xi ABSTRACT
NURROHMAH, DILA. Eloisa James’ Views Towards British Social Condition in the 19th Century as Reflected in A Kiss At Midnight. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
This thesis discusses Eloisa James’ views in the novel A Kiss at Midnight. A Kiss at Midnight is a historical romance novel. This novel was written in 2010 but the setting is in the 19th century British. This study is to understand the author’s views that states in the novel.
There are three objectives in this study. The first objective is to see the
characters in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight. The second objective is to see Social Condition of 19th Century British depicted as setting in the novel. The third objective is to understand the characters and setting in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight that reflect James’ views toward British Social Condition in the 19th Century.
In order to achieve the aims of the study, the writer uses library research. The main source of this study is a novel, A Kiss at Midnight novel. The secondary sources are obtained from several books and the internet sites that support this study. The approach used in analyzing this study is sociocultural-historical. Sociocultural-historical is suitable in analyzing this novel because this study investigates the civilization in the 19th century.
The analysis of this study shows that there are four important characters in this novel, Katherine Daltry, Prince Gabriel, Mariana Daltry, and Victoria Daltry. The setting in the novel A Kiss at Midnight is British in the 19th century.
xii ABSTRAK
NURROHMAH, DILA. Eloisa James’ Views Towards British Social Condition in the 19th Century as Reflected in A Kiss At Midnight. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight. A Kiss at Midnight adalah historical-romance novel. Novel ini ditulis pada tahun 2010 tetapi setting dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight adalah Inggris pada abad ke-19. Penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James yang terdapat dalam novel.
Terdapat tiga tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui tokoh-tokoh yang terdapat dalam novel karya Eloisa James, A Kiss at Midnight. Tujuan yang kedua adalah untuk mengetahui kondisi sosial di Inggris pada abad ke-18 yang tergambar dalam setting. Tujuan yang terakhir adalah untuk mengetahui karakter dan setting dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight yang merefleksikan pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James mengenai Inggris pada abad ke-18.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka dalam penelitian ini. Sumber utama yang penulis gunakan adalah novel A Kiss at Midnight karya Eloisa James. Sumber sekunder yang penulis gunakan adalah beberapa buku dan sumber internet yang mendukung penelitian ini. Penulis menggunakan pendekatan sosial budaya-sejarah. Pendekatan tersebut cocok digunakan untuk menganalisis novel A Kiss at Midnight sebab penelitian ini membahas masyarakat pada abad ke-19.
EL
OISA JAMES’ VIEWS TOWARDS BRITISH SOCIAL
CONDITION IN THE 19
THCENTURY AS REFLECTED IN
A KISS AT MIDNIGHT
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DILA NURROHMAH
Student Number: 094214049
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
EL
OISA JAMES’ VIEWS TOWARDS BRITISH SOCIAL
CONDITION IN THE 19
THCENTURY AS REFLECTED IN
A KISS AT MIDNIGHT
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
DILA NURROHMAH
Student Number: 094214049
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis.
Yogyakarta, August 10, 2015
vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Dila Nurrohmah
Nomor Mahasiswa : 094214049
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
EL
OISA JAMES’ VIEWS TOWARDS BRITISH SOCIAL
CONDITION IN THE 19
THCENTURY AS REFLECTED IN
A KISS AT MIDNIGHT
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta izin dari saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencatumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal 10 Agustus 2015
Yang menyatakan
vii
Verily never will Allah change
the condition of a people until
they change it themselves
(with their own souls).
viii
For my beloved father,
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, let me pray my praise and gratitude to Allah SWT who gives me
strength to finish this thesis. This thesis is dedicated to my father, Subagya who
gives me great support to my education. I also thank my mother, Painem for all
her love and support.
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my advisor, P. Sarwoto,
S.S., M.A., Ph.D., for all guidance and advice that helped me in finishing this
thesis. I also thank my co-advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum., for giving
me advice and suggestion for my thesis. I would like to thank all my lecturers in
English Letters Department, the secretariat staff, and the library staff who helped
me during my study.
I would like to thank my friends who helped me doing this thesis,
Dominika Restu for all the love and support, and Helen Marta Sari for her opinion
and suggestion. I thank my sister, Ida Nurmila is the best sister in the world, and
my brother, Rohmad Fauzi who gave me great support. My special thanks go to
my friends, Siti Fatimah, Nurrohmah Fithriya, and Rina Mei. Finally, I thank
Forum Keluarga Muslim BUDI UTAMA USD for the friendship and chance to
study.
x
xi ABSTRACT
NURROHMAH, DILA. Eloisa James’ Views Towards British Social Condition in the 19th Century as Reflected in A Kiss At Midnight. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.
This thesis discusses Eloisa James’ views in the novel A Kiss at Midnight. A Kiss at Midnight is a historical romance novel. This novel was written in 2010 but the setting is in the 19th century British. This study is to understand the author’s views that states in the novel.
There are three objectives in this study. The first objective is to see the
characters in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight. The second objective is to see Social Condition of 19th Century British depicted as setting in the novel. The third objective is to understand the characters and setting in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight that reflect James’ views toward British Social Condition in the 19th Century.
In order to achieve the aims of the study, the writer uses library research. The main source of this study is a novel, A Kiss at Midnight novel. The secondary sources are obtained from several books and the internet sites that support this study. The approach used in analyzing this study is sociocultural-historical. Sociocultural-historical is suitable in analyzing this novel because this study investigates the civilization in the 19th century.
The analysis of this study shows that there are four important characters in this novel, Katherine Daltry, Prince Gabriel, Mariana Daltry, and Victoria Daltry. The setting in the novel A Kiss at Midnight is British in the 19th century.
xii ABSTRAK
NURROHMAH, DILA. Eloisa James’ Views Towards British Social Condition in the 19th Century as Reflected in A Kiss At Midnight. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight. A Kiss at Midnight adalah historical-romance novel. Novel ini ditulis pada tahun 2010 tetapi setting dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight adalah Inggris pada abad ke-19. Penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James yang terdapat dalam novel.
Terdapat tiga tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk mengetahui tokoh-tokoh yang terdapat dalam novel karya Eloisa James, A Kiss at Midnight. Tujuan yang kedua adalah untuk mengetahui kondisi sosial di Inggris pada abad ke-18 yang tergambar dalam setting. Tujuan yang terakhir adalah untuk mengetahui karakter dan setting dalam novel A Kiss at Midnight yang merefleksikan pandangan-pandangan Eloisa James mengenai Inggris pada abad ke-18.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka dalam penelitian ini. Sumber utama yang penulis gunakan adalah novel A Kiss at Midnight karya Eloisa James. Sumber sekunder yang penulis gunakan adalah beberapa buku dan sumber internet yang mendukung penelitian ini. Penulis menggunakan pendekatan sosial budaya-sejarah. Pendekatan tersebut cocok digunakan untuk menganalisis novel A Kiss at Midnight sebab penelitian ini membahas masyarakat pada abad ke-19.
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is divided into four subtopics. They are: background of the
study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, and definition of terms. In the
background of the study, the writer explains the reason of choosing the topic. In
the problem formulation, the writer presents the questions about problems to be
discussed. The aims of the research are explain in the objectives of the study. The
last part is the definition of terms which explain the important key mentioned in
the title and in the problem formulation.
A. Background of the study
Literary work is a media to express ideas, thoughts, and experiences of the
author. The author’s idea, thoughts, and feeling about something can be seen
through the literary work itself. The readers can analyze the intrinsic elements in
the literary work written by the author. Understanding the intrinsic elements in the
literary work is important to help the writer and readers to understand the story.
One of the literary works that has intrinsic elements is novel. Abrams said
that:
The particular characteristics of a novel are the reason why the writer chose novel
to gain deeper knowledge about literature.
In the novel, readers can see the author’s ideas about some objects. The
social condition in a particular place is one of the author’s ideas that are
represented in the novel. The Social Condition could be imaginary but also could
be the representation of particular place. The author wrote about particular place
as the setting of the novel then he try to build authentic social condition that
happen in this particular place. The use of year is also important in building an
authentic social condition. Eloisa James is the pen name of Mary Bly. James was
born in 1962.
Eloisa James was graduated from Harvard University, and then attends an
M.Phil. from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. from Yale. She is a Shakespeare
professor. She also published academic book with Oxford University Press.
Currently she is teaching in the English Department at Fordham University, New
York City. Eloisa James has "double life" as a professor and a romance novel
writer. James is a New York Times bestselling author that writes historical
romances for Harper Collins Publishers. Her novels have been published to great
acclaim. Her books have been reviewed in USA Today and People Magazine.
James’ novels have received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library
Journal. Eloisa James also wrote articles published everywhere from women's
magazines such as More to writers' journals such as the Romance Writers' Report.
(Eloisa James' Printer-Friendly Bio, 10 June 2015). By the end of 2014, James
languages. She has published twenty-four novels, twenty-two of them became a
bestseller. James’s books are published in 28 countries, and both print and manga
editions in Japan. (Media Kit, 10 June 2015)
A Kiss at Midnight is one of Eloisa James’s novels. The setting of the
novel is in 19th Century of British. In this story, Katheryn Daltry, a poor young lady meets Prince Gabriel. They love each other but Gabriel cannot marry Kate
because he also a poor Prince who needs to marry a rich heiress. This novel tells a
lot about British Social Condition in the 19th Century.
To understand Eloisa James’ views toward British Social Condition in 19th century, A Kiss at Midnight is a good novel to research. This novel is a suitable
example to study the topic because there is a significant representation of British
Social Condition in the story. There were so many places, rules, problems, and
ways of life that faced by the society told in the story.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How are the characters in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight described?
2. How is the Social Condition of 19th Century British depicted as setting in the novel?
3. How are the characters and setting in Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight
C. Objectives of the Study
This research aims to find the answers for the questions that are stated in
the problem formulation. The first is to describe characters in Eloisa James’ A
Kiss at Midnight. The second is to describe British Social Condition in the 19th Century that stated in the novel. The social views can be a rule, the way of life,
and culture. The last is to understand Eloisa James’ views towards British social
condition in the 19th century as reflected in A Kiss at Midnight.
D. Definition of Terms
1. Character
Abram states that Character is the person that is represented in a dramatic
or narrative work, character interpreted possessing particular moral,
intellectual, and emotional qualities by interference from what person say their
distinctive ways of saying and what they do (Abrams, 1993: 23).
2. View
According to Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged
(1972:2168), there are three appropriate definitions to the study:
1. A seeing or looking, as in inspection or examination.
2. Mental survey, intellectual inspection or examination, observation,
consideration.
5 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review Related Studies
There are some reviews about the book, A Kiss at Midnight. A Kiss at
Midnight is a historical romance book. The setting of the novel is in the 19th century, but the novel is written in 21th Century. Lisa Fletcher also states that in historical romance fictions are preoccupied with question about the meaning and
the force of language in direct speech, symbols, gesture, and costume (2008: 1). It
means that Historical Romance tries to make good representation about the past
through speech, symbols, gesture, also costume. Another review by Helen
Hughes, states that setting in the historical romance is mingling of distance and
reality. The past setting in historical romance is presented as imaginary, the detail
about the setting selectively chosen and the interpretation are subjective, but the
impression of an accurate representation of the past setting are given by the use of
period detail and reference to familiar issue about the past (1993: 1).
There is also a specific comment toward Eloisa James‟ Historical
Romance‟s novels. Rebecca Carman states that James‟ novels also have some
similarity with some historical play such as Midsummer Night’s Dream as what
The Examiner states that A Kiss at Midnight is a fun story with funny sides. This
novel is like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Cinderella (Rebecca Carman, A
kiss at Midnight-Eloisa James, 28 October 2012). Another comment about James‟
It means that James‟ novels have some differences with the real 19th century novels because James is aware that the 21st century readers are different to them in the 19th century. For that reason, James makes some adjustment to accommodate her readers‟ favor by making some scenes in the novel that does not really happen
in the 19th century. The example is James makes her characters have some adjustment to be more contemporary. When some detail and language of the novel
are accurate according to the past condition, some parts of the novel such as
eroticism were written from contemporary point of view (Bringing Past Sex to
Life is Complicated, 28 October 2012). It means that James wrote her novels do
not only consider to the accurate detail of the past such as the costume, language,
and setting, but also according to the readers‟ favorite style in the 21st Century. Seeing those analyzes related to the novel, A Kiss at Midnight, the
writer found similar idea to the previous studies such as the mingling of the
distance and the reality in the Historical Romance that will be disscussed. Besides
the similarity, the writer will also present this thesis differently to the previous
studies mentioned above. The writer tries to do deeper analyzes about British
social condition in the 19th Century in the novel. Then, the writer tries to analyze one by one what Eloisa James‟ views toward British Social condition at that time
B. Review Related Theories
To answer the problems, the writer needs some theories to support the
analysis. The theories are the theory of character, the theory of setting, the theory
of the relationship between literature and society, and the review on the 19th century British society.
1. Theory of Character
Abrams states that character is the person that is represented in a dramatic
or narrative work, character interpreted by the reader possessing moral,
intellectual, and emotional qualities that are express in what they say –the
dialogue- and what they do –the action (1993: 23). Based on that statement,
character is a person that appears in the story, this person does not need to be
strong. Character also has particular moral qualities, intellectual, and emotional
that is built them. In this study, the writer will use those values to describe the
characters in A Kiss at Midnight novel.
There are nine ways authors can make their characters understandable by
the readers, as M.J Murphy states is his book Understanding Unseen. The first is
personal descripstion. Personal description is a way the author uses to describe a
person‟s appearence and costume. The second is the character as seen by another.
This is the way the author describe a character throught the eyes and opinions of
another. The third is speech. Whenever the character involves in a conversation
with other, or gives opinion, he is actually giving the reader some clues to his
character in the novel. The author also can give the readers clues about the
character or says something about the character. The next is how the character
reacts to various situations and events. The autor also can describe a character
throuh direct comments. The author can give the reader direct knowledge of what
a person is thinking about. In this case, an author is able to do what his reader
cannot do in real life. The last is mannerism. It means that the author can describe
a person‟s mannerism or habit which may also tell the readers about the character
(1972: 161-173).
2. Theory of Setting
Setting is very important in a literary work such as novel. Setting of story
can create events in which the characters are involved. Guth says that setting is the
time and place of the events of a story. Setting often helps shape the characters
and events. North or south, village, city, poor, wealthy neighborhood, mountain
country, or coasts, all these help decide how people live (1981: 729). It means
that setting can help readers to decide the character‟s look like and the most
important thing in their lives.
Holman and Harmon state that there are four elements that making up the
setting.
From that quotation, the writer conclude that setting can be divided into setting of
place, setting of time and social setting.
According to Van De Laar, the characters of the novel and scenes are
drawn somehow from real life. Setting has important function in identifying the
type of novel. From the setting, author can create events and characters in the
novel. The characters‟ behaviors and attitudes are related to the setting. Authors
decide kind of characters they want based on the place and time that they used in
the setting (1963: 172). It means that setting is very important to reveal the real
life of the people in the novel.
3. The Relationship between Literature and Society
Literature and Society has some relation. Literature could represent social
condition. Literature also has some social function in the society. Wallek and
Warren state that
Literature has also social function that is which cannot purely individual. Hence, literary study has raised some social questions, ultimately or by implication. These questions are “of tradition and convention, orms, and genres, symbols, and myths” (1956: 94)
Wellek and Warren also state that
The common approach to the relations of literature and society is the study of works of literature as social documents, as assumed pictures of social reality. It cannot be doubted that some kind of social picture can be abstracted from literature. (1956: 102)
It means that social condition can be seen from literature. Literature is a picture of
the novel are almost the same. Authors describe the society based on the real
society. The society in the novel is just a reflection of any concrete and not
depend on the society in the real world. The author can express society in the
novel as a house, city, country, institution, object, or a group of relationship
trough characters, patterned interactions, and their common expectations of one
another (1984: 5-6).
Literature also has limitation as Wallek and Warren states:
There is great literature which has little or no social relevant; social literature is only one kind of literature and is not central in the theory of literature unless one holds the view that literature is primarily and „imitation‟ of life as it is and of social life in particular. It needs to be remembered that literature is no substitute for sociology or politics. It has its own justification and aim. (1956: 109)
Literature has limitation in accommodating the facts, since literature is just the
imitation of life. It is not always have social relevant.
4. Review on the 19th Century British Society
Reviews on historical background are important to strengthen the topic
that will be discussed. The topic is Eloisa James‟ views towards British social
condition in the 19th century as reflected in A Kiss At Midnight.
In the 19th century, every Englishman loves their country and have great nationalism. J.S Bentwich, A.S. Mendilow, and J. Catford, said that most people
in Britain love their country because it is strong in Englishmen‟s heart. Every
Britain also changed in agriculture and industry that increased the wealth
of the country. Industrial revolution brought new technology in agriculture and
industry. Kemp states that “Britain was the pioneer industrial country, the classic
theatre for the transformation of a traditional agrarian economy into an urban
society based on machine technology” (1969: 1) Industrial Revolution that
increased the wealth of the country changed the social condition at that time.
Industrial Revolution brought new factions in society, such as the bourgeois.
At that time, England was a commercial country. It remained intensely
aristocratic and gain a differences in social status. The richest landowners were
welthier than ever and lived in great state in the country houses and they were the
most powerfull class in the country. On the other hand, the labors and the workers
were paid badly and lived in the miserable condition (Dartford, 1949: 5)
According to the The New Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. XVI, social
classes in Britain were devided into three. Here are the explanations.
a. The Upper class
The upper class people or the aristocrats are the richest and highest class
that had much influence upon economic, political military and intellectual
policies. They worked in the government, navy, army and church. People
from this class had the best houses, food, clothes, education, and
entertainment. They enjoyed music and theater in the luxurious hall. Their
child went to high quality schools that built specially for the richest class.
b. The Middle class
The middle class mainly defined in terms of occupation, unlike the other
classes. They worked in various levels of clerical workers, in technical and
profesional occupation, suervisors and managers, farmers, self-employed
workers, etc. (1983: 949).
Christian Educational morality was reaffirmed and preached tirelessly by
the middle class society. They like gambling, drinking, sexual purity, and
fidelity. Young men and women were watched intensly by their parents,
although for young men it was not vigilantly done. (1983: 949-950).
c. The Lower Class/ The Working Class
About four to fifty percent of the society belong to the working class. The
working class were people who their life depend on physical labor and
who did not employ domestic servant. They were lack of property and
associated relatively with low level of living and education. Its just a few
of children of this class who entered to higher education. (1983: 949-950).
From all classes, the upper class were the one who could get better life and
education. The members of the nobility and wealthy class had privat tutors and the
public schools. By the 19th century many of these schools had became means of upward mobility for the middle-classes. This middle-classes wished to move their
children into aristocracy. Schools concern to producing gentlements with ability
The social structure in Britain did not only devided into classes but also
gender. At that time, women did not have the same right as men. They had to
work at home, as a wife while men were outdoor. Men were accustomed to
privation and long hours of work outside. The women were bear and run large
families. Men and women had some descriptions of their rule. The role of women
in the society was strictly limited. They were not even regarded as the member of
the socierty since only men acknowleded (Trevelyan, 1958: 474). It is also stated
in The New Encyclopedia Britannica Vol. XVI that in the 19th century women
were lacked of the civil right, such as property right. Women workers were lower
paid and there were just few women who were in the higher professions.
Women position in the society distinguished by their classes. Lower class
women were in the very low status. They did not have control over their education
and only taught about domestic duties. According to Clark in his book English
History, Women of the lower class experienced worse than the middle class.
They were employed with low rage and suffered from justice treatments from the
society (1971: 445)
In the 19th century, not only women who suffered injustice. There were also children ranging in ages from six years up were employed and exploited.
Chilren from poor parents were farmed out to factory owners on terms that
amounted to slavery, they were also unprotected and were literally worked to
Economic condition is one of the important things from the 19th century since the first phase of the Industrial Revolution began in the period 1970-1830. It
was characterized by the great invention, such as the improvement of
transportation and roads and canals, a changing organization of production, a
greatly increased output, a growth population, and an expansion of towns (Gregg,
1950:98). During the Industrial Revolution, British Economic growth heavily. It
was dependent in the creation of an efficient transportation system. Transportation
improvements during the 19th century also caused extensive changes in British commercial and industrial organization that affected in all classes lives (Lunt,
1945: 743-744).
Industrial Revolution shaped in the mid 19th century. At that time the expansion of industry could increasing the wealth. Littlefield stated that:
As production for profit in a free market replaces production for use, as innovations of method upset the balance in established industries, the phennomena of large scale “booms” and “depression” introduced a new element into economic life (1973: 7).
From the quotation, depression also the part of the element in the 19th century‟s social life. Large amount of new invention that found in the 19th century had changed people life, not only for the better but also worsed. Industrial revolution
caused social pressure and unemployment. In his book A New History of England,
Black stated that the 1833 Act prevented the employment under 9, but 9-10
years-olds could still work 9 hour days, and 11-17 year years-olds, 12 hours. The working
condition were harsh, especially for those paid on a low rate basis (2000:
Instability economis and unemployment were widespread in the mid 19th century. The economic instability was because of the Napoleonic era when
England was at war with France. Black stated that Post war depression and
demobilization worsened the situation from 1815. The spread of empire, the
growth of economy, the changes in society, and the development was
unprecedented (2000: 177).
C. Theoretical Framework
This study is about the author‟s views toward British Social condition
revealed in A Kiss at Midnight. To support this analysis, some theories are
applied. The first theory in this study is the theory of character and
characterization. This theory is used to recognize, describe and understand the
characters clearly. This is also used to describe the characters‟ appearance to help
the readers understand the story.
The second is theory of setting. This theory help the writer to identify the
setting clearly. Theory of setting also help to reveal the British social condition as
reflected in the setting.
The next theory is theory of the relationship between literature and society
that is used to recognize some reasons why literature and society has close
relationship. This theory also helps to explain the socio-cultural conditions that
Review on the 19th Century British Society give more description of the sociocultural division in the story. Finally, the theories that support the analysis
17 CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The novel analyzed in this study is A Kiss at Midnight, a Historical
Romance novel written by Eloisa James in 2010. The setting of this novel is in
British in the 1813, the main character, Katherine Daltry, having lived under her
stepmother, Mariana. Mariana is cruel and selfish since the death of Kate’s father.
Kate father left her stepmother all of his wealth, such as the house, the land, and
the money. The stepsister, Victoria engaged to a Viscount, Lord Dimsdale.
A Kiss at Midnight was published after Eloisa James success writing 21
novels and got 12 New York Times and 16 USA Today bestsellers books. This
novel was first published in August 2010 by Avon Book, an Imprint of Harper
Collins Publishers. A Kiss at Midnight consists of 372 pages that divided into
chapters.
A Kiss at Midnight was nominated as Finalist 2011 RITA Awards. The
purpose of RITA award is to promote a good novel in the romance genre by
recognizing outstanding published romance novels and novellas.
The story in the novel begins when Victoria cannot see Lord Dimsdale's
uncle, Prince Gabriel Aschenberg of Warl-Marlburg-Baalsfeld, because her lips
has been bitten by her dog and swollen. She cannot go, so Kate, Victoria’s
to Lord Dimsdale depends on the approval of his uncle, Prince Gabriel. Victoria
needs to marry immediately because she is already pregnant. The Prince itself is a
poor one who must be married to a rich heiress to save his castle and all the
occupant, so he is betrothed to a rich Russian princess.
When Kate and Prince Gabriel meet, the Prince falling in love with Kate
and he is able to reveals Kate’s real identity. The problem is that Kate is a poor
lady and Gabriel needs money, so he cannot marry her.
In this novel, the obsession to reach higher social status highly represented
by Mariana who will do anything to see her daughter married to a Lord. Money is
also the main issue in the novel. It is represented by Prince Gabriel who wants to
marry a Russian Princess that he does not even know, instead of Kate because of
money.
At the end of the story, the Russian Princess reveals the relationship
between Gabriel and Kate. Princess Tatiana asks Gabriel to leave her and
marrying Kate because Tatiana does not wants to marry a man who loves another
woman. After that, Gabriel asks Kate to marry him. At that time, Kate already got
fortune from her late mother. Gabriel and Kate live happily ever after with some
B. Approach of the Study
Sociocultural-historical approach is applicable to analyze this work
because to analyze the author’s views toward 19th
century British in the novel, one
must have good understanding about the society at that time.
Sociocultural-historical background is suitable in analyzing this novel
because this study investigates the civilization, Rohrberger and Woods states that:
They [literature] define civilization as the attitudes and actions of specific group of people and point out that literature takes this attitudes and actions as its subject matter. They feel therefore; that it’ necessary that the critic investigate the social milieu in which a work created and which if necessary reflects. (1971: 9).
Literature also preserved the most picturesque and expressive
representation of manners; primarily literature is about a treasure of customs,
costumes, and a history civilization source book (Wellek and Warren, 1956:
102-103)
Society will also influence the author in making the literary works, as what
Rohrberger and Woods states in their book:
C. Method of the Study
The writer use library research to collecting the data related to the object
and the topic of the study. Library research means that the writer took all the data
from books and internet. The primary source is Eloisa James’ A Kiss at Midnight.
The secondary sources are book by Abrams, titled A Glossary of Literary Term,
M.J Murphy’s book Understanding Unseen, the book by Guth, The Literary
Heritage, A Handbook to Literature by Holman and Harmon, An Introduction to
Fiction by Stanton, Theory of Lierature by Wellek and Warren, Reading and
Writing about Literature by Rohrberger, and also a book written by J.S
Bentwich, A.S.Mendilow, and J. Catford titled How the English Life, The book
by Jeremy Black, A New History of England, Sir George Clark’s book, English
History. Book by Dartford, The Growth of the British Commenwealth, Gregg’s
book, A Social and Economic History of Britain 1760-195, Industrialization in
Nineteenth Century Europe by Kemp, Langland’s book entitled Society in the
Novel, Henry Littlefield’s book History of Europe since 1815. 19th ed. Lunt’s
book entitled History of England, the book by Travelyan, English Social History.
The book by Van de Laar, E and Schooderwood, N., An Approach to English
Literature, the last the writer employed a source from journal entitled; The New
Encyclopedia Britannica.
There were some steps that writer taken to get the solutions to the problem
formulation. First, the writer read and reread the novel, A Kiss at Midnight, so
that the novel could be understood well. Second, after the writer understood the
James’ views towards British social condition in the 19th century as reflected in A Kiss At Midnight. Then, the writer made some questions that stated in the
problem formulation. The third step, the writer looked for certain theories and
approach related to the topic. The theories that the writer used are the theory of
character and characterization, theory of setting, theory on society in the novel,
and the relation between literature and society. Approach that used in this study
is sociocultural-historical approach. The next step, the writer applied the theories
and sociocultural-historical approach to answered the problem formulation.
22
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this chapter, the writer analyzes the novel in order to find out the
answers to the problem formulation in the first chapter. First, the writer describes
the characterization. Second, the writer describes the social condition of the 19th century British depicted as setting in the novel. Third, the writer describes how the
characters and setting in Eloisa James‟ A Kiss at Midnight reflect James‟ views
toward British social condition in the 19th century.
A. The Characters
1. The Character of Katherine Daltry
Katherine Daltry is the major character of the novel A Kiss at Midnight.
Katherine who is always called Kate by the family and friends is 23 years old
woman. She is the granddaughter of an earl that makes her belong to the upper
class in the society. Kate‟s mother passed away when she is sixteen. Her father
married again to Mariana then passed away, he leaves everything that he had to
Mariana. Mariana makes all of the inheritance to her daughter‟s dowry. When his
father death, Kate become penniless because Mariana does not care of her:
Mariana is not good stepmother. She relegates Kate to the farthest chamber in the
manor and does not give any proper clothes to Kate as a lady. Kate feels ashamed
because her appearance is not meet an aristocrat standard:
It was the pitying glances she had from aquaintances who never met her at dinner anymore. It was being relegated to the chamber in the attic, with faded furnishings that advertised her relative worth in the household. It was the self-loathing of someone who can‟t quite bring herself to leave home and have done with it. It was fueled by humiliation, and despair, and the absolute certainty that her father must be turning in his grave. (James, 2010: 4)
Since her father died, she had learned what it felt like to be humiliated; to tuck your hands out of sight when you saw aquaintances for fear they would see the reddened fingers. To hold your boots close to the horse‟s side so that no one saw the worn spots. To pretend you left your bonnet at home, time after time (James, 2010: 35)
Kate is a clever woman. After the dead of her father, her stepmother does
not want to manage the estate. Kate takes over the estate management, although it
usually do by men.
Kate could do the estate management means that she is a clever woman,
because to manage the estate she needs the ability of accounting and farming. She
also has ability to manage the mansion, Yarrow House, which she did after her
mother bedridden:
She generally managed to forget that she had once been mistress of the household. After all, her mother had been bedridden for years before she died, and sickly most of Kate‟s life. Kate had grown up sitting opposite her father at the dining room table, going over the menus with Mrs. Swallow, the housekeeper . . . (James, 2010: 5-6)
W e‟re eating with the family,” Algie said nervously. “ „In family‟ they call it.”
“ En famille ,” Kate corrected him.
“I suppose that‟s the language they speak over in Marburg. I probably won‟t understand a word.”
“Actually, that‟s French,” Kate said.
“French? I learned that at Eton.” There was a pause. “More or less . . . do
you suppose that‟s what they speak at the table?”
“I shall translate, if need be,” Kate told him, thinking that it was a good thing she had come rather than Victoria, who didn‟t speak a word of French. Thankfully, she herself had learned the language before her father died.
Ability to speak French means that Kate has proper education as aristocrat. An
aristocrat woman usually has a governess who teaches them at home. They teach
foreign languages, especially French, poem, and household management.
In addition to her proper education, Kate is also a responsible woman. She
feels responsible to her father‟s servants and tenants. She tries to make sure that
all the people who work for her father can live properly. When her stepmother
decides to evict the vicaris‟ wife from her land, Kate fights against her stepmother
for the vicaris‟ wife‟ welfare. It is because Kate feel responsible to the vicaris‟
wife who has four children. “‟Since her husband died,‟ Kate said, “Mrs. Crabtree
is both exhausted and afraid. The house is not pigsty; it is simply disorganized.
You can‟t evict her. She has no where to go” (James, 2010: 8). “...she has four
small children and we have some responssibility to them-.” (James, 2010: 9).
Kate also feels responsible to her stepsister, Victoria welfare. Victoria is
Mariana‟s daughter. Victoria is a kindhearted woman, though she never help Kate
to get her right. Victoria accepts whatever her mother does to Kate, but Kate still
she is needed, even that Victoria never helps her. “She would do this visit for
Victoria, for her newfound sister‟s sake.” (James, 2010: 34).
2. The Character of Prince Gabriel
Prince Gabriel or Gabriel Albrecht-Frederick William von Aschenberg of
Warl-Marburg-Baalsfield is the youngest brother of the Archduke of Marburg. He
comes to England with his big family and servants and some animals, after the
Archduke, expel all the people that he does not like. Gabriel is the leader of this
refugee. Gabriel needs to marry an heiress to support his big family and animals.
It is the reason why he is betrothed to a rich Russian princess, Tatiana.
Actually, Prince Gabriel does not want to stay in England because he really
wants to join the archaeological excavation in Carthage, Africa. He is willing to
live in England because of his responsibility to his big family:
If Augustus hadn’t lost his mind a few months ago, Gabriel would be in
Tunis this very moment, quarreling with his old professor Biggitstiff over excavation of the legendary city of Carthage.
He wouldn’t be sitting in a damp castle in a puddle of summer rain,
surrounded by elderly family members and debt-ridden courtiers . . . he’d be
sweating in the sun, making sure the dig didn’t turn into a greedy ransacking of history. (James, 2010: 48)
From the quotation, one can conclude that Gabriel is an intelligent man who
has a passion about archeology. Gabriel took double degree at Oxford University.
Gabriel is a great archeologist that is different from other scientist at that time
who just wants to be famous. Gabriel really cares about archeology:
And now Biggitstiff was out there in Tunis chortling and labeling half the
sloppy assumptions and sloppier fieldwork. Gabriel’s jaw clenched at the thought. (James, 2010: 63)
Prince Gabriel is a responsible gentleman. He stays in England and takes a big
responsibility to his family; two old aunts, a stepbrother, two uncle, a lion,
elephant, monkeys, and dogs:
The problem with having a castle was that a castle filled with people. And they were all his people, one way or another: his relatives, his lion, his elephant, his servants . . . even the pickle-eating dog was his responsibility,…(James, 2010: 269).
He needs some money to support them, so Prince Gabriel agrees to be betrothed to
a Russian princess although he falls in love with Kate Daltry, “I did it,” Gabriel
said, conversationally. “I met the woman, the only woman for me. I met her, and
now . . . I’m going to meet my wife.” (James, 2010: 34).
3. The Character of Mariana Daltry
Mariana Daltry is Kate‟s stepmother. Mariana is a mid forties woman,
though often dressed like a twentieth and pretends to be younger. She has a
daughter named Victoria. She has been married to Victor soon after his wife was
died then became the lady of the manor replaced Kate position.
Mariana is Victor Daltry former mistress. Mariana was in relationship with
Victor Daltry even when Victor‟s wife was still alive:
“That would be because your mother was his mistress,” Kate said. “I gather he visited your house for at least eleven years, before my mother died. Was
there a colonel at all? Is Victoria illegitimate?” she asked Mariana. (James,
Mariana is Victor Daltry former mistress, it means that Mariana is from the
lower class. It is the reason why Mariana does not care toward upper class‟ strict
rules. She acts arbitrarily as long as she gets what she wants. The example is when
she found out that Victoria is pregnant with Lord Dimsdale‟s child, she gets no
trouble about that as long as Dimsdale wants to marry her. She thinks that
Victoria‟s pregnancy is a good way to encourage Dimsdale proposal:
Kate knew quite well that the household was on her side. They couldn’t help it; it was bred into the bones of the best servants. They were trained to serve ladies and gentlemen, not those of their own class. Obviously they had
sensed that Mariana’s origins were not genteel. For her part, Kate had
imagined that her stepmother was a shopkeeper’s daughter, who had
married a colonel. She hadn’t thought she was—
What she was.
A fallen woman. Her father’s mistress. A trollop, by any other name.
No wonder poor Victoria found herself with child. Her mother was hardly qualified to steer her through the season. (James, 2010: 29)
Not only that, Mariana also refused to heir a proper chaperone for Victoria. “I
told you to hire a chaperone, Mariana. She could have had anyone.” Mariana
turned back to her glass without a comment” (James, 2010: 15). That kind of act is just not fit with the upper class society‟s high moral standard.
Mariana and Victor Daltry have a daughter named Victoria. Victoria was
born out of the wedlock. Victoria was born when her mother, Mariana, is just
Victor Daltry‟s mistress. The story about Victoria‟s real father is a family secret
because Mariana make up a story that she was married to a former colonel who
died in the battlefield. It is the way to protect Mariana‟s honor and Victoria‟s
Mariana is not good landlady. Mariana does not care about her servants also
tenants. She treats the tenants as she wish. She also likes to buy some expensive
clothes and jewelries then do not care about the manor‟ expenditure.
Mariana preferred to avoid all the people working on the estate or in the village, except on the rare occasions when she developed a sudden taste for playing the lady of the manor. Then she would put on an ensemble extravagantly calculated to offend country folk, descend from her carriage,
and decipher in her tenants’ startled expressions their shiftless and foolish
natures. Finally she would instruct Kate to jettison them from their homes. (James, 2010: 8)
Mariana Daltry is a manipulative woman. When she wants Kate to do something
she will threaten a servant or tenant, so Kate will do everything she wants. When
Mariana wants Kate to go to the Prince to substitute Victoria, she threaten one of
the tenants, Mrs. Crabtree just to makes Kate agree to go:
You will go to Pomeroy Castle, Katherine, because your sister is carrying a child and needs the approval of the prince. You will dress as your sister, you will take the bloody mongrels with you, and you will make this
work.”
Mariana looked tough, and more tired than she usually did. “In that case,
you will keep the Crabtrees in their cottage,” Kate stated.
Her stepmother shrugged. She didn’t really give a damn either way, Kate
realized. She had launched the Crabtrees into the situation just in case the plea of blood relations failed. (James, 2010: 25)
Mariana is a prodigal woman. Mariana likes to spruce herself and Victoria. She
bought many expensive clothes and jewelries though never gives Kate any proper
clothes. Mariana obsession is to marry Victoria to aristocrats that already fulfilled
4. The Character of Victoria Daltry
Victoria is the daughter of Mariana and Victor Daltry outside the wedlock.
She is eighteen years old woman. Different from her egoist mother, she is
kindhearted and soft nature. Victoria is a woman that is easy to be loved. Because
of her soft nature, Kate feels that it is impossible to hate Victoria. “Though she loathed her stepmother, she had never felt the same hatred for her stepsister. For one thing, Victoria was too soft natured for anyone to dislike. And for another,
Kate couldn’t help being fond of her” (James, 2010: 12)
Kate also thinks that his father married Mariana who is not a good woman,
because he wants to protect Victoria. When Victor Daltry married to Mariana,
Victoria would become his legal daughter. As an aristocrat daughter, Victoria
could have seasons and has an aristocrat husband. “Kate had wondered for years
why her father married Mariana. But now, looking at her pretty, silly, sweet sister, she knew why” (James, 2010: 314)
Victoria is a beautiful and fashionable woman. She is the most beautiful
woman in the season. She is betrothed to Lord Dimsdale, an eighteen years old
viscount, she also carrying his child. When Kate scolds about that matter, she just
said that she is in love with Dimsdale and they will be marry soon. Victoria also
does not have any conscience since she is three month pregnant though she just
meets Lord Dimsdale for three month:
Victoria giggled at that. “You know exactly when he proposed, Kate!
I told you first, after Mother. It was just two weeks ago.” (James, 2010:
14)
It seems that Victoria does not understand about her condition and the risky
situation because of it. Victoria is not smart though she is a sincere woman. She
does not quite understand when people talks about something tricky. Victoria just
accepts her mother‟s act and never rebel. She is a passive woman who never
thinks about objection and defenses. She just accepts her surrounding as a matter
of fact.
B. The Social Condition of 19th Century British Depicted as Setting in the
Novel
In the novel A Kiss at Midnight there are some social conditions that depicted
as setting.
1. Classes
In the 19th century British, society was divided into three social classes. British in the 19th century were divided into Upper Class, Middle Class, and Lower Class. In the novel A Kiss at Midnight shows two classes, The Upper Class
and the Lower Class.
The characters of the Upper Class are Katherine Daltry and Prince Gabriel.
Katherine Daltry is a granddaughter of an Earl, and then Prince Gabriel is a
brother of a Grand Duke. The upper class society also known as the aristocrats.
live in the mansion. Such as Kate that lives in Yarrow House, Prince Gabriel even
live in a Castle. Mansions are big house which cannot manage only by the family
member, so the aristocrats have some servants.
Upper class people also have large land that is rent to the tenants. The
landlords take some responsibility toward his tenants‟ welfare in change to the tax
that the landlords collect from them. From the tax the aristocrats could live superb
without a real job. For the aristocrats to have some jobs is big scandal. They like
to party and show their wealth by some expensive cloths and jewelries. Mariana is
the owner of Yarrow House and the large land surrounding it. Mariana should
takes responsibility of her tenants, though in reality she abandon her tenants and
just takes the money from them to spent on expensive clothes and jewelries.
Sometimes the aristocrats does not really care about the lower class and just do
whatever they wants, like what Mariana did, because they have the power over the
lower class:
It should be said that the condition wasn’t unfamiliar to her [Kate]. Before her father died seven years earlier, she found herself sometimes irritated
with her new stepmother. But it wasn’t until he was gone, and the new Mrs.
Daltry—who had held that title for a matter of mere months—started ruling the roost, that Kate really learned the meaning of anger.
Anger was watching tenants on the estate be forced to pay double the rent or
leave cottages where they’d lived their whole lives. Anger was watching the
crops wilt and the hedges overgrow because her stepmother begrudged the
money needed to maintain the estate. Anger was watching her father’s
money be poured into new gowns and bonnets and frilly things . . . so
numerous that her stepmother and stepsister couldn’t find days enough in
Katherine Daltry is an upper class woman because of that position Kate
has some benefit one of them is that people will treat her respectfully:
Kate knew quite well that the household was on her side. They couldn’t help it; it was bred into the bones of the best servants. They were trained to serve ladies and gentlemen, not those of their own class. Obviously they had
sensed that Mariana’s origins were not genteel. ( James, 2010: 29).
From above quotation, we could see that as an aristocrat woman, Kate has
right to be treat respectfully by the servants which is the lower class. She has
higher status than Mariana, which her origin is not genteel. It means that women
status in the society also depend on her breed.
An aristocrat woman should be treating respectfully. Prince Gabriel is also
an aristocrat has sensed to treat her with good respect. At first, Gabriel wants Kate
to be his Mistress. However, since Kate is a granddaughter of an earl, she cannot
become a mistress:
He opened his eyes. “Had I asked you something?”
“Why have you lost your mind?” she asked. “Is it because I’ve allowed
you such liberties?” “Perhaps.”
She scowled at him. “Offer me a post as your mistress and I’ll stab you
with a fork, just as Effie stabbed Beckham. Except the fork won’t go in your
hand. I am not to be trifled with.”
“I like my mistresses fat and juicy,” he said, slanting her another of his wicked looks. (James, 2010: 204).
Gabriel really wants Kate to be his mistress but Kate is an aristocrat woman,
means that she has higher position in the society. She could not be a mistress. It is
why Prince Gabriel not pushes Kate to be his mistress when she refused.
Even though Kate is an aristocrat, she is poor and has no dowry. Women
aristocrat woman, so when she fall in love to Prince Gabriel, it is became a
problem since Gabriel need a rich woman to marry with:
“If I were not a prince, would you have me?” He said it so low that she
almost didn’t hear. “To put it another way, if you had thousands of pounds, Kate, if your estate was your own, would you buy me? Because that’s
what I needed, you know. I needed a woman who thought I was worth the price, and my brother found one in Russia.” (James, 2010: 256).
Kate and Prince Gabriel are in love, but they cannot marry because money is very
important at that time. Even though aristocrats have some birthright, money also
important to the women in the 19th century. At that time upper class women need dowry to be success in the married market.
Victoria Daltry is a granddaughter of an earl out of wedlock and her
mother is from lower class, it means that Victoria is a lower class. Her mother
Mariana Daltry wants to secure Victoria‟s position by marrying her with a
viscount. If Victoria marries a viscount she will be a viscountess, then she will
belong to the upper class. In the 19th century British, women position also depend on their husband position. It is the reason why the women at that time want to
marry a man from higher position. For that matter, Mariana makes all of her
inheritance as Victoria‟s dowry. Mariana not really objects when Victoria
pregnant before she married, because Mariana thinks that it will encourage
Victoria‟s lover to propose:
The lines between Mariana’s nose and mouth couldn’t be plumped by a miracle cream made of crushed pearls. “Dimsdale was slightly tardy in his
attentions.”
“Not tardy in hisattentions,” Kate said. “He’s seems to have been
remarkably forward in that department.”
“I wouldkill the man, were I you,” Kate told her.
“Would you?” She gave an odd smile. “You always were a fool. The viscount has a title and a snug fortune, once he gets his hands on it. He’s utterly infatuated with your sister, and he’s set on marrying her.”
“Fortunate,” Kate commented. (James, 2010: 14-15).
Mariana does everything to makes Victoria becomes an aristocrat, because
at that time social position is very important. Them who belong to the upper class
will get good facilities. Marrying for a position is a common affair at that time.
The next is Mariana status as a lower class who marries a son of an earl.
Though Mariana is marry an aristocrat, people who really know her previous
status not really accept her as an aristocrat. They still treat her differently from
Kate who is an aristocrat by birth:
Kate knew quite well that the household was on her side. They couldn’t help it; it was bred into the bones of the best servants. They were trained to serve ladies and gentlemen, not those of their own class. Obviously they had
sensed that Mariana’s origins were not genteel. (James, 2010: 29).
It means that a lower class could not really raise her status to be an upper class.
Though a middle class people who married to the aristocrats still acceptable, its
not the case to the lower class women. When the lower class women married to
the upper class, they still consider as lower rank.
The characters of the lower classes in the novel are the servants and
tenants. The servants are Mr. Cherryderry, Mrs. Swallow, and Mary, then the
tenants is Mrs. Crabtree. The lower classes in the novel conduct a simple lifestyle,
them badly but they cannot do anything because looking for a new job is very
difficult:
Mariana preferred to avoid all the people working on the estate or in the village, except on the rare occasions when she developed a sudden taste for playing the lady of the manor. Then she would put on an ensemble extravagantly calculated to offend country folk, descend from her carriage,
and decipher in her tenants’ startled expressions their shiftless and foolish
natures. Finally she would instruct Kate to jettison them from their homes ( James, 2010: 8).
The lower classes not have complicated rules like the upper class people. They do
some hard work every day, and then could do everything they wish. Sometimes
they just follow the moral rule from the church
2. Women Position Depicted in the Novel
In the novel A Kiss at Midnight, there are some conditions where women
are considering in the lower position than men are. Men are the head of the
family. They have responsibility toward their family welfare. Prince Gabriel is the
head of his family. Women are not allowed to be the head of the family except
there is no man in the family. Mariana is the head of the Daltry household because
there is no man in the Daltry Family.
Men also could have higher education. In the novel A Kiss at Midnight,
Prince Gabriel has high education. He went to Oxford university and got his
degree in ancient history:
“I mean the prince. My mother said that he actually took a degree at Oxford. I didn’t even bother going to university. But he took a top degree in
The prince had not only arrogance and royal blood and a truly beautiful riding coat, but brains? (James, 2010: 58).
While men could have high education and go to university women are not allowed
to go to school. Women education is less important. Victoria Daltry is not a smart
woman. She is lack in the education because she does not have a governess.
Victoria nodded. “Sometime pages and pages. Algie,” she said with pride, “is a wonderful correspondent. I didn’t have a governess, you know, so I am considerably less—well—he doesn’t mind very much.”
Kate had never really thought about how Victoria’s education was affected by Mariana’s propensity to dismiss the household servants; her sister didn’t seem someone who greatly missed tutoring. But her cheeks were pink and she was still pleating her gown.
“I’m sorry. I should have fought harder to keep the governess,” Kate
said. (James, 2010: 310-311).
In the novel A Kiss at Midnight, men are allowed to have mistresses. Victor
Daltry has a mistress even when his wife is alive. Prince Gabriel also considers
Kate to be his mistress because he cannot marry her. Men also could have
freedom outside the house. Women are not allowed to go outside the house
without chaperone. It is inappropriate for women to go outside the house without
a proper chaperone.
Kate sighed. “If I am pretending to be Victoria, it will create a scandal if
I appear in a carriage alone with Dimsdale, and the scandal will not attach to me, but to Victoria. In short, no one will be surprised when her child
appears on an abbreviated schedule after the wedding.”
There was a moment of silence. “All right,” Mariana said. “I would have accompanied Victoria, of course, but I can’t leave her, given her poor state
of health. You can take Rosalie with you.”
“A maid? You’re giving me a maid as a chaperone?” (James, 2010: 17).
Women should have a proper chaperone while she going outside the house.
