was getting rid by her own father by being put into a mental
institution. Released from the loony bin by her aunt, Lilian began to explore her
freedom and self-wisdom in her life. So she began having her fascination in exposing
herself in the public spaces by giving recitations to the people. After the death of her
lover and after all that she has been through, she said that she was ready for whatever
comes next.
B. Approach
In this research, the writer uses a qualitative study in examining the work.
problem formulation. In A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature (Guerin,
1999:25), it is said that the main aim of moral-philosophical approach is to probe a
certain philosophical issue such as existentialism. The approach itself is one of the
traditional approaches. It is one of the ancient criticisms that was rooted since the
classical Greek’s and Roman’s.
C. Method of the Study
The library research was used to accomplish this study. It means that the
writer tried to gather and compiled data from books and other written texts. Some
steps were conducted. First, the writer read and re-read the primary reference that is
the novel Lilian’s story. Second, the writer was arranging the references gathered, and
then analyzed them by discovering their correlation with the issues discussed in the
thesis. The analysis was using the citation from those sources that served as the proof
of the writer’s arguments. Lastly, the writer conducted the conclusion of the analysis
21 ANALYSIS
In this part, the writer would like to answer both first and second problem
formulation proposed in the first chapter. The first question requires the
characterization of Lilian as the main character by showing the character development
and the second question on the idea of freedom and responsibility revealed by the
development.
The writer found that the major traits of Lilian from the beginning of the novel
to the end are smart and brave. The descriptions of those qualities are divided into
three different parts according each of the three chapters of the novel. This is so
because smartness and bravery are depicted by each chapter in different
characteristics. Thus, the differences of the characteristics show the development of
the character. Therefore, the writer provided sub-parts of the characteristics for both
traits of smart and brave.
The development of the characteristics apparently can be seen based on the
period of Lilian’s life shown by each title of the chapter as her age increases from a
girl into a mature woman. The shifts are seen from the choices she makes, and the
“accumulated” choices are compared in term of existentialist aspects. To help the
writer in depicting Lilian’s characteristics, Murphy’s ways (in chapter two: on
physical appearance, thought, speech, other’s conversation, etc) of characterization
are used. Meanwhile the changes of the characteristics are showing that the Lilian is a
A. Lilian’s Character Development 1. Lilian’s characteristics as a girl
Lilian’s physical appearance is described through the narrator’s comment and
other people’s conversation. Her hair was described as unattractive and she has small
eyes. She also feels that her hands were too large for her when seen through a
photograph.
“I was a child of unpromising lank hair and small eyes. In photographs I was caught looking sideways, looking sly, in fact, and unhappy at standing in frills while a man shouted, don’t move. In those photographs, my hands were too large for me, as if I was trying on someone else’s.” (9)
Her body was big, and it started as the maid of the house always makes her
cakes. Every time she is hungry she will ask the maid (Alma) or pester her. And
mother also let her eat much just to calm her down for Mother does not like noises,
including her daughter’s, the narrator said that “for the sake of quiet” her mother
would keep the box of cake kept filled (21). And still in the same page, the narrator as
well as little Lilian gives description on her body
*“Now I was fat, I am a fat girl, I whispered in bed, and did not mind being left behind in the playground when everyone ran to get the good place under the best tree […] I could hold two or three other girls shrilling in the air on the other end of the see-saw” (21)
As she likes to play in open nature, her skin is darkened by sunlight and scars
were made here and there. With her appearance now, Lilian thinks of herself as ugly.
Moreover, her Father also compares her with his brother, John, as he says, “John got
the looks, Father said. Andwho got the brains?” (34)
Lilian’s thought that she was ugly is noticed when she talked to John of
ambition. John’s ambition was to become a deaf man. Though little Lilian does not
tell about her ambition to John, the narrator said that she wanted to have long oval
eyes of Japanese ladies. The narrator said, “Life was tragic as I stared at my face in
the mirror and knew that long oval eyes were forever beyond me.” (26)
She also thought that being large was ugly as her teacher, Miss Vine, told her
to wash her dirty hand. The narrator said, “I had never thought of myself as anything
worse than fat, but was now displayed as frankly dirty.” However, although she
thought that she was physically ugly, she had two major traits that she was proud of.
They are smart and brave.
Lilian’s smartness is described through her having strong curiosity, and good
receptivity and creativity. On her strong curiosity, this quality is seen when she asked
her father in the house and her teacher in school.
“Will your book have pictures, Father? I asked, and Mother shook her head warningly at me from the end of the table…But, Father, what is your book about? Is it about pirates or burglars? Or adventures in balloons? I had not finished, had hardly began my list of all the things of a book might be about…” (6)
Those questions were said even when she knew that Mother gave her a sign
not to ask more questions especially related to Father’s project on his book. Besides
that, Lilian often makes questions in her school that mostly her teacher could not
answer. In return, Lilian often receives unexpected responds.
“But she did not wish to hold up the whole class for questions such as mine.
However, when she asked more, “Why is it called suffrage? Does it hurt?”
her teacher was extremely annoyed, “Lilian, for heaven’s sake!” (37) From those
circumstances we can see that her strong curiosity sometimes made adults lost their
temper.
Another example is her habits to enter her father’s study room that are full of
reading materials such as books, newspapers, and clippings. She already knew that
the room is only for Father, but since she is very curious, she keeps entering the room
until one day her father catch her. Father punished her by beating her with mother’s
old belt. Still, she is undaunted and she keeps going into the room.
“The brass knob of father’s study had become familiar to me. It became warm in my hand as I stood holding it for as long as possible. It was like keeping an egg warm, Well come in Lilian, Father said.” (21)
That is the incident when she is caught handed as she is about to enter the
room to read. The knob that has become familiar to her indicates that she has often
done the same thing. After that, as usual her father would punish her by using the
belt.
Besides having strong curiosity Lilian is also receptive and creative. Her
perceptivity is depicted when her mother’s friends came to Lilian’s house and asking
her questions. When she asked her of her age, she answered that she was four and
explained,
“I have only been at school a little while, I admitted. But mother taught me to read. I was proud of that, and pleased when the lady with the big black bust made her mouth an O and gave a surprised sound, and several other ladies looked.” (10)
Meanwhile, her creativity is marked through her imagination. Sometimes
when she expresses her ideas, the person to whom she reveals them is surprised.
person there, she spontaneously changed the writing on the wall into something that
made them both laugh.
“When I reached over her head and added a T in front of Rick’s name, Ursula nodded but it was a while before she smiled… She moved aside to let me get to John’s name on the wall and finally rewarded me with a laugh when I had made a JOAN.” (52)
However, when afterwards she told to Ursula of her ideas that, “Books should
have toilets in them”, she became silent and asked Lilian what she meant by toilets in
books. When Lilian answered, “I mean like people really do, go to the toilet and eat”
(52), Ursula was no longer laughing. She told Lilian that Lilian was crazy, and the fun
ended.
When she creates a story also often exhibits her creativity. For example as she
finds some thing, she will make up a story of bravery or of epic history based on her
imagination on the thing she grab. Just like the following example,
“Among these plants was a warped and stringless tennis racquet, and I toyed with the idea of giving it a history. The leather grip was as brittle as a cardboard but the name OATES was still clear on the handle in gold and gave me ideas He was a hero who died of frostbite…” (62)
Besides being smart, as indicated before, Lilian as a girl is also a brave child.
Her bravery can be seen through her being an adventurous and confident girl. She
likes to have adventures in the open air. One of her favorite adventures was sneaking
to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Miss Gash.
“I was as brave as Richard the Lionhearted until there were slow footsteps above my head and I wished I was a mouse, and crouched in my velvet behind a crate. Through the lattice I watched Miss Gash…” (28)
That is the time before she takes a tile from Miss Gash’s house to be shown
off to her school friends. When her brother (John) asks the reason why she goes to
she answers him, “I am Marco Polo, in what I thought might be the right accent. And
I have brought back treasure.” (28)
Not only mentioning Marco Polo, smart and brave as she is, Lilian in her
adventures also imagines her self as adventurous and as brave as Sir Walter Raleigh,
the English explorer. When she takes her friends in her adventure she proudly said,
“We are Sir Walter Raleigh and his men, I said, looking for Spaniards…” (p. 33).
Later on, as she points out a secret place to John, she tells him,
”Only the brave deserve the fair. I was easy to feel brave saying such things and thinking of men in armor on big horses, or the crossbow men drawn in the book, bombarding a fortress with arrows.” (35)
Yet, her bravery is not only proven from her adventure, she also liked
challenges. She even challenged herself. Below is an example during the time that she
climbed up a rough cliff of the headland. She said, “If I fell, I would break my back, I
told the air. What I am doing is very dangerous.” (22)
She also volunteers herself when the cricket team of the boys’ gang was short
of player because one of the regular players, Kevin, is ill. As the only girl who is
going to play in the game, she is challenged when John doubts her capability. After
all the try-outs, Lilian is finally accepted in the team until Kevin recovers. Her
attempt in the try-out proves the boys that she is also able to play.
”I ran after every ball, leaped up and fell back even for those that sailed far over my head, and at the end of the day Rick said, Tomorrow then, Lil, but not if Kev’s better.” (31)
She and her bother have even involved in a fight with Rick and his gang when
they boys accuse their father as a writer who wrote dirty books. At first, she is able to
win over a boy, “Andy tried to swing me by my plait, but I used my bulk and knock
face.” Howeve r, since they are outnumbered by the gang, they lose the fight.
Nevertheless, they are not defeated in principle. “I did not betray Father, and Rick did
not break John’s arm, but pulled down his pants and laughed at the way he looked,
worm- like in the sun. ” (42)
Even though she has been humiliated by Rick, she is not afraid of him.
Instead, she is challenged to counter him by telling him that she has a historical
secret. The secret is the tile she took from Miss Gash’s house. After that, she
managed in making Rick to obey her for the sake of seeing the secret tile. “Come on,
Lil, he shouted then. Please, please, please!” seeing that Rick is curious of where
Lilian has found the tile, she makes use of the situation by saying,
“Because I am braver than anyone, and know all the dangerous places. I watched Gary watching Rick, but Rick did not have anything to say, and he knew we were all watching. I am an explorer and a hero, I shouted, and I discover things.” (55)
However, in one part of the stage of being a little girl, she has experienced an
unpleasant moment. It is when she denies being friends with Gwen and Miss Gash. At
first, Lilian did not know that Gwen was fine to be friend with, but after awhile, she
knew that though Gwen was not popular among other children, Gwen was also fun to
have a secret with. The same thing occurs with Miss Gash. Although at first Lilian
only knew from most people that she was a witch, she finally knew that she was only
being different from most other female at that time because Miss Gash has her own
way of life; on aesthetic taste (she likes to paint), on habits (she smokes), and on
appearance (she wears trousers).
However, when she was with they who are popular among most of the other
friends, Lilian denied that she actually liked to befriend with Gwen and Miss Gash.
writer it shows a big significance towards Lilian’s inconsistency of being brave for
she has betrayed her friend for the sake of other’s prejudice.
2. Lilian’s characteristics as a young lady
In A Young Lady, the smartness and bravery of Lilian is more developed than
in A Girl. As a girl her smartness is mostly passive since her intelligence is seen
through her curiosity to receive information from her surrounding, however in A
Young Lady, Lilian’s smartness is illustrated through her critical thinking and choices
through actio ns. Meanwhile, her other trait, i.e. bravery, commonly appears through
her rebellious acts. However, similar to the description in the characteristics in A Girl,
firstly we will start with the physical appearance.
Actually, Lilian’s physical appearance is not very different from what has
been described by the author in the previous chapter. Grenville, only emphasizes on
Lilian as a girl who is large. However, there is a little description in page 95 of her
face and arms as Father stares her, which tells that she has a wide nose, flabby neck,
the freckled forearms, and scaly hands (p.95). Therefore, in this part, before we
discuss Lilian’s traits in A Young Lady, the writer will not show what Lilian looks like
but more on how Lilian as well as the others view her appearance.
During the first part of this chapter, most people including Lilian herself view
that her appearance is ugly. We can see it from the very first paragraph of this chapter
as Lilian compares herself with another girl during one of the tea parties where the
youth gathers to find each other’s future husband or wife. As Lilian think of herself as
ugly, she thought that no boys were really attracted to her, even when some boy has
“There was one with hair the color of autumn who held my hand and told me I was gorgeous. When I watched him later laughing with a girl whose tan was as smooth as a leaf, I wished I could hide, but there was no place to hide in those sunny gardens.”
Her view of herself is likely affected by most of other’s prejudice. For
example, still in the same page of the novel, (during the same party as described
before) the mothers’ of the boys and girls who gather in the party are giving bad
comment on her body. The mothers at first talked about her intelligence as something
positive out of her characteristic, they agreed that she is clever (p.90). But then,
though Lilian could listen to them, they continued talking about her with mockery.
“Is she feeding those brains of hers, do you think? The tinkling of so many titters, and their faces all turned towards me behind their fans, drove me like a thwarted cow back out of the shade and onto the terrible onstage of the lawn.”
Not only in the tea parties, where people mostly know Lilian, in the university
people who do not know her also see Lilian the same way. Some boys have even
given a direct comment on her body as she walked through them. Yet, when Lilian
made a sudden respond they gave her a fear responding, which proven that they were
not only think that Lilian was ugly, but also expected her to feel inferior in front of
them.
“They stared at my body as I walked by so that my steps stiffened as if I had forgotten how to bend at the knee. Not worth the time of day, one of them said just after I had passed, and in a stiff voice like my knees I said, Pardon? They straightened against the wall as if preparing to be shot. Nothing, one said and blushed mauve.”(105-106)
Besides others view, in the beginning part of this chapter Lilian also agrees
with their prejudice. It is seen through her speech and her thought that reflects her low
self-esteem. For example, even though she realizes that one of her friend named
look pretty. For at that time, she only thinks that no one would see her as someone
pretty.
“Duncan, I said, teasing, Why are you not with the pretty ones, eh? Duncan spent a long time showing me the crown of his head, while below us the pinks and the whites strolled and tittered hand in hand. You are pretty to me, he said at last, looking up at me. (p. 111)
Furthermore, her bad thought about her appearance apparently forms in a
feeling of guilt when it is related with her mother. She thinks that her mother has
blamed herself; as she knew that her daughter was different form other girls. The
narrator demonstrates about that self-blame by saying that her mother must have not
expected to have a daughter with such an appearance.
“I was willing to blame myself. No one had warned Mother that a daughter might grow into a fat watchful girl with thick red cheeks and tiny triangular eyes. She could not have imagined that her own daughter would be so clearly unsuitable to wear the Valenciennes, now packed away somewhere in tissue paper and lavender. She would not have thought that any daughter of hers could sweat so profusely, would have so often have morsels of food on her clothing, would have hair the color of buried bones and as lank as grass.” (123)
The writer also found another proof of her thought on her body during the
time that Lilian was with her friend, Joan. Going to the sea with a boat, Joan asked
Lilian to join with her to swim. Joan was naked, so she asked Lilian to get undressed
too. However, she refused her.
Of course I would not budge, and certainly would not remove my clothes. I will watch, I called primly. Someone should watch for sharks. The truth was I thought the sun might fall out of the sky if I removed my clothes. (138)
From the quotation above, it is indicated that Lilian even thinks that she is so
ugly that even the sun might not want her to be undressed in the sea during the sunny
day, though there were only two people there, she and her friend, Joan. Of course she
the sharks because after all she joined Joan, because actually she also wants to swim
but she is ashamed of her big body.
From the views of the physical appearance, we move to the discussion on
Lilian’s traits, e.g. smartness and bravery. The speeches, occurrence, and the critical
thinking revealed through the choices that she has made show Lilian’s smartness.
Since Lilian’s bravery is also shown mostly by her critical thought, so the first
discussion of the trait is Lilian’s smartness.
Since the early part of the second chapter, Lilian’s smartness is clearly seen
from the speeches of the mothers during the tea party as they titter on her body size as
they agree that Lilian is “ever so clever’. Moreover, from the first sentence of the
quotation below, the narrator also emphasizes her smartness.
But I was a person of brains, and still hoped for the best. She is bright, of course, I heard the mothers tell each other as they fanned themselves under the jacarandas. She is ever so clever. (90)
Lilian’s friend since her childhood, Ursula, also thinks the same; regardless
she knows that other people who do not know her well have said that she is crazy.
However, to anyone who thinks so, she disapproves them for she is optimistic that
Lilian being different from most of the girls at that time was because of her smartness
instead of mental illness.
[…] They say you are loony, some of them. The gate between us made her brave and she leaned over and kissed me quickly on the cheek. But I always tell them that you are simply a genius. She waved as she ran- up the path to the liver-colored house and turned to call, I tell them you will go far. (99)
Lilian smartness is illustrated also in an occurrence as she is accepted in a
university as a second best new student. Lilian knows this information when her
father, who disapproves his daughter to have a higher education than most other girls
[Father] holding the newspaper where my name appeared towards the top of a list, between Hugget, J.P. and Stroud, F.J. He shook the newspaper and peered at Singer, L.U., as closely as if he found it hard to read, and perhaps he did, since it was the first newspaper he had been allowed to see for a long time. (95)
Despite Father’s disapproval on her education, Lilian’s decision was final. She
says that in the future she does not want to have some profession that is mostly
chosen by women during that time. Father bargains her ambition by offering her some
choices such as teacher or nurse. However, she is interested in other kinds of
professions.
You will be a bluestocking, John said. Will you, Lil? He was not sure of any of the implications of any of this, and squinted at me showing his teeth. What about nursing, Father had asked without hope, or teaching? I answered John the same way I had answered father. I will be a doctor, I said with pride, or philosopher. Perhaps some kind of a scientist. (96)
Furthermore, Lilian’s decision was not only on her education and on her
future, but she also chooses her appearance. Most girls around her want to be slim
and to find a rich future husband in one of the tea parties. Nevertheless, she believes
that the most important thing for her is intelligence. Therefore, though Lilian
appreciates Ursula’s well- intentioned attempt, Lilian rejects her when Ursula wants to
give her a ‘help’ on Lilian’s appearance.
I could advise, Lil. Her kindness was almost more painful than the titters of the mothers, but she did not want that and went on. I could help, perhaps. A diet, and my dressmaker, she is a genius. I imagined myself dieting and being measured by Ursula’s dressmaker, and appearing at last on those lawns, radiant, graceful, a person who did not have to console herself with the thought of her brains. (98)
After Ursula gives the advice, Lilian has imagined the possibility to be like
most other women. However, the imagination frightens her (98). According to Lilian,
had. It was the admiration on her intelligence as the narrator said, “At least if I did not
have their admiration I had their attention. Clothed in my bulk, I was free to try for
other kinds of admiration and other kinds of attention.” (98 & 99)
Therefore, despite of other people’s comment and her close friend’s advice on
her body, Lilian chooses to stay big. She could face the fact that many people around
her have prejudice on her. This is because no one at that time could understand her.
Lilian knows that even Ursula, who has less prejudice than others, does not really
understand why she made such decision (98).
You are a good friend, but this is what I have chosen. Ursula did not understand, but touched my hand as if she liked to feel our skins together, and I tried to explain. I would be a mediocre pretty girl, I said, And I am too arrogant to be mediocre. (99)
After she enters university, she has proven herself that intelligence was
important to her, and education was the way that she would practice it. Apparently,
such formal education is not good enough for her. After awhile, she recognizes that
the university was not telling her wisdom. Everyone in the class is passive because
the educational system applies only one-way communication. The lecturer speaks,
and the students listen or write everything that the lecturer have said or written on the
blackboard.
I listened while he explained, but could not decide what was important enough to write down. Professor Noble enthused in an urbane way, and jabbed at the diagram with the chalk until it was freckled with dots, and I sat listening to al those pens writing it all down. (101)
Besides refusing to follow other students who are passively following the
lecturer, Lilian tells her brother that university is simply ‘all right’ instead of
‘inspiring’. For Lilian, There is nothing special in university. Since for her, it is just
teacher-centered. In page 101 the narrator says, “I felt it should be possible to spare him
something, since I had those four extra years under my belt. It is all right, I said
finally, but it is not wisdom, and John nodded as if he had expected nothing better.”
Being critical is revealed also in her will of not getting married. When she is
with Duncan up a tree watching Rick who is marrying Ursula, she tells Duncan that
she would be delighted if there is an alternative for marriage. Because in her
experience, she noticed that a woman will suffer in marriage. The perfect example is
Mother who seems to be possessed and completely under Father’s authority. At that
time, she fe els that her relationship with Duncan is beyond possession. Therefore,
they agree to call themselves simply as mates, though they are also lover.
Duncan swallowed lamington and said, He is a husband now, and I thought about husbands and wives and wondered if there was any alternative. Duncan coughed on a shred of coconut and said, You are a mate, Lil. When he looked up from his branch, no man had ever looked me so straight in the eye. (134)
Moreover, she is also critical to man’s thought of woman’s respect. She
refused man’s respect in the sense that woman is a passive object. This is clarified
after Lilian has experienced Duncan’s respect on her as he refused Lilian’s bold
passion to make love. His excuse is that he could not make love to her for she is “a
respectable girl and a person of class” (p.136). According to Lilian, that kind of
man’s idea of woman’s respect is reducing a woman as someone without her own
passion and will. He should have said honestly if he thinks that sex before marriage is
not allowed, rather than blaming on “a woman’s respect”.
In second trait, as described before, Lilian’s bravery is mostly already shown
in the description on her smartness. However, in this discussion the writer also
demonstrates some parts when she confronts other people during her
decision-making. For example, when she decides to go to university, she is brave for she is
willing to challenge her authoritative father. Though he insists that what important for
a woman is to marry a man with good financial prospect, Lilian refuses.
Women do not need education, Father pronounced regularly over the leg of lamb. Women’s aptitudes lie in other directions. But it was easy to convince Father that I was not much of a woman. (95)
Another example is indicated when she chooses to climb up a tree with
Duncan rather than joining the others in the parties where people only think of
marriage. Though at first going up a tree is triggered by Duncan’s invitation as he
says, “Then we will do that, he said, and ran with my hand across the lawn.” (110),
later as it becomes their habits, it is clear that Lilian wants the same activity as the
alternative for the ‘regular’ tea parties. From up there they can watch every boys and
girls below who tittered on them. She is brave for she accept the others who did not
understand why she chooses to be up there rather than aiming the same thing as the
others, marriage in young age.
He had let me climb further into the silky oak than he had, to leave all those giggles behind. Lil, he said when we were settled on our branches, you are a real sport. He was flushed with this declaration, and when he handed me up one perfect leaf as a gift, I realized I had an admirer. (110 & 111)
Her bravery is also shown when her choice to refuse to have a marriage
becomes final. As Duncan mentions to her about marriage for the second time, she
insists that their relationship should not be instituted into marriage. She said to him, “I
proposal as well. F.J. Stroud was Lilian’s college mate. She likes Stroud though she is
not attracted to him as much as she likes Duncan.
Her bravery is also shown as she made friend with Joan. Joan is an eccentric
person. According to Lilian, Joan is different from other typical people she knew
before, just like Lilian herself. Joan is different in her act as well as in her appearance.
“Her hair was…a kind of purple shot and with light, and the roots were brown. It was cropped short at the back like a man’s so that her neck shown with the clipped hairs and the strong pale tendon was exposed. Her bobbed hair was miraculous for me and her trousers a scandal. Joan was not like anyone I had ever known’ (113)
Though she knew that being with Joan would make other people see them as
two weird people with strange appearances, Lilian chooses to stay with Joan
companion. One time, they are shouted by children and stared with a frowning face
by some men as they walk together on a street. However, they are not ashamed for
they think that they have done nothing wrong. When some people shouts at them,
Joan shouts back and she tells Lilian, as if to make her stay calm and not be bothered,
“Smile and wave, Lil, she said, and nudged me, and smiled and waved when women
looked over the shoulders of the men, frowning. Come on, Lil, smile and wave, like
royalty.
Previously we have seen that Lilian’s bravery when she has companion is
calm. However, alone, her bravery is demonstrated more rebelliously. Her rebellion is
mostly seen from her act towards her father. Father is authoritative. John and Mother
are deeply affected by his act. John is so depressed and he becomes an introvert
person whose ambition is to become deaf. Mother is so depressed that she suffers a
mental illness. Although Father is an authoritative man, and most people in the house
Her bravery is shown when she is bold as she refuses Father’s statement that
going up a tree is simply her attempt to “catch a husband” (p.120). Lilian answers
him that they climb up a tree to recite on Shakespeare. But Father do not believe her
for he gets mad on what she has done, without trying to know her real reason to go up
a tree.
What do you get up to there? Father asked again, Lilian, I will have answers. […] We get up to Shakespeare, I said, and did not expect him to believe me.
We recite Shakespeare. This was exaggeration, of course, since I recited Shakespeare and Duncan listened, but it saved me having to confront in Father’s company the words that Duncan did recite.
After that, Fathe r tests her if she really knows Shakespeare’s work just to
ridicule her for he thought that Lil has lied. He thinks that she and Duncan do not
really recite Shakespeare. He also doubts if she knows Shakespeare’s work. But, as
she recites fluently in front of him, he asks her to stop for he fails to ridicule her.
Then, he loses his temper and slaps her.
I did not look at him as I recited, but at the window where a branch swung backwards and forwards, applauding. Father did not stop laughing. Oh, Lilian, he crowed, you are like one of those apes, taught to do things. Then I could not stop, but felt my mouth shaping word after word, faster and faster, and on those hated pink roses saw page after page slipping over, thick with words.
The slapping faints her and then she cries as she wakes up. However, she cries
not because of the slapping, but because Father has thrown away her Shakespeare
book. From this we can also see that she is not afraid of Father’s physical violence
since she does not moan for the harmed body part, but for the lost of her favorite
book. Despite her sadness after being told by John that Father has thrown the book
away, she is able to console herself by thinking that at least she already knows
