ANNISA ARIE ESTIANA 1118351010
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT,
FACULTY OF LETTERS & CULTURE
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY
This paper entitled Feminist Approach in Understanding the Main
Character in Jane Austen’s Persuasion and concerned about the feminism issue of Anne Elliot as the main character in Persuasion, a novel by Jane Austen (1818). Anne Elliot also faces conflict with other characters which make the story more interesting; her appearance from physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects makes her character more real.
The data of this study was collected by using documentation method. The techniques of collecting data consisted of two steps; reading and note-taking. A qualitative method was used in analyzing data. The theory that used in analyzing the character in terms of physiological, psychological, and sociological aspects used the theory of character by Egri (in Sukada, 1987). The conflict faced by the main character was analyzed by the theory of literature by Kenney (1966). The theory of feminism by Alison Jaggar (1983), was the theory to analyze feminism that focuses more on issues like equality in the workplace, in education, or in political rights.
The result that obtained in this study shows that the character of Anne Elliot can be observed physiologically, sociologically, and psychologically, and through the internal and external conflicts she faced in her life. The main character also reflects feminism in her life through her intelligence in the story; she succeeded in dealing with gender difference, gender inequality, and gender oppression.
Praise and great gratitude to the Almighty God Allah SWT for the blessings in finishing this study entitled Feminist Approach in Understanding the
Main Character in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. My greatest respect is dedicated to the Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Culture. I also would like to express my special appreciation to Drs. I Made Winaya, M.Par. as my first supervisor, and to I Komang Sumaryana Putra, S.S., M.Hum. as my second supervisor. My deep gratitude also dedicated to all the lecturers in English Department, Faculty of Letters and Culture, Udayana University for the knowledge that has been given during my study.
The greatest honor and appreciation sincerely dedicated to my beloved family, my father Wajar Edy Suprianto and my mother Made Musti, for the unstoppable love, patience and encouragement, my brother Jaka Prima Ramadhan and sister-in-law Rili Oktaviana for the support and prayer. I also would like to extend my gratitude for the incredible people in my life. To Keluarga Besar
HIMAPESI for the new experiences during my time in HIMAPESI. To my special one, I Wayan Dody Yanca Gunartha who always gives me love and support. Also to my bestfriends Swandewi, Yulistya, Eka, Ratih, Tiara Cindy, Janet, and Ayu Yuniasri for the supports and moments we share. At last I would like to thank Paramore, One Direction, and Selena Gomez for the songs they produced that made me enthusiastic in completing this thesis.
Denpasar, June 2016
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... i
TABLE OF CONTENT ... ii
ABSTRACT ... iii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study ... 1
1.2 Problem of the study ... 3
1.3 Aims of the study ... 3
1.4 Scope of discussion ... 4
1.5 Research Method ... 4
1.5.1 Data Source ... 5
1.5.2 Method and technique of collecting data ... 5
1.5.3 Method and technique of analyzing data ... 5
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW, CONCEPTS, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Literature Reviews ... 7
2.2 Concepts of Feminism ... 9
2.3 Theoretical Framework ... 11
2.3.1 Theory of Character ... 11
2.3.2 Theory of Literature ... 13
2.3.3 Theory of Feminism ... 15
3.3.2 The Secondary Character ... 31
3.3.3 The Supporting Character ... 31
3.4 Anne Elliot in Terms of Physiological, Psychological, and Sociological Aspect ... 34
3.4.1 Physiological Aspect ... 35
3.4.2 Psychological Aspect ... 37
3.4.3 Sociological Aspect ... 41
3.5 Conflicts Faced by Anne Elliot ... 44
3.5.1 Internal Conflict ... 44
3.5.2 External Conflict ... 45
3.6 Factors that Causing Feminism in Anne Elliot ... 49
3.6.1 Unequal Treatment upon Anne Elliot ... 49
3.6.1.1 Inequality from Captain Harville ... 50
3.6.2 Man‟s Oppression upon Anne Elliot ... 51
3.6.2.1 Oppression from Sir Walter Elliot ... 51
3.7 Feminism Reflected in Anne Elliot ... 52
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Studying literature is like studying the beauty of the world. It can be perceived from the written literatures that human made. Literature is the art of written word that introduces the reader to something new, or shows them a different side of a familiar perspective, whether in the form of a novel, poem, memoir or short story. The word "literature" has different meanings depending on who is using it. It could be applied broadly to mean any symbolic record, covering everything from images and sculptures to letters.
In literature, there are several points that can be analyzed, for example feminist literature. Feminism is one of human movements that fight for the equals between male and female. Feminist doesn‟t always female, male also can be a feminist. The main purpose of this movement is to raise the female level and esteem to be equal with male level. Feminism was born in early 20th century, feminist etymologically derived from the word femme (woman), means that women who aim to fight for the rights of women, as social class. Feminist goal is to balance, and gender interrelation. In a broader sense, feminist is the movement of women to reject everything that is marginalized, subordinated and demeaned by the dominant culture, in the political and economic and social life in general.
literary theory, feminist is a women's movement that occurs almost worldwide. This movement was triggered by the realization that the rights of women equal to men. Diversity and difference objects with theories and methods are the hallmark of feminist studies. In relation to the literature, the relevant fields of study, including: female literary tradition, women authors, women readers, language characteristics of women, and women leaders.
In relation to cultural studies, women's issues have more to do with gender equality. Feminist, particularly concerning women‟s issue in general is associated with emancipation, women's movement demanding equal rights with men, both in politics and economics, as well as socio-cultural movements in general. In the literature, emancipation has been disputed since the 1920s, marked by the presence of novels from Balai Pustaka, by presenting the problems of forced marriage, which was followed in 1930's period that begins with Layar Terkembang by Sutan Alisjahbana.
themselves as well as by the male. Support is seen through community acceptance of women in areas previously dominated by men, through writing and media.
This study was concerned about the feminism issue of Anne Elliot as the main character in Persuasion novel. The life of Anne Elliot can be interesting to be analyzed extrinsically and intrinsically because she faced conflicts with other characters which make the story interesting; and her appearance seen from three dimensions (physiological, psychological and sociological aspect) makes her more imagined.
1.2 Problems of the Study
Based on the background stated above, the problems mentioned in this study can be defined into the following questions:
1. How is the main character presented in terms of physiological, psychological and sociological aspect?
2. What sorts of conflicts are faced by the main character in the Persuasion? 3. How is feminism reflected in the main character in Persuasion?
1.3 Aims of Study
The purpose of this study is to get the answer for every questions stated above. There are three purposes of the study based on the problems, they are:
1. To analyze the main character in terms of physiological, psychological and sociological aspect.
3. To analyze the feminism reflected in the main character‟s life in Persuasion.
1.4 Scope of Discussion
This study is focused on the intrinsic aspects which are the character and conflict faced; and extrinsic of feminism aspect of the literary works by analyzing the main character of the story. It had been chosen that novel
Persuasion by Jane Austen was analyzed in this study. There were three specific problems to be discussed:
1. The main character in terms of physiological, psychological and sociological aspect.
2. The external and internal conflicts faced by the main character in Persuasion.
3. The feminism reflected in the main character in Persuasion.
1.5 Research Method
1.5.1 Data Source
Data source refers to the object from which the data was taken. The data was taken from Persuasion, a novel written by Jane Austen and published in 1818. This novel is chosen because Anne Elliot as the main character in this novel reflected feminism value in her life.
1.5.2 Method and techniques of collecting data
Documentation method was applied in this study. The data was collected through a comprehensive and intensive reading of Persuasion novel. The techniques of collecting data consisted of two steps; the first step was done by reading and understanding the content of the novel and the biography. The second step was note-taking; by listing down the statements of features of Anne Elliot in term of feminism approach, the conflicts faced by Anne Elliot in novel, and Anne Elliot related to feminism value.
1.5.3 Method and Techniques of Analyzing Data
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE, CONCEPTS, AND
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Review of Literatures
Literature review contains several studies from former students whom already done a thesis beforehand as references of this study to consider the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. In this chapter, there are review of thesis‟ and journal that have to do with this study. The main goals are to situate the current study within the body of literature and to provide context for the particular reader and also to avoid the possibility of plagiarism.
The first study is written by Triwahyuni (2005) entitled The Feminist Message in Four Lesbian Poems by American Poets. Although the main source of her study was a poetry, the feminism aspect also rises as one of her three problems, such as; the characteristics of lesbian poetry, the social problems reflected within lesbian poetry, and the feminist message in lesbian poetry. Triwahyuni adopted the theory of feminism proposed by Cixous (1991), the theory of literature by DiYanni (2001) and Wellek and Warren (1978). The study concludes that in a lesbian poetry, the feminist messages are reflected by using
women‟s body as a metaphor.
The second study was done by Paulina Meo (2011). The title of her study
discussed the kinds of dimensions on the main character based on some aspects (physiological, psychological and sociology). The methodology used in her study is by the library search. In analyzing the dimension of the main character, she used the theory from Kenny in his book entitled How to Analyse Fiction (1966). The concepts about the main character is also taken from the support theories related to the topic of her study. Based on the result of analysis of point of view on the main character in the novel Daniel Defoe entitled Robinson Crusoe is focused on some aspects on the main character, such as physiology, psychology, and sociology aspects. The main character in the story of this novel is Robinson Kreutznaer. From physiology aspect, Kreutznaer is handsome, tall and also a strong man. From psychological aspects, Kreutznaer is very kind in helping other people. The last is sociological aspect which can be described is that he came from the rich and prominent family in London. He also had a good relationship with his friends.
The third study is about women‟s language which was done by Hana Agustina (2014). The study entitled “Women‟s Language Used in the Movie
Script of Legally Blonde” and concern about the use of women‟s language in the
movie script of Legally Blonde. The purposes of this work were to analyze the
women‟s linguistic features in the area of women‟s speech of the movie script;
and to analyze the kind of women‟s language style in the conversations of the movie script. The data of this study was collected by using documentation method and was analyzed in qualitative method. The theories that are used in analyzing
language style. The first theory was proposed by Lakoff (1975); and the other
theory was proposed by Coates (1986), both concerning in women‟s language
issues. The result of this writing showed that the features of women‟s language proposed by Lakoff (1975) and Coates (1986) were used by the women‟s character in the movie script.
The discussion of feminism can also be seen in the international journal by Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson “Feminism and Discourse: Psychological
Perspectives”. In this article, feminism is discussed in the context of
psychological perspective. The article contains discourse analytic work which is specifically feminist in content – constituting a major strand of contemporary feminist social psychology in Britain, and the critical evaluation of discourse analysis in relation to feminism.
2.2 Concept of Feminism
Feminist is someone who professes feminism. Feminism is one of human movements that fight for the equals between male and female. Feminist doesn‟t always female, male also can be a feminist. The main purpose of this movement is to raise the female level and esteem to be equal with male level. The struggle and feminism hard work is done in many ways, such as, having equal rights and opportunity as the male does. Then came the term equal right movement. The other way is to liberate women from domestic environment bond or family
environment. This way is called women‟s liberation movement which shorten to
The point of feminism is an ideology criticism towards a point of few
which neglects the imbalance problems and injustice of character‟s role and social
identity based on the difference of gender (Budianta 2002:201). Sofia and Sugihastuti (2003:35) stated that feminism is a fight to change the hierarchy structure between men and women to be equality of rights, status, opportunity, and role in society.
This human movement is widely develops to the entire world. This
movement is appeared triggered by the awareness that women‟s rights are equal to
men‟s (Kutha Ratna, 2004:186). The humanitarian movement has actually
appeared in United States of America in the 16th century. With the development of this movement, in 1960s this movement is called feminism. This movement is not only a form of social activity in human life but also take effect in a study
about culture and literature. Literature as the human‟s work is closely associated
with cultural values which believed by the society. Therefore, literature is often seen as a mirror of society and culture.
2.3 Theoretical Framework
Discussing literary work cannot be separated from the influence of the
author‟s life. This chapter presents some theories that are relevant to the study.
The theory include the theory of character proposed by Egri in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing (1942), and Egri in Sukada‟s Beberapa Aspek tentang Sastra (1987) which will concern in the three dimensions analysis (physiological, psychological, and sociological). Theory of literature proposed by Kenney in his book How to Analyze Fiction (1966) which will concern in analyzing the conflict of the main character in the novel of this study. Theory of feminism is proposed by Alison Jaggar in her book Feminist Politic and Human Nature (1988).
2.3.1 Theory of Character
Lajos Egri (1946) in his book The Art of Dramatic Writing begins his section on character by pointing out that every object has three dimensions: depth, height, and width. People are no different. They have three extra dimensions namely; physiology, sociology, and psychology. Physiological, psychology, and sociology are the three dimensions that are used to determine the characters in a work of literature. Essentially, the dimensions of character are the same as the dimensions of people. Those three aspects can be explained as follow:
1. Physiological Aspect
height/weight, posture, defects, heredity, hair color, and other physical aspect affect his/her sociological experience and behavior. Physiology as a means of learning the physique related to the appearance of a person. The physicality of a person makes the first impression, which dictates how a
person will be treated, and this, in turn, affects a person‟s life experience
and behavior. A character in a novel is no different. A character has a physical description somewhere in the text.
2. Sociological
This aspect is related to the society, especially how character interacts in his/her social environment. The social background forms the
character‟s behavior, the way of thinking, and the way he/she acts when
the character facing a problem. A social system consists of the system of family, politics, economy, belief, education, and constitution. By learning social institution and any kind of economical, religion, and political problems, a description about how a human being adapts his environment, social mechanism, and cultural processes can be obtained.
3. Psychological Aspect
Egri describes psychology as the way a character behaves, which is
the culmination of that character‟s physiological and sociological aspects.
This is the part of character analysis that involves labeling the character as
a “type” or using adjectives to describe that character. Egri also states that
character on psychological point of view reveals the psychological aspect of a character. It deals with the personal qualities of characters and observes the character‟s behavior and activities as a human being.
2.3.2 Theory of Literature
Kenney (1966) stated that literature is art that express life in the world which appeals to the sense of beauty. Literature means simply written record, of all race, including its history and science as well as it poems and novels. Literary work has special characteristic, those are intrinsic elements, consisting of plot, characterization, theme, setting, point of view, character, style, and tone.
To analyze a literary work, the separate parts that make it up need to be identified, to determine the relationships among the parts to the whole. Plot is the structure of a series of events in the story that are arranged as a sequence of sections in the overall fiction. Thus, plot is a mix of elements that build up the story so that it becomes the main frame of the story. The structure of plots divided into three parts. They are the beginning which consists of the exposition on introduction, the middle which consists of conflict, complication and climax and the end which converses denouement or resolution. The structure will be explained below:
1. Beginning
occupation, social conditions, place of residence, and the things which according to the author it is important to be known by the reader. At the beginning of the story usually ends with unstable story because unstable story will trigger events that would happen next.
2. Middle
The middle part consists of conflict, complication, and climax. The middle part of the story begins with the things that can lead to conflict because in the middle of the story contains a series of conflicts with a higher intensity and reach the summit and called the climax of a story. This is usually part of the most awaited by readers. Conflicts occur due to the motivation and actions as well as the element of causation. Motivation as a reason why the characters do what they do. According to Laurence Perrine (1988) conflict is a clash action, desire, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story or drama. Conflict may exist between the main character and other person or persons (man against man): between the main character and some external force physical nature, society, or fate (man against some destructive element in his own nature (man against himself).
Wellek and Warren (1989:285) articulate that conflict is something dramatically spotlighted or two surviving forces, which both have the equal power of struggle and contextually dealt with action of either accepting or releasing.
falling action and resolution. The climax is the high point of the action, and is often a turning point in terms of plot and the story's characters. 3. The End
The final part of the story shows the resolution of the problems that occur in the middle of the story. Resolution might be the result of the complicated incidents faced by characters through his or her destiny on the stories. In this case, resolution is some significant accomplishment, which relieves the character at the end of the story. Resolution is the rounding off of the action, the conclusion, one way or the other, of the conflict. The resolution needs to be a satisfying ending, one that gives s feeling of
completeness. Whether the ending „happy‟ or „unhappy‟ one feels that a
good plot is well rounded off, the conflict fully explored, if not fully settled. (Little, 1966:85).
2.3.3 Theory of Feminism
the theory of equality between men and women in the political, economic, and social; or activities organized for the rights and interests of women.
In literature, feminism is related to the concept of feminist literary criticism, the study of literature which directs the focus of analysis to women. Feminist literary criticism does not mean that women critics, or criticisms about women, or criticisms about female authors. Simple sense is contained literary critics regard with particular awareness; the realization that there are many gender related to culture, literature, and life. Gender differences in self-poet, the reader, the element works, and external factors.
According to Lengermann and Brantley (in Ritzer, 2000) they describe
feminist theory into four stages. The first stage is women‟s location in and
experience of most situations is different from that of men in the society. Second,
women‟s location in most situations is not only different from but also less
privileged than or equal to that of men. Third, women‟s situation also has to be understood in terms of a direct power relationship between men and women, women are oppressed by men. Fourth, women‟s experience of difference,
inequality and oppression varies according to their total location within societies‟
arrangements of structural oppression.
The issues of gender difference, gender inequality, and gender oppression are explained as follow:
a. Gender differences
differences can only be attributed solely to biological differences between males and females. However, it is common to use gender differences to encompass both sex and gender differences when referring to people, since those differences cannot be separated from their environment. Gender differences have been of particular interest in education.
b. Gender inequality
Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favored. Men and women are situated in the society not only differently but also unequally. Women get less of the material resources, social status, power and opportunities for self-actualization than do men who share their social location based on class, race, occupation, ethnicity, religion, education, nationality, or other any socially significant factors. All human beings are characterized by a deep need for freedom to seek self-actualization and by a fundamental malleability that leads them to adapt to the constrains or opportunities of the situation in which they find themselves. Women are situationally less empowered than men to realize the need they share with men for self-actualization.
c. Gender oppression
gender consist of mutually exclusive categories of masculinity and femininity. In 1970s debates started regarding the extent to which differences between the sexes were biological. Studies of gender relations in societies around the world have demonstrated that almost everywhere in the modern era femininity is associated with a public sphere. Gender
oppression describes women‟s situation as the consequence of a direct
power relationship between men and women in which men have fundamental and concrete interests in controlling, using, subjugating, and, oppressing women in the practice of domination. This pattern is
incorporated in the deepest and most pervasive ways into society‟s
organization, a basic structure of domination commonly called patriarchy. Theories of gender oppression go further than theories of gender difference and gender inequality by arguing that not only are women different from or unequal to men, but that they are actively oppressed, subordinated, and even abused by men.
Lengermann and Brantley (in Ritzer, 2000) explain that feminist mobilization is frequently divided into three waves. They are:
1. First-wave feminism; was in nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and related to the revolution in France. Its movement focused on the promotion of equal contract, property and marriage life. This period introduced three feminisms, they are:
Jaggar in her book Feminist Politic and Human Nature (1983) stated that liberal feminism is theory and work that focuses more on issues like equality in the workplace, in education, in political rights. Liberal feminism's primary goal is gender equality in the public sphere, equal access to education, equal pay, ending job sex segregation, better working conditions, won primarily through legal changes. Liberal feminism tends to rely on the state and political rights to gain equality, to see the state as the protector of individual rights. Liberal feminism, for example, supports affirmative action legislation requiring employers and educational institutions to make special attempts to include women in the pool of applicants, on the assumption that past and current discrimination may simply overlook many qualified women applicants.
b. Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a philosophy emphasizing the patriarchal roots of inequality between men and women, or, more specifically, social dominance of women by men. Radical feminism views patriarchy as dividing rights, privileges and power primarily by gender, and as a result oppressing women and privileging men. Radical feminism opposes existing political and social organization in general because it is inherently tied to patriarchy. Radical feminism opposes patriarchy, not men. To equate radical feminism to man-hating is to assume that patriarchy and men are inseparable, philosophically and politically
Social feminism or socialist feminism phrase used in 1970s to describe a mixed theoretical and practical approach to achieving women's equality. Socialist feminism recognized the oppressive structure of capitalist society. The theory of socialist feminism, on the other hand, sought to avoid separating feminism from the rest of society. Alison Jaggar (1983) states that Marxist feminist thought lumps women together with men, both being oppressed by the capitalist system. Socialist feminism‟s ultimate aim is to abolish both class and gender distinctions. Jaggar describes prostitution and marriages of convenience both as forms of economic oppression perpetrated against women in particular. Socialist feminism as a paradigm still in the formative stages. It draws elements from both Marxist and radical feminism, yet has the potential to go beyond.
2. Second-wave feminism; the original impetus came from socialist and Civil Rights movements which emerged in the 1960s in North and Central America, Europe, and Australasia. The women‟s liberation movement, which started in the United States, combined liberal, rights-based concerns for equality between women and men with demands for a woman‟s right to determine her own identity and sexuality. This stage refers to the resurgence of feminist activity in the late 1960s and 1970s, when protest
again centered around women‟s inequality, although this time not only in
Existentialism is a philosophical and cultural movement which holds that the starting point of philosophical thinking must be the individual and the experiences of the individual, that moral thinking and scientific thinking together are not sufficient for understanding all of human existence, and, therefore, that a further set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to understand human existence. Existentialist feminists emphasize concepts such as freedom, interpersonal relationships, and the experience of living as a human body. They value the capacity for radical change, but recognize that factors such as self-deception and the anxiety caused by the possibility of change can limit it. Simone de Beauvoir in her book The Second Sex (1949) explains that woman is the product of civilization. A famous quotation from her words: “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman”. No psychological or economical fate determines the figure that the human female presents in the society.
b. Gynocentric feminism
The gynocentrism is a concept that is focusing the woman in theory or practice or to the advocacy of this and tends to discriminate the man. The overriding focus of gynocentric ideology is to prioritize females hierarchically, and as a result may be interpreted as misandry (the hatred and prejudice towards men). Feminist demands equality or even equity are often, according to them, a subterfuge for gynocentrism
unsure feminists and feminists born into a world where feminism had always existed. The movement of third-wave feminism focused less on laws and the political process and more on individual identity. The movement of third-wave feminism is said to have arisen out of the realization that women are of many colors, ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds. The third-wave used literature as the means of communication to spread their idea. This period came up with four feminisms, they are:
a. Postmodern feminism
Postmodern feminism is the modern branch of feminism that strives for equality for all genders. It is intersectional, which means that it fights for race and sexuality as well as on the basis of gender. It is often confused with ideas of feminism from the past, which are often perceived as detrimental to the movement.
b. Multicultural feminism
Multicultural feminism emphasizes the difference among women in terms of race, ethnicity, tradition, sexuality, class and others. Multicultural feminism focus on building coalitions among different groups of women. The goal of multicultural feminism is to increase awareness of commonalities and differences women of all races experience.
c. Postcolonial feminism
well-known for the challenge it has posed to Western feminist politics. Ania Loomba in her book entitled Postcolonial Studies and Beyond (2005) states that postcolonial feminism identifies a connection between the patriarchal relations that most women live in and the workings of colonialism. Postcolonial feminism is struggling for a more inclusive analyze, which also considers factors such as ethnicity, class and culture. d. Ecofeminism
Mary Mellor explains that Ecofeminism is a movement that sees a connection between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of women. Ecofeminism came into being in the early 1970s in the United States, when a number of women became disillusioned with the mainstream environmental movement and sought to create more awareness among feminists about environmental concerns. Ecofeminism uses the basic feminist tenets of equality between genders, a revaluing of non-patriarchal or nonlinear structures, and a view of the world that respects organic processes, holistic connections, and the merits of intuition and collaboration.
