REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM
Student Number: 044214062
ENGLISH LETTERS PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM
Student Number: 044214062
ENGLISH LETTERS PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2008
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM
Student Number: 044214062
Approved by
Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum. Date: September15, 2008 Advisor
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM
Student Number: 044214062
Defended before the Board of Examiners On September 27, 2008
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Francis Borgias Alip, M.Pd., M.A.
Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.
Member : Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. ______
Member : Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum.
Member : Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S.
Yogyakarta, September 30, 2008. Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University
Dean
Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the
World tests everything that was learned along
the way. It does this not because it is evil, but
so that we can, in addition to realizing our
dreams, master the lesson’s we’ve learned as
we’ve moved toward that dream
(Paulo Coelho)
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Maria Kristianingrum
Nomor Mahasiswa : 044214062
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes.
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 30 September 2008
Yang menyatakan
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty Jesus Christ who always
gives me blessings, guidance, love, hope, care along my life and a way to finish
this undergraduate thesis. Then, I would like to thank my parents, Y. Suyamto and
Ly. Sunarsih, my sister Melan, my brother Agus, (†) grandmother and my cousin
Eko for the support, pray, care, help, love and attention.
I would like to thank Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum, my advisor
and my co-advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. for the guidance, advice, and
patience that helped me finish this undergraduate thesis. My thanks also go to
mbak Ninik and all the lecturers and the administrative staffs of Department of English Letters for the years of my study.
My gratitude also goes to Mudika friends: mbak Nia, mbak Erna, Irine, Niken, mas Gunawan, mas Sigit, Teguh, Rina, Agnes, mas Plerik, Aditya, Dewi and allmudika friends for the help, spirit and suggestions, my friends in boarding house: mbakTeti, mbakHendri, mbak Anna, Vita, Irine, Eky, Mapy, mbak Rere, and Eveline for the supports, helps remind me finishing this thesis and for lovely
moments living together in three years.
For my best friends - in English Letters Department 2004: Monic, Ani,
Susan, Diah, Adi, Bayu, Bendhot really thank you for the supports, helps and
everything, also for the pleasant moments we have shared together. I would like to
thank Eka, Soni and Aditya PBI USD 2004 for the kindness and helps. Last, I
thank everyone whose name can not be mentioned one by one in helping me to
finish this undergraduate thesis.
Maria Kristianingrum
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE... i
APPROVAL PAGE... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii
MOTTO PAGE... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS... vii
ABSTRACT... ix
ABSTRAK ... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .. ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... . 4
C. Objectives of the Study ... . 5
D. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW .. ... 7
A. Review of Related Studies ... 7
B. Review of Related Theories ... . 9
1. Theory of Setting ... 9
2. Theory of the Relation between Literature and Society ... 12
3. Theory of Society . ... 13
4. Theory of Representation.. ... 14
C. Review on Socio-cultural Historical Background of French in the Eighteenth Century ... ... 15
D. Theoretical Framework ... 18
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY . ... 19
A. Object of the Study ... 19
B. Approach of the Study ... 20
C. Method of the Study ... 21
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 23
A. The Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. ... 23
B. The Representation of French Society in the Eighteenth Century through the Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes... ... 40
C. The Representation of French Society to Reveal the Freedom of Religion ... 49
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 54
BIBLIOGRAPHY . ... 56
APPENDICES .. ... 58
Appendix 1 Summary of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travel with a Donkey in the
Cevennes ... 58
Appendix 2 Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson.. ... 61
ABSTRACT
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Literature can represent the truth about reality and reveal its own meaning. The phenomenon of reality and its meaning can be seen through setting, such as religious controversy issues in French started in some centuries ago. The novel
Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennesviews this issue, the freedom of religion. The main objective is done through three steps. The first objective is to identify the setting in the novel. It explains how the setting in the novel is described. The second objective is to identify how the setting represents French society in the eighteenth century. This part matches the description of the setting with the actual condition of French society in the eighteenth century to prove that the setting represents French society in that period. The last objective is to reveal the freedom of religion through the representation of French society in the eighteenth century.
The writer applied library research method in this analysis. The sources were books and website about the theories, approach, and criticism that are used to analyse the problems. The writer also collected related studies about opinion, and information about the novel and author. This thesis used the socio-cultural historical approach to reveal the ideas behind a work of literature.
As the result of the analysis, the writer concludes that first, the setting is described through geographical location, the occupational and daily manners of living of the characters, the time and period in which the action takes place and general environment of the character. All of them explain the poverty and difficult condition for people like the peasants, shepherds and sellers. Meanwhile the clergy is prosperous in life. The setting also explains the religious view and moral condition in the society. Second, the description of setting has similar characteristics with French society in the eighteenth century, which shows that the setting truly represents French society at that time. The setting represents the peasants, clergy and the French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth century. Third, the result of the representation is focused on the characteristic of society in the society’s view toward religion. Religious tolerance is shown off by religious fanaticism as the binary opposite. Religious fanaticism looks like having a religion with its pure faith. In fact, religious fanaticism presents that having a religion is an obligation that forces someone to do it. Basically, having a certain kind of religion is individual right. Someone may not oblige someone else to profess the certain one. Thus, tolerance for other people is required. The prominent of religious tolerance shows that religious tolerance reveals freedom of religion. Finally, the essence behind the representation is revealed.
ABSTRAK
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Karya sastra dapat merepresentasikan realita kebenaran dan mengungkapkan pesan di dalam karya itu. Fenomena dari kebenaran dan artinya dapat diungkapkan melalui latar belakang cerita, seperti masalah tentang agama di negara Perancis yang telah dimulai pada beberapa abad lalu. NovelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes memperlihatkan masalah ini yaitu tentang kebebasan beragama.
Tujuan utama penelitian ini dilakukan melalui tiga tahap. Tujuan pertama yaitu mengindentifikasi latar belakang cerita dalam novel. Hal ini menjelaskan bagaimana latar belakang cerita dalam novel digambarkan. Kedua, mengidentifikasi gambaran latar belakang cerita yang merepresentasikan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Bagian ini mencocokkan gambaran latar belakang cerita dengan kenyataan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Tujuan terakhir penelitian ini mengungkap kebebasan beragama dilihat dari representasi masyarakat Perancis pada abad itu.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka dalam menganalisa. Data bersumber dari buku dan situs website tentang teori-teori, pendekatan, dan kritik yang digunakan dalam menganalisa rumusan masalah. Penulis juga mengumpulkan data tinjaun studi yang memuat opini, dan informasi mengenai novel ini dan pengarangnya. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosio-kultural historikal untuk mengungkap gagasan dibalik karya sastra ini.
Sebagai hasil analisis, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa pertama: latar belakang cerita dijelaskan melalui keadaan geografis, jenis pekerjaan dan kebiasaan tokohnya, tempat terjadinya peristiwa dan kondisi umum tokoh-tokohnya, yang kesemuanya itu menjelaskan kemiskinan dan kondisi sosial yang sulit bagi masyarakat seperti petani, penggembala dan pedagang. Sementara para rohaniwan menikmati kehidupan yang makmur. Latar belakang cerita juga menjelaskan pandangan masyarakat yang berkaitan dengan agama dan keadaan moral. Kedua, gambaran latar belakang cerita mempunyai kesamaan dengan karakteristik masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18 dan hal itu membuktikan bahwa benar representasi masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Latar belakang cerita merepresentasikan petani, rohaniwan, dan pandangan masyarakat Perancis terhadap agama pada abad ke-18. Ketiga, hasil representasi masyarakat difokuskan pada karakteristik masyarakat, yaitu pandangan masyarakat terhadap agama. Toleransi beragama ditonjolkan melalui fanatisme beragama sebagai oposisi binernya. Fanatisme beragama memperlihatkan bahwa mempunyai agama secara murni dari iman. Pada kenyataannya, fanatisme beragama menunjukkan bahwa menganut agama merupakan suatu kewajiban yang memaksa seseorang untuk melakukannya. Pada dasarnya, menganut suatu agama adalah hak pribadi.
Seseorang tidak diperkenankan memaksakan agama kepada orang lain. Maka dari itu toleransi beragama diperlukan. Sangat pentingnya toleransi beragama menunjukkan bahwa toleransi beragama mengungkapkan kebebasan beragama. Akhirnya arti dibalik representasi terungkap.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature as a property of language is a verbal work of art that explores
human desires or ideas. It expands people’s mind and quickens people’s sense of
life. Literature does not only provide pleasure and knowledge, but it also conveys
ideas and truth. Literature in Hudson’s An Introduction to the Study of Literature
is mentioned that:
Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language (1958: 10)
The quotation above means that literary work is a depiction of reality that conveys
the truth. It can be said that literature is a kind of medium that has social function.
Literary work does not only represent the truth about reality in the outside
world, but literary work also has its own meaning. Widdoson in his book
Literature said that literature can be a new innovation that gives information or insights about social life.
The English literary term ‘the novel’ it can be argued retains traces of all these senses: ‘a new story’, new innovating, strange, perhaps even making strange or defamiliarising and offering news-information or insights-about social life (1999:136).
Literary work is presented both as imagination that has its own meaning and as a
medium of social life. Literary work uses an element such as “setting” to deliver
the portrayal of reality and its own meaning. Setting is one of the intrinsic
elements of a literary work, refers to the description of place, the time and social
condition where the action of character takes place. Abrams in the book A Glossary of Literary Terms mentioned that “the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in
which its action occurs (1981:192).” The setting includes the society in a certain
time. Within the society, the setting encloses norm, rule or belief which guides its
people. Society’s circumstances present the phenomenon that happens there.
When human being lives with others in the society, it is possible that some
problems occur, so the representation of phenomenon happening in society in a
certain time can be seen through setting. The examples are the issues in the
twentieth and twenty first century French society that have close relation with the
issues in the eighteenth century French society. Here, literature can play the role
in revealing back that humans can learn about it.
In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, many controversial issues
happened in society in the world. One of them is a controversial issue concerning
religion in France. The March 2004 issue of World Press Review (VOL. 51, No. 3) stated that French Parliament prohibited wearing religious garb for students in
public primary and secondary school.
The previous years, in the 1980s and 1990s, restriction to wear any religious
symbols and political terms for students in France has already existed. This facts
show that the people in France are not totally free to have freedom of religion.
Religious controversy does not only happen in the twentieth or twenty first
centuries. Basically, in the previous centuries it had occurred in France, such as in
the eighteenth century. During the sixteenth century there was a controversy
among religions, thus the agreement of religious worship was signed. In the late
seventeenth century the agreement was broken; religious persecution occurred
until the beginning of the eighteenth century and continued to be a problem.
Those problems can clearly be viewed through Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes.
In this novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, Stevenson focuses on the condition of French society with the rule and belief. It tells that somebody
who lives there must follow the rule and belief in which Catholic is a major
religion of the society. The right about freedom of religion for everybody is
questionable. Stevenson is attracted to discuss deeper and connect it with the
condition of French society in the eighteenth century. “Louis XIV ruled as an
absolute monarch. Service of God and respect for king are united. King is absolute
lord (Williams, 1972: 173, 174).”
In the appearance Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes represents the peasants, clergy and French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth
society’s view toward religion presents the religious fanaticism and religious
tolerance. It becomes the surface representation of the novel.
This study focuses on Stevenson’s insights and ideas represented through
the setting of French society in the eighteenth century, especially the
representation of French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth century.
Religious tolerance is more prominent in the representation. To get the
representation of depth behind the religious tolerance, religious fanaticism is
opposed with religious tolerance. The binary opposite aims to show off religious
tolerance and gets the deeper meaning. Religious fanaticism looks like having a
religion with its pure faith. In fact, religious fanaticism presents that having a
religion is an obligation that forces someone to do it. Certainly having a religion
is individual right. Thus, tolerance for other people is required. The prominent of
religious tolerance shows that religious tolerance reveals freedom of religion. The
essence behind the representation is revealed.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the storyTravel with a Donkey in the Cenvenesby Robert Louis Stevenson, some questions are the pillar of the discussion.
1. How is the setting in the novel described?
2. How does the setting in the novel represent French society in the
eighteenth century?
3. How does the representation of French society in the eighteenth century
C. Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to find the representation of French society
in the eighteenth century. In addition, there are three objectives of this
undergraduated thesis based on the three problem formulations. The first objective
of this research is to identify the setting in the novel. Then, the second objective is
to identify how the setting represents French society in the eighteenth century.
The following analysis is to find the representation of French society in the
eighteenth century to reveal freedom of religion.
D. Definition of Terms
As stated in the title above, the writer discusses the representation of
French society in the eighteenth century through the setting to reveal the freedom
of religion. This part discusses the definition of terms that can help the readers
understand this study.
1. Setting
According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, the overall setting of narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social
circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or
scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place
(1981: 192).
2. Freedom of Religion
(2005: 670). Boyle and Juliet states in Freedom of Religion and Belief that freedom of religion includes the right to believe that one has exclusive truth
and that what another believes is lacking in truth (1997: 8).
3. Representation
Birenbaum in his book entilted The Happy Critic said that representation is simply description, showing fairly and clearly what the work is and what it is
like. It shows what is in the work as we experience it, describing what it is
like, explaining what it is and how, in general, it goes about its business
(1997: 11-12).
4. French Society in the Eighteenth Century
Williams states in The Ancient Regime in Europe that French society in the eighteenth century consists of clergy, nobles, bourgeoisie and peasants (1970:
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
Robert Louis Stevenson is a popular author. People are familiar with him
through his books. He has written many books and many people know him and
his famous works, like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not all people know everything about Stevenson and his literary works. Some of his literary work may seldom or never be discussed. The
novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is one of Stevenson’s novels that is not too polular. It is his second work since he became an author.
This part presents a comment of the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes and some reviews of other Stevenson’s works, so that the readers will get the sight to the novel. Ricard Dury gave a comment about Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennesnovel in the website entitled Robert Louis Stevenson-Life and Works Outline in 1997 by stating a companion work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), gives us more of his thoughts on life and human society and continues to consolidate the image of the debonair narrator that we also find
in his essays and letters (which can be classed among his best works)
<http://dinamico2.unibg.it/rls/bio.htm>
The study by Juli Purnani (2003) in undergraduate thesis entitled The Possible Messages seen from the Main Character and the Conflics in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores one of
the literary works by Robert Louis Stevenson. The study focuses its discussion on
the possible message implied in the main character’s crisis. Stevenson wants to
point out the idea that inside human being there are two personalities representing
good and evil (2003: ix).
While the undergraduated thesis study by Cahyo Roso Tunggal (2002)
entitled The Contrasive Personalities between James and Henry Durie in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Master of Ballantrae discusses how the personalities of James and Henry differ in five aspects: complexity, fluidity, accessibility,
resistance to change and centralization. Further, Tunggal found that the
internal/heredity, genetic factor influences James and Henry’s personality
development (2002: xi).
Another study in an undergraduated thesis The Character’s Changes and Moral Development as seen in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeby Emmanuel Chayo Kristianto (2001) is concerned with the character changes and moral development. Kristianto found that a great desire,
supported by intelligence and science, in fact, brings suffering. The interpretation
of Jekyll is obviously different from Hyde’s though they are actually one person.
Jekyll represents a good figure, while Hyde is an evil figure. He is the result of
Jekyll’s experiment. Jekyll repeatedly experiences character changes, whereas
Hyde experiences a minor change, but his character tends to be flat and
monotonous. Science has a big role in realizing Jekyll’s ambition that finally
brings his own death and automatically the death of Hyde as well (Kristianto,
Based on the quotations above, there are some opinions about Stevenson’s
thoughts in his other works and an idea about Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. This thesis is written to develop the study of socio-culture historical background. Unlike other thesis discussing the same author of the literary work,
this thesis is analysing the society in the novel as the representation of French
society in the eighteenth century and the idea behind the representation.
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Setting
In a literary work, there are many intrinsic elements. One of them is
setting. According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, setting is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs
(1981: 192). Setting in literary work has four elements. In A Handbook to LiteratureHolman and Harmon stated that the elements of setting are:
The actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such
physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room.
The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters.
The time or period in which the action takes place.
The general environment of the characters, for example: religious, mental,
moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the
narrative move (1986: 465).
General environment of the characters refers to the environment of the characters
types of setting give more understanding of the first element of setting, the actual
geographical location. There are two types of setting: natural and manufactured
setting as discussed in Roberts and Jacobs Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.
Natural
The setting for a great number of stories is the out-of-doors, and naturally
enough. Nature herself is seen as force that shapes action and therefore
directs and redirects lives. Bushes may furnish places of concealment,
while mountain top is a spot protecting occupants from the outside world.
Nature is one of the major forces governing the circumstances of
characters who go about facing the conflicts on which the plots of stories
depend.
Manufactured
Manufactured things always reflect the people who make them. A building
or a room tells about the people who built it and live in it, and ultimately
about the social and political orders that maintain the conditions (1987:
190,191).
From the explanation above, natural setting is the environment in which the
characters in literature exist and live their lives, while the manufactured setting
includes artificial scenery, properties and clothing of the character. An ugly
environment contributes to the weariness, negligence, or the hostility of the
Furthermore, Roberts in his book entitled Writing Themes about Literature Second Editionsaid that
Artificial scenery always refers to the societies that created it. Hence a building, or a room, bespeaks the character of those who build and in habit it, and ultimately it reveals the social and political orders that maintain the condition (1969: 41).
Artificial scenery or manufactured setting like a building or a room gives
information about the social and political condition of the character. A sumptuous
artificial setting emphasizes the sumptuous of the characters living in it and also
their financial resources.
Based on the elements of setting above, it can be said that setting in literary
work consists of three kinds: setting of place, time and society or social. The
setting of place includes the natural type of setting that refers to the actual
geographical location, its topography, scenery, flora, fauna and physical
arrangements. The manufactured type of setting is also included in the setting of
place. The setting of time refers to the time in which the action happens. It can be
indicated by the consequent amount of light at which an event occurs, the sound
described, the smells and the weather. Whereas setting of society or social setting
includes the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters and the
general environment of the characters, like religious, mental, moral, social and
emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move.
On the very primary level, setting has served as a means of creating an
impression of realism in literature. Realism in broad sense may be extended to
include what is described from philosophical or religious, psychological and
realism that can be seen from philosophical or religious, psychological and
political viewpoints. Roberts in his book entitledWriting Themes about Literature Second Edition said that “the setting may become so significant that it virtually becomes an active participant in the action (1969: 42).”
To study the setting of any particular work, the first concern should be to
discover all details that conceivably form a part of setting and then to determine
how the author has used these details. This concern is artistic. One might observe,
for example, that the manipulation of setting may be a kind of direct language, a
means by which the author makes statements that he may not interpret (1969: 43).
Another way to use setting as a kind of statement is to describe a setting in
lieu of describing events, in this sense placing the setting on the level of metaphor.
The language used by the author to describe the setting is an important clue in
interpreting his story. An author might also manipulate setting as a means of
organizing his story structurally, for example, to move a character from one
environment to another (provided that no harm is done in the process). Another
structural manipulation of setting is the “framing” method: an author “frames” his
story by opening with a description of the setting and then returns to the
description at the end (1969: 43).
2. The Relation between Literature and Society
There is a close relation between literature and history. Pater Widdowson in
dominant discourses would consign a repressed group to silence (1999: 135). The
texts are selected for their accessibility and/or familiarity, but which nevertheless
involve many different kinds of production and which focus as a unique form of
historical knowledge, issues of politics, race and gender (1999: 132).
The English literary term ‘the novel’, can be argued, retains traces of all
these senses: ‘a new story’, new, innovating, strange-perhaps even marking
strange or defamiliarising and offering news-information or insight about social
life (1999: 136).
3. Society
In the book Society in the Novel, Langland said that society in novels does not depend on points of absolute fidelity to an outside world in details of costume,
setting, and locality because a novel’s society does not aim at a faithful mirror of
any concrete, existent thing. This intersection of art and life is important. Absolute
literary realism may be impossible, but art cannot help making claims to
something beyond itself (1984: 5).
Society is the medium, comprehending not merely people and their classes
but also their customs, conventions, beliefs and values, their institutions-legal,
religious, and cultural- and their physical environment (1984: 6). Society may also
be revealed through human relationships, characters’ patterned interactions and
their common expectations of one another. Society remains potentially everything
we have seen to be norms, conventions, codes, background, places, people,
within the work (1984: 6,7). The novel was fashioned from the beginning as an
instrument of social criticism. Expressing a new valuation of the individual, it
brings with it a new awareness of how social values might warp or deny
individual values and needs (1984: 11).
4. Representation
According to Birenbaum in The Happy Critic representation is simply description, showing fairly and clearly what the work is and what it is like. It
shows what is in the work as we experience it, describing what it is like,
explaining what it is and how, in general, it goes about its business (1997: 11-12).
Andrew Gibson in Towards a Postmodern Theory of Narrative said that there are two kinds of representation. One considers representation to be a matter
of surfaces, the other theorizes it in terms of depths. ‘Surface representation’ is a
realism of particulars. Its view of language is innocent. It conceives of language as
unproblematically adequate to what it represents. ‘Surface representation’ does
give primacy to the visible. It puts itself forward as a realism of self-evidence
(1996: 81-82). Surface representation tells us about things only within certain
norms of justification that determine what things are from the outset (1996: 83).
Surface representation depends on the assumption of a ‘neutral observation
language’ (1996: 84).
‘Representation of depths’ means penetrating the visible. It goes beyond
what is visible. This is the metaphysical conception of representation. This
through the veil the visible to what the visible supposedly secretes and embodies,
capturing that distilled essence and saturating language in it (1996: 82). We can
say that by using this representation we can reveal the unseen from the seen in the
text to get the real meaning in it.
C. Review on Socio-Cultural Historical Background of French in the Eighteenth Century
1. Religion
In A History of Freedom of Thought, Bury stated that until 1676 the French Protestant (Huguenots) were tolerated; for the next hundred years they
were outlaws (1952: 84). Will and Durant in the bookThe Age of Louis XIV: The Story of Civilization Part VIII mentioned that in 1666 the Huguenots were forbidden to establish new colleges, or to maintain academies for the education of
the young nobility. On October 17, 1685, the King revoked the Edict of Nantes as
unnecessary, since in France was almost entirely Catholic. All Huguenots
conventicles were to be destroyed or transformed forbidden. Some 400,000
“converts” were forced to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist; a few who spat
out the consecrated wafers when they left the church were condemned to be
burned alive (1963: 71-73).
In A Survey of European Civilization, Bruun stated that the last of 17th century Louis XIV’s desire to see all Frenchmen orthodox Catholics were not
inspired by zeal for Rome. During most of his reign he was on hostile terms with
hundred per cent royalist, a subject must share the religion of his king. His
conviction that to be orthodox was to be disloyal-a conviction, be it noted, that
often had some foundation-goes far to explain why Louis persecuted both the
Jansenists and the Huguenots (1942: 654). The poorer Huguenots, who could not
afford to flee, took up arms in defense of their faith and defied from their fastness
in the Cevennes all royal efforts to crush them (1942: 655).
Meanwhile, McKay, Hill and Buckler in the book A History of World Societies stated that the most important and original idea of the Enlightenment was that the methods of natural science could and should be used to examine and
understand all aspects of life. Nothing was to be accepted on faith. Everything was
to be submitted to the rational, critical, “scientific” way of thinking (1984: 799).
By the death of Louis XIV in 1715, many of the ideas that would soon coalesce
into the new world-view had been assembled. Yet, Christian Europe was still
strongly attached to its traditional beliefs, as witnesses by the powerful revival of
religious orthodoxy in the first half of the eighteenth century (1984: 802). Science
and the industrial arts were exalted, religion and immortality questioned.
Intolerance, legal justice, and out-of-date social institutions were openly criticized
(1984: 805). The philosophers hated all forms of religious intolerance. Simple
piety and human kindness-the love of God and the golden rule-were religion
2. Political Condition
Hobsbawn in the book The Age of Revolution mentioned that France was the most powerful and in many ways the most typical of the old aristocratic
absolute monarchies of Europe (1973: 75). The government of eighteenth century
France was no enlightened despotism, however. It was despotic in form, though
hardly oppressive in practice it was better described as despotism tempered by
corruption, with the stress on “tempered” and on “corruption” (1973: 193,194).
As stated by Williams in his book The Ancient Regime in Europe that “France was ruled by the method of Louis XIV for the rest of the eighteenth
century. When Louis XIV took command, ideological struggles were endemic and
bitter. They mainly concerned religion (1972: 170, 205).
3. Economic
Williams in his book entitled The Ancient Regime in Europe mentioned that everywhere one sees people sink to the ground, literally dead from famine.
Everywhere one hears nothing but complaints and groans, from the greatest to the
feebles (1972: 196). The burden of taxation thrust the lower classes permanently
down to the borders of starvation and in years of bad harvest desperation drove
them to insurrection (1972: 197). The peasant still held his land from his lord and
still had to pay quit-rent to the lord. The peasant paid dues to the State, Church
and to the King (1972: 213). To the peasants these seemed more burdensome and
less just than the taxes they paid to the king and when the last straw came in the
per cent of it given over to grain in most places, with hardly any wastes, or
meadows, or woods, or common-land, over populated and under-productive
(1972: 215). The laboureur, one of subgroups of peasant possessed at least two horses and a plough and he probably would not posses more than eight cattle, five
pigs and thirty sheep (1972: 213). As the eighteenth century advanced, clergy
became the sword and buckler of conservatism and though in their clashes with
the crown they talked the advanced language of liberalism, their only concern was
to protect property and privilege from attack (1972: 207).
D. Theoretical Framework
Each of the theories and reviews is needed to answer the questions stated
in problem formulation. The review of related studies is used to strengthen the
importance of studying and analysing this novel. It shows that analysing this
novel is worthwhile. Theories of setting and society are used because this study
analyses the social setting. In addition, the theory about the relation of literature
and society is important to show that literature, like novel, may have a relation
with the society in the real world. Thus, theory of representation helps interpret
what is represented in the text and to reveal the unseen from the seen.
The reviews of socio-cultural historical background of French in the
eighteenth century are needed to compare the novel and the real condition at that
time. A literary work may represent the real condition. Based on the previous
discussion above, this study can analyse the representation of the eighteenth
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The main source of this study isTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, a kind of travel novel by Robert Louis Stevenson edited by R. E. C. Houghton,
M.A., a lecturer in English Language and Literature in King’s College, London.
The book was first printed in English Literature Series in 1924. The edition used
in this study was reprinted at 1955 and published in London by Macmillan & Co
Ltd. The book consists of 128 pages in five chapters. Each chapter consists of
several parts. The five chapters are entitled Velay, Upper Gevaudan, Our Lady of
the Snows, Upper Gevaudan (continued), and The Country of the Camisards. The
novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is one of famous travel novels of Robert Louis Stevenson, besides An Island Voyage, Across the Plains, the Amateur Emigrant, The Silverado Squatters, and other novels like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide.
The story of the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is set in Cevennes, French. It is about the travel of a Scotsman through Cevennes. The
topography and scenery show that it is an uncomfortable place to live in. Most of
the areas are hills and valleys with rocky footpaths. People along the way show
the occupation as farmers, peasants, shepherds or sellers who live in difficult
condition. Many places are passed in the journey; it includes The Trappist
Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow. Its society has a narrow view on religion.
The society believes that everyone who arrives at The Trappists Monastery of Our
Lady of the Snow should change his or her religion. The novel shows that the
Cevennes society has a kind of rule that obliges everyone to change his or her
faith when arriving in that region. Meanwhile, the society in the south has a wide
view of religion by respecting others.
B. Approach of the Study
This thesis deals with the social condition in Cevennes, French. Therefore,
the writer employs socio-cultural historical approach to do this analysis.
Rohrberger and Woods in their book entitled Reading and Writing About Literature said that literature is not created in a vacuum, and literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it (1971: 9).
The real world and the literary work have close relation based on
sociocultural-historical approach. Rohrberger and Woods stated that:
Critics whose major interest is the sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it. They define civilization as the attitudes and actions of specific group of people and point out that literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter. They feel therefore, that it is necessary that the critic investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and which it necessarily reflects (1971: 9).
Literary work is not created only for pleasure, but it gives a reflection of the
reality that produces it. Literary work presents the civilization as the reference.
C. Method of the Study
Library research was used in this analysis. The primary source was the
novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson. The secondary one were books and websites about the theories, approach, and critic
that were used to analyse the problems. The books A Glossary of Literary Terms, Writing Themes about Literature, Mastering English Literature, Society in the Novel, Reading and Writing About Literature, The Age of Louis XIV: The Story of Civilization Part VIII, Towards a Postmodern Theory of Narrative, A Survey of European Civilization, etc were used as the main sources to determine the approach and theories of this study.
There were some steps in to analyse this novel. First, the writer read the
novel comprehensively to understand the story. Based on the understanding of the
story, the writer was interested in the social condition of French society in the
Cevennes. To know about what the literary work actually implied, the writer read
the sources about the socio-cultural historical background in French related to the
novel.
Then, the second step was collecting data about the review of related
studies, opinion and information about the novel by the same author. It also
consisted of collecting data about the theories of setting, society, representation
and socio-cultural historical approach from books and websites.
The third step taken by the writer was trying to answer the problem
formulation by applying the theories to the work. Theories of setting were used to
society. Theories on representation were used to analyse the meaning of what the
setting represents and to analyse the unseen from the seen of the text, then to get
the real thing from it.
Then, the socio-cultural historical background of France in the eighteenth
century was used to strengthen the idea that the novel was a social criticism
toward the society in Cevennes French at that time.
Finally, after analysing the setting and examining how the setting reflects
the French society and also the social criticisms toward the society, the problem
formulation have been answered. From these steps, the conclusion could be
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter aims to answer the problems which are formulated in the
previous chapter. It consists of three parts. The first part discusses the setting in
the novel. The second part discusses the representation of French society in the
eighteenth century through the setting in the novel. Then, the third part discusses
the representation of French society in the eighteenth century to reveal the
freedom of religion.
A. The Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes
All kinds of stories have a particular setting that includes setting of time,
place and society. The existence of setting makes the story more colorful and
clearer. Setting has an important role to support other elements in the story, like
character, tone, atmosphere, etc. In the analysis of setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the writer discusses the actual geographical location, the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters, the time or period in
which the action takes place and the general environment of the characters. In the
first part, the writer analyses the geographical location of the novel, including its
topography, scenery, and physical arrangement. In the second part, the writer
analyses the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters. The third
part of the analysis is about the time or period in which the action takes place. In
the fourth part, the writer analyses the general environment of the characters.
1. The Actual Geographical Location
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the setting of place is explained through the actual geographical location. It is a visible background that
can be seen by descriptive passage in the novel. The geographical location in this
novel is described in the form of natural setting like its topography and scenery. It
can be seen from this quotation:
Mount Mezene and the peaks beyond St. Julien stood out in trenchant gloom against a cold glitter in the east; and the intervening field of hills had fallen together into one broad wash of shadow, except here and there the outline of a wooded sugar-loaf in black, here and there a white irregular patch to represent a cultivated farm, and here and there a blot where the Loire, the Gazeille, or Laussonne wandered in a gorge (p.16).
The topography of Mount Mezene is illustrated in a sharp, dreary plateau that is
cold and has less sunlight. The area is still natural with many trees growing and
an irregular patch which indicates a cultivated farm. The setting clearly reflects
the natural landscape. The novel uses this kind of setting in most part of the story.
As stated in Roberts and Jacobs that “nature is one of the major forces
governing the circumstances of characters who go about facing the conflicts on
which the plots of stories depend (1987: 191).” The condition of topography
shows how life in that place is. It means that the topography influences the
society’s life in that kind of place.
On all sides, Goudet is shut in by mountains; rocky footpaths, practicable at best for donkeys, join it to the outer world of France; and the men and women drink and swear, in their green corner, or look up at the snow-clad peaks in the winter from the threshold of their homes, in an isolation, you would think, like that of Homer’s Cyclops (p.10)
The condition of society’s life in the novel can be seen from the condition of the
The place called Goudet is located among mountains with rocky footpath. The
setting brings an uncomfortable of isolated society. This description of
topography and scenery is used in the beginning of the story, the first chapter in
the second subchapter entitled “The Green Donkey Driver”. It continues to be
used throughout most of the story.
Moor, heathery marsh, tracks of rocks and pines, woods of birch all jeweled with the autumn yellow, here and there a few naked cottages and bleak fields, these were the characters of the country. Hill and valley followed valley and hill; the little green and stony cattle-tracks wandered in and out of one another, split into three or four, died away in marshy hollows, and began again sporadically on hillsides or at the borders of a wood (p.26).
The landscape of the road is mountainous. It is a cheerless prospect place.
Stevenson describes the natural scenery generally for most places in the novel as
areas of hill and valley, followed by valley and hill again such as in Allier,
Goudet, etc. The topography gives the implication of a tedious, uncomfortable
place to live where the society do their activities.
The next natural setting of this novel still explains about miserable places.
The road from Cheylard to Luc is described as a bad road with dry land in which
there are less wood, trees or low plants. The road seems to be either kept in good
condition or easy place to live in. It is showed in these sentences:
It was like the worst of the Scottish Highland, only worse; cold, naked, and Ignoble, scant of wood, scant of heather, scant of life. A road and some fences broke the unvarying waste, and the line of the road was marked by upright pillars, to serve in time of snow (p.39).
The other form of the scenery’s picture used in the novel is the description
about the hue in the river which is not clean. The meadows are described as dry
of the scenery in the novel is completely detailed, not only about the flora growing
there but also everything surrounding the flora as shown in the statement below.
As far as I have gone, I have never seen a river of so changeful and delicate a hue; crystal was not more clear, the meadows were not by half so green; and at these hot, dusty, and material garments, and bathe my naked body in the mountain air and water (p.77)
In Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the description of scenery that contributes to the setting of place is explained until the last part of the novel. “The
phylloxera has ravished the vineyards in this neighborhood and in the early
morning, under some chestnuts by the river, I found a party of men working with
a cider-press (118)”. The statement shows that the scenery is infected by rats.
Most natural sceneries in the novel present unwell situation.
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the natural setting is used to organize the story structurally, where a character moves from one
environment to another. It can be said that the natural setting builds the
chronology of the story. If one of them is missing, it makes the story not
chronological. The novel consists of five chapters with their own subchapters. The
first chapter is entitled Velay, and followed by the next chapter entitled Upper
Gevaudan, Our Lady of the Snows, etc which ends with The Country of the
Camisards. All of the places are in the area of France. Each part of the places has
an important role in the story.
The manufactured setting is also discussed in this novel. It refers to the
building which is inhabited by the characters in the story. The novel mentions
Indeed, it was typical of these French highlands. Imagine a cottage of two stories, with a bench before the door; the stable and kitchen in a suite, so that Modestine and I could hear each other dining; furniture of the plainest, earthern floors, a single bedchamber for travelers, and that without any convenience but beds (p.17).
The physical arrangement of the cottage is described in a poorhouse way.
The room is limited; the kitchen and stable are in a suite with simple furniture and
earthern floors. The physical arrangement of the manufactured setting in the novel
gives identity to the society that created it. As stated in Roberts and Jacobs that “a
building or a room tells about the people who built it and live in it, and ultimately
about the social and political orders that maintain the conditions (1987: 191).” The
physical arrangement of the peasant’s cottage reveals the social condition and
emphasizes the financial condition. It shows that the peasant is in poverty. The
poverty of the peasant is shown by the food and drink in the sentence below:
The food is sometimes spare; hard fish and omelette have been my portion more than once; the wine is of the smallest, the brandy abominable to man; and the visit of a fat sow, grouting under the table and rubbing against your legs, is no impossible accompaniment to dinner (p. 17).
The menu is simple food and low qualified alcoholic drink. The animal seeks the
food under the table. The circumstances at dinner show that the peasant gets
poverty. The peasant’s inn in Chasserades also shows the poverty. “There were
four beds in the little upstairs room and we slept six (p.63)”.
The novelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennesuses the properties in the inn to draw the setting, but the properties of the monks in the monastery also give
information about the setting. “Father Michael, a pleasant, fresh-faced, smiling
man, perhaps of thirty-five, took me to the pantry, and gave me a glass of liqueur
liqueur which the monk has. Liqueur is strong and usually sweat alcoholic spirit
drunk in small quantities especially after dinner. In fact the liqueur is drunk before
having dinner. It shows that the monks have good financial condition or more
prosperous than peasants. The setting is also explained through the properties of
statue and flowers situated in the garden, like in this quotation:
The whet administered, I was left alone for a little in the monastery garden. This is no more than the main court, laid out in sandy paths and beds of parti-coloures dahlias, and with a fountain and a statue of the Virgin in the centre (p.47).
The setting is arranged structurally and in details. The beauty of the setting is
created by adding the properties, so that the setting looks more beautiful. It brings
a comfortable atmosphere of living. Moreover, the comfortable life for monks or
clergymen can be seen from the condition of the room which is clean and
decorated with accessories. The objects in the room give information about the
financial condition of the society.
It was clean and whitewashed, and furnished with strict necessaries, a crucifix, a bust of the late Pope, the imitation in French, a book of religious meditations…(p.47).
In the novel, manufactured setting and physical arrangement do not only show and
emphasize the social and financial condition of the peasant, but also show the
social and financial condition of the monks.
Thence my good Irishman took me around the workshops, where brothers bake bread, and make cartwheels, and take photographs; where one superintends a collection of curiosities, and another a gallery of rabbits (p.49).
In the quotation above, the workshop room is described as a useful place for some
arrangement of the room evokes a comfortable feeling. The properties and its
arrangement show and emphasize the good financial condition.
The actual geographical location in this novel refers to the place inhabited
by the society. The condition of topography, natural and artificial scenery reveals
the social condition of society in France. Most of the description of landscape
conveys an unwell condition; it presents a boring miserable place. The
manufactured setting and its physical arrangement of peasants’ cottage or inn
show the poverty as having bad financial condition. On the contrary, the actual
geographical location of the monastery evokes comfortable feeling and shows
good financial condition.
2. The Occupations and Daily Manner of Living of the Characters
Setting can be learnt through the occupations and daily manner of living of
the characters to discover the social condition of the society in the novel. In the
novelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes,the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters are conveyed through the statement of the character in the
novel.
It was five in the morning, and four thousand feet above the sea; and I had to bury my hands in my pockets and trot. People were trooping out to the labours of the field by twos and threes, and all turned round to stare upon stranger. I had seen them coming back last night, I saw them going a field again; and there was the life of Bouchet in a nutshell (p.20).
From the quotation above, it can be seen that the setting conveys a routine
phenomenon in the society; most people work as farmers and peasants. It gives
early morning and stop working at night. Peasants do that a such work everyday.
The life of the peasants in Bouchet is conditioned in that daily routine. The
occupation is clarified by the description about people who work in the field. It is
also presented in this sentence: “On both sides of the road, in big dusty fields,
farmers were preparing for next spring (p.23).” The quotation gives the
information that a farmer does his or her work in the field continually. Working in
the field is a daily routine for farmers. The quotation above shows that the
farmer’s occupation is done in most of the season. The daily manner of peasants is
described by working hard.
From all these furrowing ploughshares, from the feet of oxen, from labourer here and there who was breaking the dry clods with a hue, the wind carried away a thin dust like so much smoke (p. 23).
The quotation above shows that peasants need work hard to cultivate the field
with its dry soil. In the novel, the occupation of peasants or farmers which is
shown are not only working in the field but also gathering leaves for the animals.
The slope was strewn with lopped branches, and here and there a great package of leaves was propped against a trunk; for even the leaves are serviceable, and the peasants use them in winter by way of fodder for their animals (p.89).
The setting presents peasants’ or farmers’ occupation with their daily manner
which always do labor in the field along the day and some of them also gather
leaves for the animals. It is a routine activity for them.
The novel describes the occupations and daily manner of living of the
characters through people who work as shepherd. The daily manner of living of
the shepherd is explained directly. “[…] and I found at length that it came from
morning that the daily manner of living of shepherds is leading their animals.
Shepherds’ work is always keeping animals. The novel describes the shepherds’
work along the day.
The road smoked in the twilight with children driving home cattle from the fields; and a pair of mounted stride-legged women, hat and cap and all, dashed past me at a hammering trot from the canton where they had been to church and market (p.16).
The setting describes shepherds, who are children, who drive the cattle home in
the afternoon, while women go home from the church or market. The daily life
shows that shepherds lead their animal to the rural horn in the morning and lead
them home in the afternoon. The novel also describes that at night shepherds still
keep animals.
Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides, and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the night (p.67).
The quotation explains that shepherds who are houseless keep their animal in the
open nature. They spend all their time just with the cattle. When the cattle wake
up, they do too. Close to the last chapter of this novel, shepherd who is very old
struggles with the harsh nature in driving their animals.
A very old shepherd, hobbling on pair of sticks, and wearing a black cap liberty, as if in honour of his nearness to the grave, directed me to the road for St. Germain de Calberte […] Where he dwelt, how he got upon this high ridge, or how he proposed to get down again, were more than I could fancy (p.108).
Shepherd is described as a hard working person that needs to work hard driving
the animals in the harsh nature. It is seen in what he has done, getting on the
every time. The occupations and daily manner of living of the shepherds show the
harsh life for shepherds.
The setting of the novel also presents a seller occupation. In the beginning
of the story, the setting is explained by the action of character who wants to start
his journey and buy a donkey in the market. It can be seen that seller is one of
occupation in the society.
Father Adam had a cart, and to draw the cart a diminutive she-ass, not bigger than a dog […] Our first interview was in Monastier market-place […] all the buyers and sellers came round and helped me in the bargain; and the ass and I and Father Adam were the centre of a hubbub for near half an hour (p. 4).
From the statement, it can be seen that bargaining process happens between a
buyer and a seller. Thus, some part of the societies has the occupation of sellers.
In order to support the description of seller occupation, the setting presents the
statement of a character who hears the rattle of cart or carriage. The setting is
clarified by the sound, like in the following statement of a character.
I have heard the rattle of a cart or carriage spring up suddenly after hours of stillness, and pass, for some minutes, within the range of my hearing as I lay abed (p.69).
The sound of the cart’s clatter indicates that someone does an activity using this
object. A cart’s function is to carry things and in this discussion, the cart is used to
carry goods to the market. The daily manner of living of the seller is starting the
work at the hour after midnight. That statement informs that the daily life of a
seller is full of hard work in a difficult condition.
The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters as the setting
more occupations described in this novel. The setting is conveyed through the
monk, priest and soldier. Like in the previous section, this occupation is described
through the character’s experience who is Scotsman. He observes his environment
where he becomes a boarder near the monastery.
For in a Trappist monastery each monk has an occupation of his own choice, apart from his religious duties and the general labours of the house. Each must sing in choir, if he has a voice and ear, and join in the haymaking if he has a hand to stir: but in his private hours, although he must be occupied, he may be occupied on what he likes (p.49).
The monks’ occupation is presented directly in the sentences. The occupation as
the social setting explains that the monks have double occupation, both the
obligatory job and individual job. The continuity of the occupation is also implied.
By two in the morning the clapper goes upon the bell, and so on, hour by hour, and sometimes quarter by quarter, till eight, the our of rest; so infinitesimally is the day divided among different occupations (p. 52).
The monks’ daily life is described through the sound of the bell. The bell indicates
that it is the hour when they begin their job. The monks’ occupation seems to be
structurally regular activities. The occupation of the monks in this novel is
described through sound, too.
The occupation of priest and soldier are also shown in this novel. “A
priest, with six or seven others, were examining a church in process of repair, and
he and his acolytes laughed loudly as they saw my plight (p. 13)”. The daily
manner of living of the priest is bad that they do not care about other’s trouble.
The novel also describes a parish priest who spends a while in the monastery for
prayer.
[…] He was an old soldier, who had seen service and risen to the rank of commandant; and he retained some of the brisk decisive manners of the camp (p.55).
This novel describes the priest as a religious people, but he does not have good
manner because he does not care other’s trouble and does laugh at other’s trouble.
The quotation above also describes the soldier who becomes a guest that observes
and learns about life in the monastery.
3. The Time or Period in which the Action Takes Place
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the setting of time is presented through direct statement at the beginning of the story.
It was already hard upon October before I was ready to set forth, and at the high altitudes over which my road lay there was no Indian summer to be looked for (p.2).
The month of the year describes the setting of time in this novel. The month in the
above quotation presents the condition at that time namely the cold weather. In the
next part of the novel, the presentation of time happens in the morning. “I was up
in the morning (Monday, September 23rd), and hastened my toilette guiltily, so as
to leave a clear field for madam, the cooper’s wife.” (p.20) The time in which the
action takes place is in the morning. The time includes the day and the date as the
setting of the novel. It happens in the inn of Bouchet St. Nicolas when the
Scotsman character spends the night in his journey.
This novel employs setting of time as evocative function. Description of
the setting of time in this novel evokes a certain image, for example: a full,
It was perishing cold, a grey, windy, wintry morning; misty clouds flew fast and low; the wind piped over the naked platform; and the eastern hills, where the sky still wore the orange of the dawn (p.20).
The setting of time in the quotation above uses the description of morning as grey,
cold, windy, and wintry with foggy cloud. This condition of setting is found in the
area around the inn in Bouchet. It brings an image of pathetic feeling. Moreover,
the description of the setting is intensified by the description of naked platform
that gives the image of hard life. Thus, the setting of time in the novel has
evocative function. Most of the setting of time in the novel is presented indirectly.
Already the sun had gone down into a windy looking mist; and although there were still a few streaks of gold far off to the east on the hills and the black firwoods, all was cold and grey about our onward path (p.14).
The setting of time in the quotation indicates that it is morning by giving the
description of few lights far away in the east. The evocative function gives a bad
image of living. Most parts of setting of time in the morning are described by
giving few amounts of light and by showing that it is cold and grey condition. The
setting of time in this novel is always described continually from morning until
night. “When I awoke for the third time (Wednesday, September 25th), the world
was flooded with a blue light, the mother of dawn.”(p.34)
The setting is also presented by the changes of the day. “When I awoke
(Thursday, October 3rd) and…”(p.111) The setting uses the description of day,
date, month and the indication about the amount of sunlight. The setting of time is
not described directly in the novel. It is explained by the description of the hat and
dress worn by a woman in Scotsman’s journey. As stated in the website that “the
