THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATION TOWARD REBECCA’S SHOPPING DISORDER AS SEEN IN SOPHIE KINSELLA’S
CONFESSION OF A SHOPAHOLIC
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Letters
By
Agustina Herni Lestari
Student Number: 0542140011
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATION TOWARD REBECCA’S SHOPPING DISORDER AS SEEN IN SOPHIE KINSELLA’S
CONFESSION OF A SHOPAHOLIC
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
In English Letters
By
Agustina Herni Lestari
Student Number: 0542140011
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
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This thesis is dedicated to:
MY BELOVED PARENTS, MY CUTIEST SISTA EVER, CUNONK
And
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ for His blessing me during this thesis writing. His love is so real for me. Thank God....thank God....
My special gratitude for my major sponsor, Elisa Dwi Wardhani, S.S., M. Hum. Thank you for your patience in guiding me during the very long thesis writing. Thank you for giving me some advices and inspirations. My special gratitude also for Maria Ananta, S.S., M. Ed.. who gives me so many advices, spirit and faithful that I must keep going on.
For my Mom and Dad, who give me all the love you've got for me. I know I can't be your best daughter, but this thesis is the best that I can give. May God bless you.
For my little sista, thank you so much for your support, love and praying. "Be a good daughter, my sist".
For all my classmates, Yusi, Ika, Oca, Karlina, Ichen, Bayu Kurus, Antok, Ben, Dee-must, Deaa, Guntur, Kak Minto, Kak Ison, Kakak Tingkat Tak Berguna and all my classmates, thank you for the time we share together, the ups and downs.
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
1. Theory of Character and Characterization... 10
2. Theory of Motivation ... 13
3. Theory of Behavior ... 16
4. Theory of Addication... 17
5. Theory of Consumerism ... 18
6. Theory of Lifestyle and Consumption Choice... 20
C. Theoretical Framework... 20
B. The Factors that Influence Rebecca's Motivation as Revealed through Her Character ... 32
a. Shopaholic ... 33
b. Ambitious ... 45
c. Independent... 46
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CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION... 54
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ABSTRACT
AGUSTINA HERNI LESTARI (2011). THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATION TOWARD REBECCA'S SHOPPING DISORDER AS SEEN IN SOPHIE KINSELLA'S CONFESSION OFA SHOPAHOLIC. Yogyakarta: Departement of English Letters. Faculty of Letters. University of Sanata Dharma, 2011.
This thesis analyzes a novel entitled Confession of a Shopaholic. This analysis is focused on the main character Rebecca Bloomwood, as the main character who is suffering from shopping problem. There are so many factors that influence Rebecca to be a shopaholic. To make it more specific, the writer formulates three problems related to the topic to help the analysis understandable.
The first problem analyzes the character of Rebecca. This part analyzes some important characteristics of Rebecca. It is the ground to deal with the second problem which is the factors that influence Rebecca Bloomwood's motivation as revealed through her characterization. The last problem is to reveal motivation which influences her behavior.
Theory of motivation as the main theory is used by the writer because this theory strongly supports the analysis of Rebecca's motivation in doing shopping. Theory of behavior is also used to help the writer analyze Rebecca's behavior which is influenced by her own motivation. The writer also uses a library research: primary and secondary sources. The primary source is the novel itself and the secondary source is some supported-books and the data from the internet.
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ABSTRAK
Agustina Herni Lestari (2011). The Influence of Emotion and Motivation toward Rebecca's Shopping Disorder as Seen in Sophie Kinsella's Confession of a Shopaholic. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Thesis ini menganalisis sebuah novel berjudul Confession of a Shopaholic. Analisis ini di fokuskan ke Rebecca Bloomwood, seorang yang mengalami masalah dengan belanja. Dalam novel, dia diceritakan sebagai seseorang yang gila belanja. Ada banyak faktor yang mempengaruhi dia untuk menjadi seorang penggila belanja. Untuk lebih spesifik, penulis merumuskan tiga masalah yang berhubungan dengan topik untuk membantu analisis ini supaya bisa lebih dipahami.
Masalah pertama menganalisis tentang karakter Rebecca. Bagian ini menjelaskan beberapa karakteristik penting Rebecca. Ini menjadi dasar yang berkaitan dengan masalah kedua, faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi motivasi Rebecca sebagaimana di ungkap lewat karakternya. Masalah terakhir adalah untuk mengetahui motivasi Rebecca mempengaruhi tingkah lakunya.
Teori motivasi sebagai teori utama digunakan oleh penulis karena teori ini sangat mendukung dalam menganalisa motivasi Rebecca dalam melakukan belanja. Teori tingkah laku juga digunakan untuk membantu penulis menganalisa
tingkah laku Rebecca yang dipengaruhi oleh motivasinya sendiri. Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka: sumber utama dan swmber pendukung. Sumber utama adalah novel itu sendiri dan sumber pendukung adalah beberapa buku pendukung dan data-data dari internet.
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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
There are so many themes that can be chosen in creating a novel. There are so
many messages we receive after reading that novel. Those messages are delivered
by the character in the novel. One of the themes is about a shopaholic. It is taken
from the novel, Sophie Kinsella’s “Confession of a Shopaholic”. It is a teen lit novel. This theme can be more interesting than the other which is talk about
triangle love, friendship, etc. The novel tells about the life of the main character,
Rebecca Bloomwood or Becky as a shopaholic. When we read this novel, we
think about someone who likes shopping very much. She spends too much money.
We could imagine her bringing a lot of shopping bags in her right and left hand.
She is satisfying herself and shopping is a part of her life. There is some kind of
satisfy feeling after they do shopping although those things they bought were not
really important. It is about prestige and lifestyle for woman, especially if she
buys a high class bag, shoes or clothes. They want to be a trendsetter between
ordinary women. But, shopaholic is more than that. There are so many
motivations behind it. It is not more than just a prestige. Becky, as the main
character, realizes that her hobby brings her into some trouble. It influences the
relationship between Becky herself and other people surround her.
There are many motivations for a shopaholic to go shopping, According to
motivated a person is, the harder he/ she will work to satisfy his/ her desire. This
statement is suitable with the main character’s behavior, Becky. She does
everything in order to get the high class clothes or scarf, etc, sometimes in a
strange way, she also receives whatever the consequences. The more she wants,
the more she makes an effort in order to get those things. It does not make sense
that she buys a lot of clothes, bags, and accessories at the same time, and it seems
impossible for us to do that. She spends more money just for the things that she
does not really want to have. The shopaholic may think that it also does not make
sense for them but they feel addicted of shopping. They feel obsessed with the
expensive bag, shoes, scarf, etc. Obsession is an unconscious situation and it does
not make sense. It is difficult to get out of this situation. In fact, a person who is
obsessed to something, in reality they don’t want to be obsessed to something and
they can not avoid this situation. They know that it does not make sense. For
easier explanation we can take an example of drug addiction (e.g. alcoholism),
video game addiction, work addiction, compulsive overeating, problem gambling,
computer addiction, nicotine addiction, pornography addiction, etc. the term
“addicted” refers to an obsession, compulsion, or excessive psychological
dependence. Addicted sometimes applied to compulsions that are not
substance-related, such as problem gambling and computer addiction. In these kinds of
common usages, the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences,
as deemed by the user himself to his or her individual health, mental state or
they also confuse why they can’t overcome this situation. They feel pain if they
want to get out of this situation. They obsess to drugs, video game, nicotine,
pornography, etc.
All behavior is affected by three broad classes of stimuli. These three classes
are: (1) the stimuli being immediately attended to; (2) all other stimuli present at
the time which serve as a context for the first type of stimuli, and (3) all other
determinations of behavior such as past experience and organism factors, which
interact with the current stimulation. The pooled effect of these classes of stimuli
constitutes what Helson calls the “adaptation level” for the organism which is uses
as reference point for making discriminations and judgment concerning its
immediate environment.
This novel could be analyzed in many points of view. In this thesis, the writer
analyzes the influence of emotion and motivation toward Rebecca’s shopping
disorder behavior.
According to Kalish (1973) many people like to believe that they always
understand their own motives and those they never do anything without knowing
why. The idea of unconscious motivation implies that they are not in full control
of their own behavior. Rebecca can not control her hobby, window shopping. She
will do something strange to get the things that she wants in a unique way. She
knows and realizes that her hobby will lead her into a bad condition but she thinks
that by doing that, her willingness of shopping will be met. This novel tries to
describe the situation of the main character. A window shopper is caused by
something good or even bad. Emotion influences someone’s behavior. Acoording
to Jung (1978:4) motivation is about causes and reasons underlying behavior. Our
behavior is a response to someone’s behavior or situation, because we will always
response in order to adapt, to against or to show our feeling toward it. If we feel
hungry, we will eat or we will do something to get some food. Our emotion rise
when we find some delicious food. We want to eat more and more. It is the same
meaning with a shopaholic. The emotion will rise after she finds something new
and interesting, although it is very expensive. She has to have it.
McClland (1985: 128) also stated that emotion is an important part of the
motivational system and amplifies its effect on behavior. Emotion influences
someone’s motivation to do something that is revealed in his/ her behavior as the
result of his/ her emotion. His/ her behavior (as a result of his emotion) might be
directed toward someone else or something. Therefore, someone’s behavior may
increase our emotion and we will be motivated by our emotion to react in our
behavior as a response toward his/ her behavior to us.
The writer chooses to analyse “Confession of a Shopaholic” written by Sophie Kinsella. There are some reasons that support the writer to analyze it. The story involves feeling of emotion of the main character. There are some reasons
that base the writer to analyze the contribution of emotion and motivation toward
Becky’s behavior. The motivation is observed through Becky’s behavior. In
addition, all the people’s behavior cannot be separated from emotional and
motivation. Therefore, the writer is interested in analyzing how the motivation
The writer will limit the discussion in emotion and motivation that influence
Becky’s behavior and also the influence of emotion and motivation toward
Becky’s behavior.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Rebecca Bloowood characterized in Confession of a Shopaholic? 2. What are the factors that influence Rebecca Bloomwood’s motivation as
revealed through her characteristics?
3. How does Rebecca’s motivation influence her behavior?
C. Objective of the Study
The objectives of this study are to answer the questions formulated in
problem formulation. Firstly, the writer has to find out how Rebecca Bloomwood
is characterized. Secondly, the writer wants to find the factors that influence
Becky’s emotion and motivation. And the last is to know how the influence of
emotion and motivation toward Becky’s behavior.
D. Definition of Terms
Here are the terms that the writer wants to explain about:
1. “Motivation”
Petri stated that motivation is the concept we use when we describe the
forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior.
motivation. Additionally, we often use the concept of motivation to
indicate the direction of behavior. When you are hungry, you direct your behavior in ways to get food. Our thought, feelings, and attitudes can
motivate us. (Petri, 1981: 4).
2. “Confession” means a statement that a person makes, statement admitting or embarrassed about. (A.S. Hornby, 2000: 256).
3. “Shopaholic” means a compulsive shopper. (Jewell., J Elizabeth and Frank
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
Confession of a Shopaholic was published in 2003 by Sophie Kinsella. After publishing the novel, it makes Kinsella the bestselling author by the New York Times version. In fact, she got a lot praises after publishing the novel. USA Today stated that this novel is a hilarious tale, hijinks worthy of classic I Love Lucy episodes, too good too pass up. The PEOPLE stated that Kinsella’s Bloomwood is plucky and funny. You won’t have to shop around to find a more
winning protagonist. Sophie Kinsella wrote a romantic comedy about a
shopaholic, mixing the emotions that a shopping addict feels with the distraction
of a blossoming love. Sophie Kinsella is the author of the bestselling Shopaholic
series, they are Shopaholic Takes Manhanttan, Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic and Sister and the last is Can You Keep a Secret? (Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella, 2001)
The earlier novels in the series, Confession of a Shopaholic, received a generally positive reception from some critics. It is interesting that Kinsella begins
each chapter with an ominous letter to Becky from her bank. Readers seemed to
like Becky, care about what was happening to her, as if for a friend. When it
comes to reviewing this book, many readers agree that Sophie Kinsella has
managed to combine two essential ingredients that make for favorite among
the character and her situation. This book was considered better than the later
books which appeared to have excessively quickly, although they would still
satisfy those already faithful to the series.
Astrid Khairunnisa in her Undergraduate Thesis “Satirical Representation
of the Late 20th Century Cosmopolitan London Woman Seen Through Rebecca to
Reveal Criticism on Consumptive Lifestyle in Kisella’s Confession of a Shopaholic” proved that Rebecca Bloomwood is the representation of the late 20th century cosmopolitan London woman. Khairunisa found that one of the
characteristic of Rebecca is shopaholic. The story mostly tell the readers about the
purchase activities which have done by Rebecca, the major characteristic who has
strong desire and obsession of shopping. Shopping is her hobby and true addiction
for her. Rebecca has a great desire for shopping. Rebecca is also impressed by the
word “sale”. Her emotion is getting rise when she sees the word “sale” in front of
the shop window. For her, shopping is no longer an activity but it is a highly
pleasurable moment.
Sophie Kinsella had hypnotized many readers through her novels. Roberta
O'Hara thinks that CONFESSION OF A SHOPAHOLIC will make you a
Sophie-holic. You will be addicted and continue to read the next shopaholic series:
SHOPAHOLIC TAKES MANHATTAN and SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT.
Sophie Kinsella wrote a romantic comedy about a shopaholic, mixing the
emotions that a shopping addict feels with the distraction of a blossoming love.
Kinsella always maintain the quality of her books so that her loyal fans have never
After launching “Confession of a Shopaholic”, there are a lot of media and
journalists who wants to interview her. One of them was Carol Fitzgerald from
Bookreporter.com Co-Founder. This is the interview between Fitzgerald and
Kinsella:
BRC: Why do you think that readers love Becky? SK: I think there is a bit of Becky in all of us. People love to laugh at their own flaws --- and who hasn't bought some totally useless item because it was half-price? She is in some ways shallow and silly, but she is also incredibly warm, loving and feisty --- and always resourceful. The interview held on November 14, 2003. (http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/au-kinsella-sophie.asp).
From the interview above, Kinsella writes a novel based on the real situation in
life. She writes about what people always do in the real life. She tries to make sure
that there are some messages after reading the novel. Rebecca’s turning point was
the interesting point of the novel. Rebecca was not a well-managed person at the
beginning of the story, she could not cover her financial problem and it was
ruining her life. At last, she could get out of her problem and she turn to be a
better person.
The similar ideas between Khairunnisa, O’Hara and Fitzgerald are about
the life of a shopaholic, although each of us uses different topic to be analyzed.
The writer uses Confession of a Shopaholic, the same novel that is used by Khairunissa. From her thesis, the writer knows that Rebecca Bloomwood is the
representation of the Late 20th Century Cosmopolitan London Woman, and try to
reveal what factors influence Rebecca’s emotion and motivation through her
characteristics and how Rebecca’s emotion and motivation shapes to her behavior.
lifestyle makes her become a shopaholic which is leading her to the shopping
addict. That’s the example of factors that influence her emotion and motivation
which is reflected through her characterization.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Characters are the most important part of literary works especially in a
novel, short stories and play. There are two kinds of characters, they are round
characters (complex in temperament, difficult to describe with any adequate as a
person in a real life and capable of surprising us) and a flat characters which is
presented without much individualizing detail. M.H. Abram in A Glossary of Literary Terms shares the idea about character:
“Characters are the person presented in dramatic or narrative works that are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying it -the dialogue- and from they do –the action-. The grounds of the character’s temperament, desires and moral nature of their speech and actions are called their motivation. A character may remain essentially “stable” or “unchanged” in outlook and disposition, from the beginning until the end of the work, or may undergo a radical change, either through a gradual process of development.”
(Abram, 1999: 33).
In Aspect of the Novel, E. M. Forster introduced popular new terms for an old distinction by discriminating between flat and round characters. A flat character is built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without much individualizing detail and therefore can be fairly described in a single phrase or
represented with subtle particularity; such as a character therefore is as difficult to
describe with any adequacy as a person in a real life and like real person, is
capable of surprising us. (Forster, 1927: 33).
In her other book, E. M. Forster explain more detail about the definition of
the character. Forster divided character into two categories; they are flat and
round characters. Flat character has only one outstanding trait or feature, or at most a few distinguishing marks, and tend to stay the same throughout a story.
Round characters present us with more facets, greater depth in their portrait, more generous detail and often change – learn or becoming enlightened, grow or
deteriorate. Round character may appear to us only as he appears to the other
characters in the story. (Forster, 1927: 61).
Other expert says that most stories consist of a central character, which is relevant to every event in the story, usually the events cause some change in him
or in our attitude toward him. The character’s reason for behaving in certain way
is called motivation. His specific motivation is his reason, perhaps unconscious, for any particular speech or act. His basic motivation can show his character, it can be found throughout the story. His dialogue, speech, action and behavior can
also show his character. Through our knowledge of the character, we can
understand their actions; through their actions, we understand the characters.
(Stanton, 1965: 17-18).
Characters must have characterization. Characterization is divided into two
to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what they say and do. The
author may show not only external speech and actions; but also character’s inner
thoughts, feelings, responsiveness to events. Telling means the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe and often to evaluate the motive and the
dispositional qualities of the characters. (Abrams, 1999:34)
Boggs, in his book, Art of Watching Films, stated that there are eight basic ways in analyzing the characterization. They are:
1. Characterization by appearance
The characterization device deals with the description of
character’s appearance and clothes, facial, expression, and manner.
2. Characterization by the reactions of other characters
The character can be explained through the others character’s
opinion in the novel. The way other characters view a person often serves
as an excellent means of characterization (Boggs, 1978: 47).
3. Characterization by speech
We can understand the characterization of the character through
what he/she says. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in
conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is
giving us some clue to his/ her character.
4. Characterization by past life
We can understand the characterization of the character by
events in the past of the character, we can catch the clue to events that
shape the person’s character.
5. Characterization by reactions
Knowing the reactions of each situation is the way to understand
the person’s characterization.
6. Characterization by choice of name
An important method of characterization is the use of name
possessing qualities of meaning or connotation to help describe the
character. For example: a name Dick Tracy is rather clear and has
connotation meaning. Dick is a slang word for detective and Tracy is the
fact that detectives “trace” the criminal case (Boggs, 1978: 50).
2. Theory of Motivation
A simple but accurate definition of motivation is not easy. It must be able
to include terms that refer to such diverse states as desires, wishes, plans, goals, intents, impulses and purposes.
Motivation is the concept we use when we describe the forces acting on or
within an organism to initiate and direct behavior. The concept of motivation is
also used to explain differences in the intensity of behavior. More intense
behaviors are considered to be the result of higher levels of motivation.
Additionally, motivation indicates the direction of behavior. For example: when you are hungry, you direct your behavior in ways to get some food. Motivation
behavior appropriately. Our thoughts, feelings, and attitudes can motivate us. For
example: we believe that we want to be successful at a task, we work harder and
more diligent in order to get the best mark of the task. We live socially. We are
socially motivated. We interact with others, and these interactions motivate our
behavior. (Petri, 1981: 3-4). Our social situation has a large influence on our
behavior because the presence of others alters our motivation (Petri, 1981: 6). Our
interactions with others can also be motivating. Research in social psychology has
pointed to the power of the group in motivating us to conform and to the power of
authority figures in motivating us to obey. Also, social situations have a large
influence on our behavior because the presence of others alters our motivation.
(Petri: 6).
The theory of motivation is also proposed by Jay Braun (1938: 359). He
stated that something that is more than a simple external stimulus is needed to
evoke goal-directed behavior. The psychological concept of motivation is based
on the combination of external motivational stimuli, called incentives and the
internal motivational factors, or we may call it as drives. The internal drive
activates and result some goals and the external drive is the goal itself. The idea of
incentives is a reward “work backward” to “strengthen” responses in some sense.
The rewards are the effective determinant of behavior. Incentives are often said to
energize behavior, but are described as “pulling” rather than “pushing”.
Other theory about incentives motivation said that it illustrated by the
story below. Bob drove the highway looking both right and left at the restaurant
yesterday. He had worked all night, on a new advertising promotion for the bank
and just moment before, finished it. The position of senior advertising analyst had
recently opened up and he thought that it was a good chance for him. It was
something he had worked toward for the last 3 years and his promotion now
hinged on this one project. Incentives are also described as some object that
motivates us. Incentives, then, are generally important for us either to reach or to
avoid. Incentives motivate behavior. This can be seen in Bob’s story. A strong
motivation existed in him to gain the promotion to senior advertising analyst.
It influences his behavior for several years. Another point to observe in Bob’s
story is incentives are not wired but are learned. The concept of incentives as
motivators of behavior has been useful tool in attempting to explain why people
do the things they do. Its use in theory recognizes the objects or events can modify
and influence our behavior and above physical needs. Motivation learns why the
people behave in a certain way. So, our motivation determines our behavior.
Most of our behavior are generally evaluated or judged against some of
quality or excellence of performance. We are not content merely to perform tasks,
but rather we strive for certain standards of mastery, accomplishment and
achievement in doing them. The musician, just like the athlete or craftsman,
practices in order to attain some ideal state of perfection. Some of the incentives
for the dedicated pursuit of achievement come from social factors such as
prestige, and the recognition and admiration of other people. It should be noted
that such admiration frequently comes from other people who themselves value
also rewarded by motivators such as money and other material benefits. (
Petri:135)
3. Theory of Behavior
In fact, our behavior is instinctive. It is based on McDougall’s
book which stated:
All behavior is instinctive. Instincts are more than just disposition to react in a particular way. Every instinct was seen as consisting of three components: the cognitive, the affective, and the conative (McDougall, 1970).
The cognitive aspect of the instinct is the “knowing” of an object that can satisfy the instinct. The affective component is the feeling (i.e emotion) that the object can arise in the organism. The conative aspect of the instinct is a striving toward or away from the object. What is meant by cognitive is the understanding of the process we use when we interpret information in order to understand the
motivation of behavior. The affective is about the feeling that object can ignite
instinct. The conative is the decision whether or not someone or something come
or leave the object. Therefore, every behavior consists of thought concerning
those goals that will satisfy the motive, subjective emotions that are aroused by
the behavior and purposive striving aimed at reaching the goal.
4. Theory of Addiction
a. Theory of Shopping Addiction
The conventional view of “addiction” is as impaired control over a
reward-seeking (usually drug taking) behaviour from which harm ensues. It is all-or-none,
frequency or intensity of behavior that is causing harm and failure of serious
attempts to limit or cease the activity. If the user lose the drugs, the absence of the
drug leads to phsysiology dysfucntion which make the user suffer from. An addict
is someone who needed to take a drug in order to maintain normal physiological
functioning. With this mind, it seems obvious that addiction needs to be based on
a theory of motivation: addiction is a disorder of motivation. The theory is based
on theory motivation that focuses on the moment-to-moment control of actions through causal pathways of varying lengths and levels of complexity from simple
reflexes, through impulses and inhibitory forces, then desires, drives and
emotional states, to evaluations and plans, the brain has evolved to be inherently
unstable. It emphasises the fact that any element to influence behavior, it must do so through impulses and inhibitory forces operating at the time. Addiction can be usefully viewed as a symthom rather than as a unitary disorder. Addiction
involves a chronic condition of the motivational system (the system of forces that
energise and direct our actions) ( West, 2006: 3-6).
An addiction is something we can’t stop doing without some kind of intervention; but then so are breathing and compulsive behaviors, perhaps there’s a lack of rational justification for the addiction and some sense that the addiction itself continues to “make us do it” (and the judgment that the addiction is “bad”). Addiction is something you don’t need to do (not something connected to survival) but you can’t stop yourself doing (not without help/ suffering/ effort). (West, 2006: 13).
Addiction work because both our mind and the physiological systems
force us to do something that make us inherently unstable and require constants
balancing input to avoid unwanted results. Addiction need our powerful energy to
which is called motivational system. The motivational system is the system of
forces that energise and direct our actions. It consists of motives and plans.
Motives operates through impulses and inhibitions and evaluation operates
through motives. Plans influence actions through impulses, motives or evaluation.
The strength of a given motive derives from the strength of associated emotions
and drives. The direction of the motives derives from the nature of the drives and
wheter the emotions are positive or negative. ( West, 2006: 7).
5. Theory of Consumerism
An expert, Willis, said that consumption became deeply implicated in
discussions of the construction of subjectivity, most especially the construction of
self and identity (Willis 1991; Nava 1992). Consumption is continuing concern
with space and place. In particular, space and place are seen as crucial elements of
consumer identities (Mort 1996: 204-5). Consumption is the study of consumer behavior. It is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups
select, purchase, use or dispose of product, services, ideas, or experiences to
satisfy needs and desire. Consumers take many forms, ranging from an
eight-year-old begging her mother for Gummy Bears to an executive in a large corporation
deciding on a multi-million-dollar computer system. The objects that are
consumed can include anything from canned peas, a massage, democracy, or rap
music, to other people (e.g., the images of rock stars). Needs and desires to be
satisfied range from hunger and thirst to love, status, or even spiritual fulfillment.
purchase, and then dispose of the product during the three stages in the
consumption process. In many cases, however, different people may be involved
in the process. Another person or thing may act as an influencer, providing recommendations for or against certain product without actually buying or using
them. Finally, consumers may be organizations or groups, in which one person
may make the decisions involved in purchasing products that will be used.
(Solomon, 1994: 8).
There is motivation when people do shopping. Motivation is the process
that causes people to behave as they do. It occurs when a need is aroused that the
consumer wishes to satisfy. Once a need has been activated, a state of tension
exists that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate the need. The
desired end state is the consumer’s goal. A basic need can be satisfy any number
of ways, and the specific path a person chooses is influenced by his or her unique
set of experiences, cultural upbringing, and so on. These factors combine to create
a want, which is one manifestation of a need. For example, hunger is a basic need
that must be satisfied by all; the lack of food creates a tension state that can be
reduced by intake of such cheeseburgers, double fudge Oreo cookies, raw fish or
bean sprout. Once the goal is attained, tension is reduced and motivation recedes
(for the time being). Motivation can be described in terms of strength, or the pull
it exerts on the consumer, and its directions, or the particular way the consumer
6. Theory of Lifestyle and Consumption Choices
In a modern society, people are freer to select the set of products, services,
and activities that define themselves and, in turn, create a social identity that is
communicated to others. One’s choice of goods and services indeed makes a
statement about which one is and about the types of people with which one desires
to identify (Solomon, 1994: 438).
Lifestyle can be described in terms of shared values or tastes, especially as
these are reflected in consumption patterns. Consumers often choose products,
services, and activities over others because they are associated with certain
lifestyle. They sort themselves into groups on the basis of the things they like to
do, how they like to spend their leisure time, and how they choose to spend their
disposal income. One’s lifestyle represent the way one has selected to allocate
income, both in terms of relative allocations to different products and services and
to specific alternatives within these categories. (Solomon, 1994: 438-439).
C. Theoretical Framework
Some theories are used in order to support the writer in answering the
problem formulation. The theories are theory of character and characterization,
motivation and behavior and theory of consumerism.
Theory of character and characterization is used to exploring the
characteristic of Rebecca Bloomwood as the main character. The writer finds that
Rebecca is a shopaholic. She addicted to go shopping and buys some branded
bags and outfits. Based on the Abram’s theory which is stated that they are two
“unchanged”), the writer found that Rebecca’s character turned to be a better side.
It is called round character.
Theory of motivation and behavior are used to examine Rebecca’s
emotion and motivation that leads her to behavior. There are some aspects that
base the emotion and motivation of her.
Theory of consumerism relate to the Rebecca’s lifestyle. She makes a
purchase based on her emotion and motivation she fell at that time. Shopping
becomes her hobby. She can not avoid the ‘sale’ board in front of the shop. The
influence of her environment motivates her to go shopping. She looks for her own
identity by purchasing a lot branded outfits. A true shopaholic, like Rebecca will
only stick to brand names such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Armani, Versace
(http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Shopaholic/45117). Rebecca was not shown to
experience any of the negative emotions associated with the addictive cycle. She
was shown to experience excitement and ecstasy during her shopping trips, but
she did not seem to have any negative feelings about it, such as disappointment,
which usually occur in shopping addiction after a purchase has been made. The
negative consequences were mostly limited to other people's reactions to her lies
and debt.
22
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this thesis is one of Sophie Kinsella’s shopaholic series,
Confession of a Shopaholic, a Brit chic-lit novel. This novel is one of Kinsella’s famous works and it is her first novel. It won a lot of prizes from
her fans and some magazines and editors. New York Times awarded her as
Bestseller Author. This novel was published in New York in 2001 by Bantam
Dell and consists of 348 pages.
Sophie Kinsella wrote a romantic comedy about a shopaholic, mixing the
emotions that a shopping addict feels with the distraction of a blossoming
love. The interesting thing is when she puts the VISA Bill letter in the first
page of the novel. Rebecca Bloomwood, as the main character, 25 years old
woman living in a fabulous flat in London's trendiest neighborhood. She lives
with Suze, her glamorous socialite friends. The only trouble is that she can't
actually afford her hobby, shopping. She is a true shopaholic. Her job writing
at Successful Savings don’t help her to get out of her financial problem. Becky has been chased by dismal letters from Visa and the Endwich Bank, the letters
with large red sums she can't bear to read. She tries cutting back; she even
tries making more money, but none of her efforts succeeds. The pages of the
book tell about her career and her hobby and the last pages tell about her way
B. Method of the Study
This study is a library research. There were two kinds of sources, primary
and secondary sources. The primary source is the main source for this thesis.
The primary source is the novel itself, Confession of a Shopaholic by Shopie Kinsella. The secondary sources are all the sources that support the analysis.
They are the reviews, the theories, the approach, and some data from the
Internet.
The writer takes some steps to analyze the novel. The first step was
reading the novel many times. The writer wants to have the deeper
understanding about the novel before going to the next step. The second step
formulate some problems arouse in the story and then put them in the problem
formulation. The next step was collecting all the supporting data about
Kinsella’s Confession of a Shopaholic. The data were taken from library and internet. The writer gathered some theories to support the analysis. The writer
found the theory of emotion, motivation and behavior from Psychology Today
written by Petri’s, Roger’s, Maslow’s, Jay Braun’s and Paul. T. Young. This
book was used to see the relation between emotion, motivation and behavior.
Theory of Consumption was also needed to support the analysis. This theory
was taken from Consumer Behaviour by Michael. R. Solomon. The writer moves to the next step, which is applying those theories to analyze the
problem. And the last step was drawing the conclusion.
Rene Wellek in his book, theory of Literature said that the term
psychological literature has four possible understanding. The first is the study
of psychology of the author as an individual, the second is the process of
creative study, the third is the study of type and the application which is
applied to the literary work and the last is the effect of literary work to the
readers (1969:90). The writer used psychological approach, because
psychological approach deals with the human’s psychological aspect, emotion
and motivation that lead certain behavior. The main character is full of
motivation that leads to certain behavior. Psychological approach helps the
writer to answer the problems based on psychological side. Psychological
approach focuses on human activities, how the emotion and motivation
influence behavior. Psychological aspect deals with human as individual,
therefore the writer use this approach because the writer wants to analyze
25
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this part, the writer tries to answer the questions in the problem
formulation. This part is divided into three parts. The first part is about the
characteristics of Rebecca Bloomwood, the main character in Confession of a Shopaholic. Second, the writer wants to reveal the factors that are influence her motivation in doing shopping. The last is the discussion about how the motivation
influences her behavior.
After finishing reading the novel, the writer conclude that Rebecca
include the category of the round character. This conclusion is based on Forster’s
theory which is said that a round character is complex in temperament and
motivation and is represented with subtle particularity; such as a character
therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in a real life and
like real person, is capable of surprising us. (1927: 33). At the beginning of the
story, she is described as a shopaholic woman, with her mess life. She has a lot of
debt and cannot control her budget. But she has a good side; she is career woman,
very mature and independent. After read deeper about her, the writer finds some
motivations which change her life. It cannot predict before. She become less
A. The Characters of Rebecca Bloomwood 1. Shopaholic
Rebecca Bloomwood or Becky is described as a shopaholic woman. She is 25 years-old modern and fashionable woman who lives in London with her flat
mate, Suze, in the London’s trendiest apartment area, Fulham. Becky is a recent
college graduate and a financial writer for Successful Savings. She has a big interest in shopping and fashion. She feels a great deal of excitement when she
shops, for example when she is purchasing an expensive scarf from Denny and
George. Boggs’ theory of characterization said that knowing the reactions of each
situation is the way to understand the person’s characterization so the writer tries
to reveal the Rebecca’s character through her reaction in each situation.
I almost want to cry out loud, the moment is so wonderful. And all the gorgeous new things inside it become yours. What is it like? It’s like waking up and realizing it is weekend. It’s like the better moment of sex. Everything else is blocked out of your mind. It’s pure, selfish pleasure (p.29).
Rebecca is very extravagant in spending a lot of money just for the things
she doesn’t really need. She buys everything without thinking. She just thinks that
she has to have it.
I don’t much like Samsara pefume-but I didn’t realize that until I got home. Still, never mind. I can always take the aromatherapy oils back or given them to someone for Christmas (p.67).
Shopping looks like an escapade for her, a daring and dangerous act or it
‘sale’. For her, sale, fashion and all about shopping cannot be separated from her
life.
………..when suddenly my eyes focused and snap to attention, and my heart stops. In the window of Denny and George is a discreet sign. It’s dark green cream lettering, and it says: SALE. A shimmering gray-blue scarf is in front of me. I have to touch it. I have to have it. People will refer to me as the Girl in Denny and George Scarf (p.14).
But I look up just in time and turn the corner, and feel jolt. There’s a girl coming toward me and she’s carrying Denny and George scarf carrier bag. And suddenly everything is swept from my mind. ‘Oh my God, what if she got my scarf?’ My heart starts to beat in panic and I begin to stride along the street toward the shop. My heart never beat as fast as it does when I see a “reduced by 50 percent” sign (p.29).
As I stare at it, I can feel little invisible strings, silently tugging me toward it. I have to touch it. I have to wear it. It’s the most beautiful thing I ever seen. I have to have this scarf. I have to have it (p.15).
I’m too concerned about my scarf. What if I don’t make it back in time? What if somebody puts in a higher offer? The very thought makes me panic (p.23).
She always feels happy and enjoys in every moment she does shopping.
Shopping is a pleasurable moment and she is very proud when she brings an
expensive shopping bag. She wants to be a high-class woman with her expensive
outfit. From the discussion and proved by the quotations, the writer conclude that
one of the character of Becky is shopaholic.
Becky always has a lot of reasons to go shopping. When she went to craft
she has to have it whatever the price is, for a timeless of style like this. She reminds herself that buying cheap is actually a false economy, it’s much better to
spend a little more and make a serious purchase that’ll last for a lifetime. She
doesn’t care how much things cost, she just care about how precious they are
because of its antique value (p.50).
Another reason why she does love shopping is that shopping is the reward
for her. She is involved in the Cut-Back project when she has a financial problem.
She follows the instructions in the book entitled Controlling Your Cash by David E. Barton. She thinks that this book will help her in managing her finance; it’s
going to change her life. She makes a lot of effort in order to reduce her shopping
allowance. She believes that it works. The book says that in the early stages, you
should reward yourself and she thinks that spending nothing is absolutely
impossible. So, she rewards herself by buying some coconut bath oil and
moisturizer from the Natural range as a little treat.
After reading some part of the novel, the writer finds a fact that in fact,
Rebecca is aware that she is a shopaholic. Someday, she realize that what she
have done will lead her into some trouble. She makes it more difficultfor herself.
She has a lot of debt with Endwich Bank, owe to her flat mate who always helps
her to overcome the financial problem. There’s a tense feeling in my stomach,
which stay with me all evening. I lie in bed staring up at the ceiling, for the first
time in months, calculate how much I owe to everybody. The bank, VISA, my
Harveys Nichols card, my Debenhams card, my Frenwicks card…… And now
avoid the phone call from Derek Smeath, the manager of the bank. She knows that
her life turn to be mess, it is so miserable. She has spent too much money at first,
feeling happy in every time she goes shopping, she doesn’t think about the future
although she realizes that she is in trouble.
I know I spent too much money on Saturday. I know I shouldn’t have bought two pairs of boots. I know I shouldn’t have bought that purple dress. In all, I spent……. Actually, I don’t want to think about how much I spent. I’m well aware that at the back of my mind, thumping quietly likes a drumbeat, are the twins horrors of Guilt and Panic (p.154).
Another part of the story tells that when she decided to buy a beautiful
cardigan, and consider it as the more perfect cardigan than the others and then she
find the most beautiful cardigan, so she buys both of the cardigans. It is so bad
because she always considers her shopping as for investment, she always makes
excuses for herself, in fact, her habit will lead her into a bad condition.
I’ve actually already bought her a set of aromatherapy oils -- but the other day I saw this gorgeous pink angora cardigan in Benetton, when I notice they’ve got it in gray as well. The most perfect, soft, dove-gray angora cardigan, with little pearly buttons. So I buy it. People will call me the Girl in the Gray Cardigan. I’ll able to live in it. Really, it’s an investment (p.68).
On the other hand, I think as I walk away, that’s quite a lot of new points on my Club Card. And now I’ll be able to make loads of delicious, exotic curries and save all that wasted takeaway money. Really, I’ve got to think of this book as an investment (p.85).
Another reason is for Christmas needed or is for her “aunt” present or
Suze’s birthday present, whereas in fact, she cannot stop her bad habit, which is
shopping. She has a great desire of shopping. She addicts of shopping and she
can’t make her bad habit disappear.
Christmas shopping! I can do all my Christmas shopping here! I know March is a bit early, but why not be organized? And then when Christmas arrives I won’t have to go near the horrible Christmas crowd (p.104).
Then I have to get Suze’s birthday present. I’ve actually bought her a set of aromatherapy oils -- but the other day I saw this gorgeous pink angora cardigan in Benetton, and I know she’d love it (p.67).
Knowing that her partner, Clare and Elly, can have other prospect job, she
feels so desperate. As a good friend, she should support her partner although she
feels like a loser. She cannot be a successful woman yet. Her job as a financial
journalist cannot solve her financial problem; on the contrary, she has a lot of debt
in her credit card. She needs something to cheer her up today. She always shops
when she feels desperate, sad or feels bored.
How can Elly even be thinking of becoming a fund manager? Fund manager aren’t real people. They’re the character we laugh at on press conference. But there’s nothing good on tonight. I really feel as if I need something to cheer me up. If everyone could just wear new clothe every day, I recon depression wouldn’t exist anymore (p.71-72).
2. Ambitious
Becky is characterized as an ambitious person, someone who has a strong desire to have something, to be successful, rich, powerful, needing a lot
George cloth shop. She thinks that she has to have the scarf which she really
wants to. The ambitious side appears when she meets a man who is afraid waiting
for his first baby in the tube. The important thing is the man needs some money
rather than Rebecca who want to buy a scarf in Denny and George cloth shop. She
doesn’t care about the miracle of life (the baby). She has to have the scarf. Her ambitious leads her to be an egoistic person.
As I walk along the pavement, I’m feeling a little bit shame-faced. I should have got out my 120 quid and given it to that man for his baby, instead of buying a pointless scarf. I mean, when you think about it, what’s more important? Clothes-or the miracle of new life? (p29).
Rebecca often refuses the task from her manager. She refuses the task
when her manager asks her to take some reports from other company. If she
receives the task, she cannot take her Visa Card which is left in the office.
3. Independent
Rebecca Bloomwood is an independent woman. She earns money as a financial writer for Successful Savings to fulfill her daily needs. Her life as shopaholic brings her into two condition, good and bad. The good thing is she can
buy anything she wants. She feels very satisfied after she buys it. Some stuff, for
example: expensive clothes, coat, shoes, jeans, scarf, etc. All stuffs are expensive
and branded. As a mature woman, she works at Successful Savings as the writer
of a financial journalist. The writer can conclude the characteristic through her last
name, Bloomwood. The writer thinks that Bloomwood come from the word
blooming, like a flower. In the beginning of the story, she has some problem with
turns to be a successful career woman, can fulfill her daily needs and doesn’t lack
of money anymore. She is an independent woman and is very mature. Now, she
works for Morning Coffee.
OK, I wasn’t actually going to tell you this. But Morning Coffee is paying me absolute loads. Loads. You won’t believe it. I just can’t stop smiling about it. I’ve been floating along ever since they told me. So the point is, I’ll easily be able to pay all these bills off now. My VISA bill, and my Octagon bill, and the money I owe Suze—and everything! Finally, finally
my life is going to be stored (p.329).
B. The Factors that Influence Rebecca’s Motivation as Revealed through Her Character.
This discussion will reveal about motivation which influence Rebecca to
go shopping. Motivation that is discussed is about motivation of a shopaholic
which is influenced by some factors, such as her emotion and the neighborhoods.
They play important roles in the development of her shopaholic behavior. After
doing some research deeply, the writer finds that the emotion and the environment
give the influence to Rebecca’s motivation. Rebecca has already faced some
problems in her life. She has certain response toward each problem. Her mood and
thought in facing some problems really influence her motivation in doing
shopping. Her surrounding also motivates her to do shopping. She is surrounded
by a glamorous society and she usually lives in the glamorous society, so her
mind is set to do shopping like the people usually do in the glamorous society.
The explanation below will explain about the factors which influence Rebecca’s
1. Shopaholic
Everyone has some motivations in doing something. What is actually
motivation? Motivation is the concept we use when we describe the forces acting
on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior (Petri, 1981: 3). For
example: as a good student, we want to be successful at all tasks, we work hard
and more diligent in order to get the best mark of the task. Motivation is also used
to describe differences in the intensity of behavior. More intense behaviors are
considered to be the result of higher levels of motivation. For example: when we
failed to get the best mark of our tasks, we make a great effort in order to get the
best mark, and we work harder, do more exercises, refuse some party from our
friends and keep focus on our study. The higher our motivation, the harder our
effort is. We live socially. We are socially motivated. We interact with others, and
these interactions motivate our behavior. (Petri, 1981: 3-4). Our social situation
has a large influence on our behavior because the presence of others alters our
motivation (Petri, 1981: 6). Our motivation is also influenced by other people
around us. For example, we are motivated by the success of one of our friends.
We try harder in order to get success.
In fact, Rebecca is not only motivated but also addicted to be a shopaholic.
Addiction deals with motivation. Firstly, Rebecca’s motivation in doing shopping
is recognition from her surrounding, she wants to be admitted by the others and
there are other reasons why she shops but in fact, through her motivation we can
see that Rebecca change to be a shopping addicted someone who can’t stop doing
order to maintain normal physiological functioning. Rebecca does shopping in
order to maintain the standard of a shopaholic. The standard of her own. The
standard of her own style. For example when she attended the press conference.
There’s just one essential purchase I have to make on the way to the press conference and that’s the Financial Time. The FT is by far the best accessory a girl can have. If you walk into a room with it tucked under your arm, people take you seriously. With an FT under your arm, you can talk about the most frivolous things in the world, and instead of thinking you’re an airhead, people think you’re heavy weight intellectual who has broader interest, too. (p. 13).
So, what Rebecca does is based on people think about herself. The
standard of her own style is when people think that she is good one. She is very
heavy intellectual. Whatever she wears, she wants people to pay attention to her.
She always considers herself as a good one. She always says “People will refer to
me as the Girl in the Denny and George Scarf” (p.16) or “People will call me the
Girl in the Gray Cardigan” (p.68). Her addiction is influenced by her motivation
which is said that motivation focus on simple reflexes, forces, desires, drives and
emotional states, to evaluations and plans, the brain has evolved to be inherently
unstable. Her desires are going strong, her forces need to be fulfilled, and her
emotion is unstable. They have to be fulfilled. It is her addiction. Her addiction
leads her into a bad habit, that is shopaholic.
We can understand theory of motivation and apply it to the main character,
Rebecca’s motivation. There are some factors that influence Rebecca’s
motivation. Those factors are internal and external factors, but the biggest
a. Rebecca’s Neighborhood
In fact, she lives in Fulham’s trendiest flat area in London, which is
located near the British Broadway, the most expensive location in British (“As a
market go, I’m nearer Elephant and Castle than Fulham on my salary. How can
normal people afford to live in a such hideously expensive places?” p.35) so her
appearance must be excellent, fashionable and representing high lifestyle class.
She has to adjust her appearance and the life style. She prefers to eat in expensive
restaurants rather than to cook dinner by herself. In the whole story, Rebecca
didn’t cook at all. She lives and enjoys her high life style. She always shops all the
day. She prefer branded outfit to unbranded one although she has financial
problem. She always wears some branded outfit, like Denny and George, La Senza the underwear, Whistles and many more; eating in some expensive reastaurant, like Throntons Chocolates, Oddbins, Terazza, etc. When she holds a carrier bag from an expensive outfit, she feels so proud. She thinks that all people
surround her will pay more attention to her. For example, when she gets Denny and George’s scarf, she considers herself as the Girl in Denny and George. She also names herself as the Girl in the Gray Cardigan when she found such a
beautiful cardigan. Based on the “term”, she always wants to be a trendsetter,
fashionable and stylish woman. That’s why she loves shopping very much. She is
obsessed by shopping. For her, shopping is the identity of a rich people, which is
Other experts, Willis, also said that consumption became deeply
implicated in discussions of the construction of subjectivity, most especially the
construction of self and identity (Willis 1991; Nava 1992). It means that shopping
is about someone’s identity. Salomon stated in his book that there is motivation
when people do shopping. Motivation is the process that causes people to behave
as they do. It occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy.
Once a need has been activated, a state of tension exists that drives the consumer
to attempt to reduce or eliminate the need (1994: 81-82). It is obvious that the
motivation of doing shopping is about the recognition from the society. It is the
same meaning with the statement of Petri which is said that most of our behavior are generally evaluated or judged against some of quality or excellence of
performance. We are not content merely to perform tasks, but rather we strive for
certain standards of mastery, accomplishment and achievement in doing them.
The musician, just like the athlete or craftsman, practices in order to attain some
ideal state of perfection. Some of the incentives for the dedicated pursuit of
achievement come from social factors such as prestige, and the recognition and
admiration of other people (p.135). Rebecca is surrounded by a glamorous
society; she wants to be admitted in the society so she tries to reach the standard
of living in glamorous society. If she can reach the standard, she will get the
recognition, fashionable and glamorous. She feels free to be the same with the
people from glamorous society so she goes shopping as a satisfaction of her
needed that is shopping and as a prove that she is from glamorous society. Her
shopping, buy some expensive clothes and the society will admit her. She feels
satisfy with it. After feeling satisfy, it means that her need of shopping is reduce.
Her desire to go shopping is disappear. So, her environment gives the influence to
do more shopping.
b. Rebecca’s Work Environment
As a financial journalist, she has to attend some press conferences and a
lot of meetings in some famous financial companies. In every press conference,
she always pays more attention to the PR girls. She always makes a list of what
they wear and then imitate the way they wear a suit in order to get the best
appearance.
Like today, she’s wearing an orange chiffony shirt over a pair of white cotton trousers, espadrilles, and a big wooden necklace, the kind I could never wear in a million years (p.18).
Isn’t that suit nice? An expensive suit like that almost makes you wants to be a man. It’s inky blue with a faint purple stripe, single-breasted, with proper horn buttons. As I run my eyes over it I find myself wondering if it’s by Oswald Boateng (p.18).
She always compares her appearance with the others in order to be equal
with some PR girls from other big companies. Her environment influences her to
be a perfectionist and fashionable person as well as shopaholic. She always
itemizing all the clothes she is wearing. When she tries to apply for another job
……. I surreptitiously run my gaze over Amy’s trouser suit again—and find my eyelanding on an Emporio Armani label. I can’t quite believe it. The assistant wear Emperio Armani! So what’s Jill herself going to be in?
Couture Dior? God, I love this place already (p.162).
From the quotation above, we can see that the way she dressed is
influenced by the others’ appearance. Rebecca feels so comfort with this kind of
situation. She likes the atmosphere of the office, which is surrounded by some
partner who wear branded outfit. Because of living in this situation, she is more
motivated to be a shopaholic woman as well as a perfectionist and fashionable
person.
There are other factors that influence Rebecca to be a shopaholic woman
as well as a perfectionist and fashionable person. Rebecca looks like a young
executive. She is a journalist for financial magazine. As a financial journalist, she
is surrounded by young executive, public relation girls from some famous
companies, and also Suze, who comes from upper class family. She also has a lot
of partner, for example Luke Brandon (the head of Brandon Communication),
Elly Granger (her partner) who works in some big companies, whose outfit
represents high-class people. Young executive, PR girls and also Suze represent to
high class society. They usually wear expensive clothes. They’re well dressed,
well spoken, are married to bankers, and have zero sense of humor (p.19). Young
executive is rich; they usually spend their income for shopping. They feel that
they can fulfill their needed, including shopping. They live in glamorous society.
why she cannot be like them, although her appearance has also represent the high
life style.
Alicia falls into the identikit pattern exactly, with her baby-blue suit, silk Hermès scarf, and matching baby-blue shoes, which I’ve seen in Russel and Bromley, and they cost absolute fortune, and suddenly I feel a bit pale and weedy in comparison (p.19)
If some PR girl wear branded outfit, so does Rebecca. She wants to be
acceptable in the society. It influences Rebecca to go shopping, and it even makes
her obsessed with shopping.
Basically, a shopaholic feels happy when they do shopping, although they
don’t really need those things. They do like shopping because they are in the
highest point of feeling, which is happy. They show excitement experience
during her shopping trips. They fall into uncontrollably shopping. They are
obsessed. They run away from some problem that they faced just for a while.
Their happiness influences them to do more shop, in other word, their emotion
(happiness, stress, sad, broken heart, jealousy) motivate them to do more
shopping. For example from Rebecca’s quotation above.
Every time I add something to my pile, I feel a little bit whoosh of pleasure, like a firework going off. And for a moment, everything’s all right. But then, gradually, the light and sparkles disappear, and I’m felt with cold and dark blackness again. So I look feverishly around for something else (p.237).
A true shopaholic will only stick to brand names such as Louis Vuitton,
