ABSTRACT
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Literature can represent the truth about reality and reveal its own meaning. The phenomenon of reality and its meaning can be seen through setting, such as religious controversy issues in French started in some centuries ago. The novel
Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennesviews this issue, the freedom of religion. The main objective is done through three steps. The first objective is to identify the setting in the novel. It explains how the setting in the novel is described. The second objective is to identify how the setting represents French society in the eighteenth century. This part matches the description of the setting with the actual condition of French society in the eighteenth century to prove that the setting represents French society in that period. The last objective is to reveal the freedom of religion through the representation of French society in the eighteenth century.
The writer applied library research method in this analysis. The sources were books and website about the theories, approach, and criticism that are used to analyse the problems. The writer also collected related studies about opinion, and information about the novel and author. This thesis used the socio-cultural historical approach to reveal the ideas behind a work of literature.
As the result of the analysis, the writer concludes that first, the setting is described through geographical location, the occupational and daily manners of living of the characters, the time and period in which the action takes place and general environment of the character. All of them explain the poverty and difficult condition for people like the peasants, shepherds and sellers. Meanwhile the clergy is prosperous in life. The setting also explains the religious view and moral condition in the society. Second, the description of setting has similar characteristics with French society in the eighteenth century, which shows that the setting truly represents French society at that time. The setting represents the peasants, clergy and the French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth century. Third, the result of the representation is focused on the characteristic of society in the society’s view toward religion. Religious tolerance is shown off by religious fanaticism as the binary opposite. Religious fanaticism looks like having a religion with its pure faith. In fact, religious fanaticism presents that having a religion is an obligation that forces someone to do it. Basically, having a certain kind of religion is individual right. Someone may not oblige someone else to profess the certain one. Thus, tolerance for other people is required. The prominent of religious tolerance shows that religious tolerance reveals freedom of religion. Finally, the essence behind the representation is revealed.
ABSTRAK
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Karya sastra dapat merepresentasikan realita kebenaran dan mengungkapkan pesan di dalam karya itu. Fenomena dari kebenaran dan artinya dapat diungkapkan melalui latar belakang cerita, seperti masalah tentang agama di negara Perancis yang telah dimulai pada beberapa abad lalu. NovelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes memperlihatkan masalah ini yaitu tentang kebebasan beragama.
Tujuan utama penelitian ini dilakukan melalui tiga tahap. Tujuan pertama yaitu mengindentifikasi latar belakang cerita dalam novel. Hal ini menjelaskan bagaimana latar belakang cerita dalam novel digambarkan. Kedua, mengidentifikasi gambaran latar belakang cerita yang merepresentasikan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Bagian ini mencocokkan gambaran latar belakang cerita dengan kenyataan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Tujuan terakhir penelitian ini mengungkap kebebasan beragama dilihat dari representasi masyarakat Perancis pada abad itu.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka dalam menganalisa. Data bersumber dari buku dan situs website tentang teori-teori, pendekatan, dan kritik yang digunakan dalam menganalisa rumusan masalah. Penulis juga mengumpulkan data tinjaun studi yang memuat opini, dan informasi mengenai novel ini dan pengarangnya. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosio-kultural historikal untuk mengungkap gagasan dibalik karya sastra ini.
Sebagai hasil analisis, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa pertama: latar belakang cerita dijelaskan melalui keadaan geografis, jenis pekerjaan dan kebiasaan tokohnya, tempat terjadinya peristiwa dan kondisi umum tokoh-tokohnya, yang kesemuanya itu menjelaskan kemiskinan dan kondisi sosial yang sulit bagi masyarakat seperti petani, penggembala dan pedagang. Sementara para rohaniwan menikmati kehidupan yang makmur. Latar belakang cerita juga menjelaskan pandangan masyarakat yang berkaitan dengan agama dan keadaan moral. Kedua, gambaran latar belakang cerita mempunyai kesamaan dengan karakteristik masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18 dan hal itu membuktikan bahwa benar representasi masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Latar belakang cerita merepresentasikan petani, rohaniwan, dan pandangan masyarakat Perancis terhadap agama pada abad ke-18. Ketiga, hasil representasi masyarakat difokuskan pada karakteristik masyarakat, yaitu pandangan masyarakat terhadap agama. Toleransi beragama ditonjolkan melalui fanatisme beragama sebagai oposisi binernya. Fanatisme beragama memperlihatkan bahwa mempunyai agama secara murni dari iman. Pada kenyataannya, fanatisme beragama menunjukkan bahwa menganut agama merupakan suatu kewajiban yang memaksa seseorang untuk melakukannya. Pada dasarnya, menganut suatu agama adalah hak pribadi.
Seseorang tidak diperkenankan memaksakan agama kepada orang lain. Maka dari itu toleransi beragama diperlukan. Sangat pentingnya toleransi beragama menunjukkan bahwa toleransi beragama mengungkapkan kebebasan beragama. Akhirnya arti dibalik representasi terungkap.
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM Student Number: 044214062
ENGLISH LETTERS PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM Student Number: 044214062
ENGLISH LETTERS PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2008
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM Student Number: 044214062
Approved by
Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum. Date: September15, 2008 Advisor
ASarjana SastraUndergraduate Thesis
REPRESENTATION OF FRENCH SOCIETY IN THE 18
THCENTURY THROUGH SETTING TO REVEAL FREEDOM
OF RELIGION OF STEVENSON’S
TRAVEL WITH
A DONKEY IN THE CEVENNES
By
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM Student Number: 044214062 Defended before the Board of Examiners
On September 27, 2008 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Francis Borgias Alip, M.Pd., M.A. Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.
Member : Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. ______
Member : Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum. Member : Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S.
Yogyakarta, September 30, 2008. Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University
Dean
Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the
World tests everything that was learned along
the way. It does this not because it is evil, but
so that we can, in addition to realizing our
dreams, master the lesson’s we’ve learned as
we’ve moved toward that dream
(Paulo Coelho)
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Maria Kristianingrum
Nomor Mahasiswa : 044214062
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes.
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 30 September 2008
Yang menyatakan
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty Jesus Christ who always gives me blessings, guidance, love, hope, care along my life and a way to finish this undergraduate thesis. Then, I would like to thank my parents, Y. Suyamto and Ly. Sunarsih, my sister Melan, my brother Agus, (†) grandmother and my cousin Eko for the support, pray, care, help, love and attention.
I would like to thank Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M.Hum, my advisor and my co-advisor Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. for the guidance, advice, and patience that helped me finish this undergraduate thesis. My thanks also go to
mbak Ninik and all the lecturers and the administrative staffs of Department of English Letters for the years of my study.
My gratitude also goes to Mudika friends: mbak Nia, mbak Erna, Irine, Niken, mas Gunawan, mas Sigit, Teguh, Rina, Agnes, mas Plerik, Aditya, Dewi and allmudika friends for the help, spirit and suggestions, my friends in boarding house: mbakTeti, mbakHendri, mbak Anna, Vita, Irine, Eky, Mapy, mbak Rere, and Eveline for the supports, helps remind me finishing this thesis and for lovely moments living together in three years.
For my best friends - in English Letters Department 2004: Monic, Ani, Susan, Diah, Adi, Bayu, Bendhot really thank you for the supports, helps and everything, also for the pleasant moments we have shared together. I would like to thank Eka, Soni and Aditya PBI USD 2004 for the kindness and helps. Last, I thank everyone whose name can not be mentioned one by one in helping me to finish this undergraduate thesis.
Maria Kristianingrum
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE... i
APPROVAL PAGE... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii
MOTTO PAGE... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS... vii
ABSTRACT... ix
ABSTRAK ... x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .. ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... . 4
C. Objectives of the Study ... . 5
D. Definition of Terms ... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW .. ... 7
A. Review of Related Studies ... 7
B. Review of Related Theories ... . 9
1. Theory of Setting ... 9
2. Theory of the Relation between Literature and Society ... 12
3. Theory of Society . ... 13
4. Theory of Representation.. ... 14
C. Review on Socio-cultural Historical Background of French in the Eighteenth Century ... ... 15
D. Theoretical Framework ... 18
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY . ... 19
A. Object of the Study ... 19
B. Approach of the Study ... 20
C. Method of the Study ... 21
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 23
A. The Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. ... 23
B. The Representation of French Society in the Eighteenth Century through the Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes... ... 40
C. The Representation of French Society to Reveal the Freedom of Religion ... 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY . ... 56 APPENDICES .. ... 58
Appendix 1 Summary of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Travel with a Donkey in the
Cevennes ... 58 Appendix 2 Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson.. ... 61
ABSTRACT
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Literature can represent the truth about reality and reveal its own meaning. The phenomenon of reality and its meaning can be seen through setting, such as religious controversy issues in French started in some centuries ago. The novel
Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennesviews this issue, the freedom of religion. The main objective is done through three steps. The first objective is to identify the setting in the novel. It explains how the setting in the novel is described. The second objective is to identify how the setting represents French society in the eighteenth century. This part matches the description of the setting with the actual condition of French society in the eighteenth century to prove that the setting represents French society in that period. The last objective is to reveal the freedom of religion through the representation of French society in the eighteenth century.
The writer applied library research method in this analysis. The sources were books and website about the theories, approach, and criticism that are used to analyse the problems. The writer also collected related studies about opinion, and information about the novel and author. This thesis used the socio-cultural historical approach to reveal the ideas behind a work of literature.
As the result of the analysis, the writer concludes that first, the setting is described through geographical location, the occupational and daily manners of living of the characters, the time and period in which the action takes place and general environment of the character. All of them explain the poverty and difficult condition for people like the peasants, shepherds and sellers. Meanwhile the clergy is prosperous in life. The setting also explains the religious view and moral condition in the society. Second, the description of setting has similar characteristics with French society in the eighteenth century, which shows that the setting truly represents French society at that time. The setting represents the peasants, clergy and the French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth century. Third, the result of the representation is focused on the characteristic of society in the society’s view toward religion. Religious tolerance is shown off by religious fanaticism as the binary opposite. Religious fanaticism looks like having a religion with its pure faith. In fact, religious fanaticism presents that having a religion is an obligation that forces someone to do it. Basically, having a certain kind of religion is individual right. Someone may not oblige someone else to profess the certain one. Thus, tolerance for other people is required. The prominent of religious tolerance shows that religious tolerance reveals freedom of religion. Finally, the essence behind the representation is revealed.
ABSTRAK
MARIA KRISTIANINGRUM. Representation of French Society in the 18th Century through Setting to Reveal Freedom of Religion of Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
Karya sastra dapat merepresentasikan realita kebenaran dan mengungkapkan pesan di dalam karya itu. Fenomena dari kebenaran dan artinya dapat diungkapkan melalui latar belakang cerita, seperti masalah tentang agama di negara Perancis yang telah dimulai pada beberapa abad lalu. NovelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes memperlihatkan masalah ini yaitu tentang kebebasan beragama.
Tujuan utama penelitian ini dilakukan melalui tiga tahap. Tujuan pertama yaitu mengindentifikasi latar belakang cerita dalam novel. Hal ini menjelaskan bagaimana latar belakang cerita dalam novel digambarkan. Kedua, mengidentifikasi gambaran latar belakang cerita yang merepresentasikan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Bagian ini mencocokkan gambaran latar belakang cerita dengan kenyataan masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Tujuan terakhir penelitian ini mengungkap kebebasan beragama dilihat dari representasi masyarakat Perancis pada abad itu.
Penulis menggunakan studi pustaka dalam menganalisa. Data bersumber dari buku dan situs website tentang teori-teori, pendekatan, dan kritik yang digunakan dalam menganalisa rumusan masalah. Penulis juga mengumpulkan data tinjaun studi yang memuat opini, dan informasi mengenai novel ini dan pengarangnya. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosio-kultural historikal untuk mengungkap gagasan dibalik karya sastra ini.
Sebagai hasil analisis, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa pertama: latar belakang cerita dijelaskan melalui keadaan geografis, jenis pekerjaan dan kebiasaan tokohnya, tempat terjadinya peristiwa dan kondisi umum tokoh-tokohnya, yang kesemuanya itu menjelaskan kemiskinan dan kondisi sosial yang sulit bagi masyarakat seperti petani, penggembala dan pedagang. Sementara para rohaniwan menikmati kehidupan yang makmur. Latar belakang cerita juga menjelaskan pandangan masyarakat yang berkaitan dengan agama dan keadaan moral. Kedua, gambaran latar belakang cerita mempunyai kesamaan dengan karakteristik masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18 dan hal itu membuktikan bahwa benar representasi masyarakat Perancis abad ke-18. Latar belakang cerita merepresentasikan petani, rohaniwan, dan pandangan masyarakat Perancis terhadap agama pada abad ke-18. Ketiga, hasil representasi masyarakat difokuskan pada karakteristik masyarakat, yaitu pandangan masyarakat terhadap agama. Toleransi beragama ditonjolkan melalui fanatisme beragama sebagai oposisi binernya. Fanatisme beragama memperlihatkan bahwa mempunyai agama secara murni dari iman. Pada kenyataannya, fanatisme beragama menunjukkan bahwa menganut agama merupakan suatu kewajiban yang memaksa seseorang untuk melakukannya. Pada dasarnya, menganut suatu agama adalah hak pribadi.
Seseorang tidak diperkenankan memaksakan agama kepada orang lain. Maka dari itu toleransi beragama diperlukan. Sangat pentingnya toleransi beragama menunjukkan bahwa toleransi beragama mengungkapkan kebebasan beragama. Akhirnya arti dibalik representasi terungkap.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literature as a property of language is a verbal work of art that explores human desires or ideas. It expands people’s mind and quickens people’s sense of life. Literature does not only provide pleasure and knowledge, but it also conveys ideas and truth. Literature in Hudson’s An Introduction to the Study of Literature
is mentioned that:
Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language (1958: 10)
The quotation above means that literary work is a depiction of reality that conveys the truth. It can be said that literature is a kind of medium that has social function.
Literary work does not only represent the truth about reality in the outside world, but literary work also has its own meaning. Widdoson in his book
Literature said that literature can be a new innovation that gives information or insights about social life.
The English literary term ‘the novel’ it can be argued retains traces of all these senses: ‘a new story’, new innovating, strange, perhaps even making strange or defamiliarising and offering news-information or insights-about social life (1999:136).
Literary work is presented both as imagination that has its own meaning and as a medium of social life. Literary work uses an element such as “setting” to deliver the portrayal of reality and its own meaning. Setting is one of the intrinsic
elements of a literary work, refers to the description of place, the time and social condition where the action of character takes place. Abrams in the book A Glossary of Literary Terms mentioned that “the overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs (1981:192).” The setting includes the society in a certain time. Within the society, the setting encloses norm, rule or belief which guides its people. Society’s circumstances present the phenomenon that happens there. When human being lives with others in the society, it is possible that some problems occur, so the representation of phenomenon happening in society in a certain time can be seen through setting. The examples are the issues in the twentieth and twenty first century French society that have close relation with the issues in the eighteenth century French society. Here, literature can play the role in revealing back that humans can learn about it.
In the twentieth and twenty first centuries, many controversial issues happened in society in the world. One of them is a controversial issue concerning religion in France. The March 2004 issue of World Press Review (VOL. 51, No. 3) stated that French Parliament prohibited wearing religious garb for students in public primary and secondary school.
The previous years, in the 1980s and 1990s, restriction to wear any religious symbols and political terms for students in France has already existed. This facts show that the people in France are not totally free to have freedom of religion. Religious controversy does not only happen in the twentieth or twenty first centuries. Basically, in the previous centuries it had occurred in France, such as in the eighteenth century. During the sixteenth century there was a controversy among religions, thus the agreement of religious worship was signed. In the late seventeenth century the agreement was broken; religious persecution occurred until the beginning of the eighteenth century and continued to be a problem. Those problems can clearly be viewed through Stevenson’sTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes.
In this novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, Stevenson focuses on the condition of French society with the rule and belief. It tells that somebody who lives there must follow the rule and belief in which Catholic is a major religion of the society. The right about freedom of religion for everybody is questionable. Stevenson is attracted to discuss deeper and connect it with the condition of French society in the eighteenth century. “Louis XIV ruled as an absolute monarch. Service of God and respect for king are united. King is absolute lord (Williams, 1972: 173, 174).”
society’s view toward religion presents the religious fanaticism and religious tolerance. It becomes the surface representation of the novel.
This study focuses on Stevenson’s insights and ideas represented through the setting of French society in the eighteenth century, especially the representation of French society’s view toward religion in the eighteenth century. Religious tolerance is more prominent in the representation. To get the representation of depth behind the religious tolerance, religious fanaticism is opposed with religious tolerance. The binary opposite aims to show off religious tolerance and gets the deeper meaning. Religious fanaticism looks like having a religion with its pure faith. In fact, religious fanaticism presents that having a religion is an obligation that forces someone to do it. Certainly having a religion is individual right. Thus, tolerance for other people is required. The prominent of religious tolerance shows that religious tolerance reveals freedom of religion. The essence behind the representation is revealed.
B. Problem Formulation
Based on the storyTravel with a Donkey in the Cenvenesby Robert Louis Stevenson, some questions are the pillar of the discussion.
1. How is the setting in the novel described?
2. How does the setting in the novel represent French society in the eighteenth century?
C. Objectives of the Study
The objective of this study is to find the representation of French society in the eighteenth century. In addition, there are three objectives of this undergraduated thesis based on the three problem formulations. The first objective of this research is to identify the setting in the novel. Then, the second objective is to identify how the setting represents French society in the eighteenth century. The following analysis is to find the representation of French society in the eighteenth century to reveal freedom of religion.
D. Definition of Terms
As stated in the title above, the writer discusses the representation of French society in the eighteenth century through the setting to reveal the freedom of religion. This part discusses the definition of terms that can help the readers understand this study.
1. Setting
According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, the overall setting of narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or scene within a work is the particular physical location in which it takes place (1981: 192).
2. Freedom of Religion
(2005: 670). Boyle and Juliet states in Freedom of Religion and Belief that freedom of religion includes the right to believe that one has exclusive truth and that what another believes is lacking in truth (1997: 8).
3. Representation
Birenbaum in his book entilted The Happy Critic said that representation is simply description, showing fairly and clearly what the work is and what it is like. It shows what is in the work as we experience it, describing what it is like, explaining what it is and how, in general, it goes about its business (1997: 11-12).
4. French Society in the Eighteenth Century
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
Robert Louis Stevenson is a popular author. People are familiar with him through his books. He has written many books and many people know him and his famous works, like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Not all people know everything about Stevenson and his literary works. Some of his literary work may seldom or never be discussed. The novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is one of Stevenson’s novels that is not too polular. It is his second work since he became an author.
This part presents a comment of the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes and some reviews of other Stevenson’s works, so that the readers will get the sight to the novel. Ricard Dury gave a comment about Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennesnovel in the website entitled Robert Louis Stevenson-Life and Works Outline in 1997 by stating a companion work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), gives us more of his thoughts on life and human society and continues to consolidate the image of the debonair narrator that we also find in his essays and letters (which can be classed among his best works) <http://dinamico2.unibg.it/rls/bio.htm>
The study by Juli Purnani (2003) in undergraduate thesis entitled The Possible Messages seen from the Main Character and the Conflics in Robert
Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde explores one of
the literary works by Robert Louis Stevenson. The study focuses its discussion on the possible message implied in the main character’s crisis. Stevenson wants to point out the idea that inside human being there are two personalities representing good and evil (2003: ix).
While the undergraduated thesis study by Cahyo Roso Tunggal (2002) entitled The Contrasive Personalities between James and Henry Durie in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Master of Ballantrae discusses how the personalities of James and Henry differ in five aspects: complexity, fluidity, accessibility, resistance to change and centralization. Further, Tunggal found that the internal/heredity, genetic factor influences James and Henry’s personality development (2002: xi).
Another study in an undergraduated thesis The Character’s Changes and Moral Development as seen in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr.
Based on the quotations above, there are some opinions about Stevenson’s thoughts in his other works and an idea about Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes. This thesis is written to develop the study of socio-culture historical background. Unlike other thesis discussing the same author of the literary work, this thesis is analysing the society in the novel as the representation of French society in the eighteenth century and the idea behind the representation.
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Setting
In a literary work, there are many intrinsic elements. One of them is setting. According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, setting is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs (1981: 192). Setting in literary work has four elements. In A Handbook to LiteratureHolman and Harmon stated that the elements of setting are:
The actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such
physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room. The occupations and daily manner of living of the characters.
The time or period in which the action takes place.
The general environment of the characters, for example: religious, mental,
moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move (1986: 465).
types of setting give more understanding of the first element of setting, the actual geographical location. There are two types of setting: natural and manufactured setting as discussed in Roberts and Jacobs Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing.
Natural
The setting for a great number of stories is the out-of-doors, and naturally enough. Nature herself is seen as force that shapes action and therefore directs and redirects lives. Bushes may furnish places of concealment, while mountain top is a spot protecting occupants from the outside world. Nature is one of the major forces governing the circumstances of characters who go about facing the conflicts on which the plots of stories depend.
Manufactured
Manufactured things always reflect the people who make them. A building or a room tells about the people who built it and live in it, and ultimately about the social and political orders that maintain the conditions (1987: 190,191).
Furthermore, Roberts in his book entitled Writing Themes about Literature Second Editionsaid that
Artificial scenery always refers to the societies that created it. Hence a building, or a room, bespeaks the character of those who build and in habit it, and ultimately it reveals the social and political orders that maintain the condition (1969: 41).
Artificial scenery or manufactured setting like a building or a room gives information about the social and political condition of the character. A sumptuous artificial setting emphasizes the sumptuous of the characters living in it and also their financial resources.
Based on the elements of setting above, it can be said that setting in literary work consists of three kinds: setting of place, time and society or social. The setting of place includes the natural type of setting that refers to the actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, flora, fauna and physical arrangements. The manufactured type of setting is also included in the setting of place. The setting of time refers to the time in which the action happens. It can be indicated by the consequent amount of light at which an event occurs, the sound described, the smells and the weather. Whereas setting of society or social setting includes the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters and the general environment of the characters, like religious, mental, moral, social and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move.
realism that can be seen from philosophical or religious, psychological and political viewpoints. Roberts in his book entitledWriting Themes about Literature Second Edition said that “the setting may become so significant that it virtually becomes an active participant in the action (1969: 42).”
To study the setting of any particular work, the first concern should be to discover all details that conceivably form a part of setting and then to determine how the author has used these details. This concern is artistic. One might observe, for example, that the manipulation of setting may be a kind of direct language, a means by which the author makes statements that he may not interpret (1969: 43).
Another way to use setting as a kind of statement is to describe a setting in lieu of describing events, in this sense placing the setting on the level of metaphor. The language used by the author to describe the setting is an important clue in interpreting his story. An author might also manipulate setting as a means of organizing his story structurally, for example, to move a character from one environment to another (provided that no harm is done in the process). Another structural manipulation of setting is the “framing” method: an author “frames” his story by opening with a description of the setting and then returns to the description at the end (1969: 43).
2. The Relation between Literature and Society
There is a close relation between literature and history. Pater Widdowson in
dominant discourses would consign a repressed group to silence (1999: 135). The texts are selected for their accessibility and/or familiarity, but which nevertheless involve many different kinds of production and which focus as a unique form of historical knowledge, issues of politics, race and gender (1999: 132).
The English literary term ‘the novel’, can be argued, retains traces of all these senses: ‘a new story’, new, innovating, strange-perhaps even marking strange or defamiliarising and offering news-information or insight about social life (1999: 136).
3. Society
In the book Society in the Novel, Langland said that society in novels does not depend on points of absolute fidelity to an outside world in details of costume, setting, and locality because a novel’s society does not aim at a faithful mirror of any concrete, existent thing. This intersection of art and life is important. Absolute literary realism may be impossible, but art cannot help making claims to something beyond itself (1984: 5).
within the work (1984: 6,7). The novel was fashioned from the beginning as an instrument of social criticism. Expressing a new valuation of the individual, it brings with it a new awareness of how social values might warp or deny individual values and needs (1984: 11).
4. Representation
According to Birenbaum in The Happy Critic representation is simply description, showing fairly and clearly what the work is and what it is like. It shows what is in the work as we experience it, describing what it is like, explaining what it is and how, in general, it goes about its business (1997: 11-12).
Andrew Gibson in Towards a Postmodern Theory of Narrative said that there are two kinds of representation. One considers representation to be a matter of surfaces, the other theorizes it in terms of depths. ‘Surface representation’ is a realism of particulars. Its view of language is innocent. It conceives of language as unproblematically adequate to what it represents. ‘Surface representation’ does give primacy to the visible. It puts itself forward as a realism of self-evidence (1996: 81-82). Surface representation tells us about things only within certain norms of justification that determine what things are from the outset (1996: 83). Surface representation depends on the assumption of a ‘neutral observation language’ (1996: 84).
through the veil the visible to what the visible supposedly secretes and embodies, capturing that distilled essence and saturating language in it (1996: 82). We can say that by using this representation we can reveal the unseen from the seen in the text to get the real meaning in it.
C. Review on Socio-Cultural Historical Background of French in the Eighteenth Century
1. Religion
In A History of Freedom of Thought, Bury stated that until 1676 the French Protestant (Huguenots) were tolerated; for the next hundred years they were outlaws (1952: 84). Will and Durant in the bookThe Age of Louis XIV: The Story of Civilization Part VIII mentioned that in 1666 the Huguenots were forbidden to establish new colleges, or to maintain academies for the education of the young nobility. On October 17, 1685, the King revoked the Edict of Nantes as unnecessary, since in France was almost entirely Catholic. All Huguenots conventicles were to be destroyed or transformed forbidden. Some 400,000 “converts” were forced to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist; a few who spat out the consecrated wafers when they left the church were condemned to be burned alive (1963: 71-73).
hundred per cent royalist, a subject must share the religion of his king. His conviction that to be orthodox was to be disloyal-a conviction, be it noted, that often had some foundation-goes far to explain why Louis persecuted both the Jansenists and the Huguenots (1942: 654). The poorer Huguenots, who could not afford to flee, took up arms in defense of their faith and defied from their fastness in the Cevennes all royal efforts to crush them (1942: 655).
2. Political Condition
Hobsbawn in the book The Age of Revolution mentioned that France was the most powerful and in many ways the most typical of the old aristocratic absolute monarchies of Europe (1973: 75). The government of eighteenth century France was no enlightened despotism, however. It was despotic in form, though hardly oppressive in practice it was better described as despotism tempered by corruption, with the stress on “tempered” and on “corruption” (1973: 193,194).
As stated by Williams in his book The Ancient Regime in Europe that “France was ruled by the method of Louis XIV for the rest of the eighteenth century. When Louis XIV took command, ideological struggles were endemic and bitter. They mainly concerned religion (1972: 170, 205).
3. Economic
per cent of it given over to grain in most places, with hardly any wastes, or meadows, or woods, or common-land, over populated and under-productive (1972: 215). The laboureur, one of subgroups of peasant possessed at least two horses and a plough and he probably would not posses more than eight cattle, five pigs and thirty sheep (1972: 213). As the eighteenth century advanced, clergy became the sword and buckler of conservatism and though in their clashes with the crown they talked the advanced language of liberalism, their only concern was to protect property and privilege from attack (1972: 207).
D. Theoretical Framework
Each of the theories and reviews is needed to answer the questions stated in problem formulation. The review of related studies is used to strengthen the importance of studying and analysing this novel. It shows that analysing this novel is worthwhile. Theories of setting and society are used because this study analyses the social setting. In addition, the theory about the relation of literature and society is important to show that literature, like novel, may have a relation with the society in the real world. Thus, theory of representation helps interpret what is represented in the text and to reveal the unseen from the seen.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The main source of this study isTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, a kind of travel novel by Robert Louis Stevenson edited by R. E. C. Houghton, M.A., a lecturer in English Language and Literature in King’s College, London. The book was first printed in English Literature Series in 1924. The edition used in this study was reprinted at 1955 and published in London by Macmillan & Co Ltd. The book consists of 128 pages in five chapters. Each chapter consists of several parts. The five chapters are entitled Velay, Upper Gevaudan, Our Lady of the Snows, Upper Gevaudan (continued), and The Country of the Camisards. The novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is one of famous travel novels of Robert Louis Stevenson, besides An Island Voyage, Across the Plains, the Amateur Emigrant, The Silverado Squatters, and other novels like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide.
The story of the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes is set in Cevennes, French. It is about the travel of a Scotsman through Cevennes. The topography and scenery show that it is an uncomfortable place to live in. Most of the areas are hills and valleys with rocky footpaths. People along the way show the occupation as farmers, peasants, shepherds or sellers who live in difficult condition. Many places are passed in the journey; it includes The Trappist Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow. Its society has a narrow view on religion.
The society believes that everyone who arrives at The Trappists Monastery of Our Lady of the Snow should change his or her religion. The novel shows that the Cevennes society has a kind of rule that obliges everyone to change his or her faith when arriving in that region. Meanwhile, the society in the south has a wide view of religion by respecting others.
B. Approach of the Study
This thesis deals with the social condition in Cevennes, French. Therefore, the writer employs socio-cultural historical approach to do this analysis. Rohrberger and Woods in their book entitled Reading and Writing About Literature said that literature is not created in a vacuum, and literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it (1971: 9).
The real world and the literary work have close relation based on sociocultural-historical approach. Rohrberger and Woods stated that:
Critics whose major interest is the sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it. They define civilization as the attitudes and actions of specific group of people and point out that literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter. They feel therefore, that it is necessary that the critic investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and which it necessarily reflects (1971: 9).
C. Method of the Study
Library research was used in this analysis. The primary source was the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson. The secondary one were books and websites about the theories, approach, and critic that were used to analyse the problems. The books A Glossary of Literary Terms, Writing Themes about Literature, Mastering English Literature, Society in the
Novel, Reading and Writing About Literature, The Age of Louis XIV: The Story of
Civilization Part VIII, Towards a Postmodern Theory of Narrative, A Survey of
European Civilization, etc were used as the main sources to determine the approach and theories of this study.
There were some steps in to analyse this novel. First, the writer read the novel comprehensively to understand the story. Based on the understanding of the story, the writer was interested in the social condition of French society in the Cevennes. To know about what the literary work actually implied, the writer read the sources about the socio-cultural historical background in French related to the novel.
Then, the second step was collecting data about the review of related studies, opinion and information about the novel by the same author. It also consisted of collecting data about the theories of setting, society, representation and socio-cultural historical approach from books and websites.
society. Theories on representation were used to analyse the meaning of what the setting represents and to analyse the unseen from the seen of the text, then to get the real thing from it.
Then, the socio-cultural historical background of France in the eighteenth century was used to strengthen the idea that the novel was a social criticism toward the society in Cevennes French at that time.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter aims to answer the problems which are formulated in the previous chapter. It consists of three parts. The first part discusses the setting in the novel. The second part discusses the representation of French society in the eighteenth century through the setting in the novel. Then, the third part discusses the representation of French society in the eighteenth century to reveal the freedom of religion.
A. The Setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes
All kinds of stories have a particular setting that includes setting of time, place and society. The existence of setting makes the story more colorful and clearer. Setting has an important role to support other elements in the story, like character, tone, atmosphere, etc. In the analysis of setting ofTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the writer discusses the actual geographical location, the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters, the time or period in which the action takes place and the general environment of the characters. In the first part, the writer analyses the geographical location of the novel, including its topography, scenery, and physical arrangement. In the second part, the writer analyses the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters. The third part of the analysis is about the time or period in which the action takes place. In the fourth part, the writer analyses the general environment of the characters.
1. The Actual Geographical Location
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the setting of place is explained through the actual geographical location. It is a visible background that can be seen by descriptive passage in the novel. The geographical location in this novel is described in the form of natural setting like its topography and scenery. It can be seen from this quotation:
Mount Mezene and the peaks beyond St. Julien stood out in trenchant gloom against a cold glitter in the east; and the intervening field of hills had fallen together into one broad wash of shadow, except here and there the outline of a wooded sugar-loaf in black, here and there a white irregular patch to represent a cultivated farm, and here and there a blot where the Loire, the Gazeille, or Laussonne wandered in a gorge (p.16). The topography of Mount Mezene is illustrated in a sharp, dreary plateau that is cold and has less sunlight. The area is still natural with many trees growing and an irregular patch which indicates a cultivated farm. The setting clearly reflects the natural landscape. The novel uses this kind of setting in most part of the story.
As stated in Roberts and Jacobs that “nature is one of the major forces governing the circumstances of characters who go about facing the conflicts on which the plots of stories depend (1987: 191).” The condition of topography shows how life in that place is. It means that the topography influences the society’s life in that kind of place.
On all sides, Goudet is shut in by mountains; rocky footpaths, practicable at best for donkeys, join it to the outer world of France; and the men and women drink and swear, in their green corner, or look up at the snow-clad peaks in the winter from the threshold of their homes, in an isolation, you would think, like that of Homer’s Cyclops (p.10)
The place called Goudet is located among mountains with rocky footpath. The setting brings an uncomfortable of isolated society. This description of topography and scenery is used in the beginning of the story, the first chapter in the second subchapter entitled “The Green Donkey Driver”. It continues to be used throughout most of the story.
Moor, heathery marsh, tracks of rocks and pines, woods of birch all jeweled with the autumn yellow, here and there a few naked cottages and bleak fields, these were the characters of the country. Hill and valley followed valley and hill; the little green and stony cattle-tracks wandered in and out of one another, split into three or four, died away in marshy hollows, and began again sporadically on hillsides or at the borders of a wood (p.26).
The landscape of the road is mountainous. It is a cheerless prospect place. Stevenson describes the natural scenery generally for most places in the novel as areas of hill and valley, followed by valley and hill again such as in Allier, Goudet, etc. The topography gives the implication of a tedious, uncomfortable place to live where the society do their activities.
The next natural setting of this novel still explains about miserable places. The road from Cheylard to Luc is described as a bad road with dry land in which there are less wood, trees or low plants. The road seems to be either kept in good condition or easy place to live in. It is showed in these sentences:
It was like the worst of the Scottish Highland, only worse; cold, naked, and Ignoble, scant of wood, scant of heather, scant of life. A road and some fences broke the unvarying waste, and the line of the road was marked by upright pillars, to serve in time of snow (p.39).
of the scenery in the novel is completely detailed, not only about the flora growing there but also everything surrounding the flora as shown in the statement below.
As far as I have gone, I have never seen a river of so changeful and delicate a hue; crystal was not more clear, the meadows were not by half so green; and at these hot, dusty, and material garments, and bathe my naked body in the mountain air and water (p.77)
In Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the description of scenery that contributes to the setting of place is explained until the last part of the novel. “The phylloxera has ravished the vineyards in this neighborhood and in the early morning, under some chestnuts by the river, I found a party of men working with a cider-press (118)”. The statement shows that the scenery is infected by rats. Most natural sceneries in the novel present unwell situation.
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the natural setting is used to organize the story structurally, where a character moves from one environment to another. It can be said that the natural setting builds the chronology of the story. If one of them is missing, it makes the story not chronological. The novel consists of five chapters with their own subchapters. The first chapter is entitled Velay, and followed by the next chapter entitled Upper Gevaudan, Our Lady of the Snows, etc which ends with The Country of the Camisards. All of the places are in the area of France. Each part of the places has an important role in the story.
Indeed, it was typical of these French highlands. Imagine a cottage of two stories, with a bench before the door; the stable and kitchen in a suite, so that Modestine and I could hear each other dining; furniture of the plainest, earthern floors, a single bedchamber for travelers, and that without any convenience but beds (p.17).
The physical arrangement of the cottage is described in a poorhouse way. The room is limited; the kitchen and stable are in a suite with simple furniture and earthern floors. The physical arrangement of the manufactured setting in the novel gives identity to the society that created it. As stated in Roberts and Jacobs that “a building or a room tells about the people who built it and live in it, and ultimately about the social and political orders that maintain the conditions (1987: 191).” The physical arrangement of the peasant’s cottage reveals the social condition and emphasizes the financial condition. It shows that the peasant is in poverty. The poverty of the peasant is shown by the food and drink in the sentence below:
The food is sometimes spare; hard fish and omelette have been my portion more than once; the wine is of the smallest, the brandy abominable to man; and the visit of a fat sow, grouting under the table and rubbing against your legs, is no impossible accompaniment to dinner (p. 17).
The menu is simple food and low qualified alcoholic drink. The animal seeks the food under the table. The circumstances at dinner show that the peasant gets poverty. The peasant’s inn in Chasserades also shows the poverty. “There were four beds in the little upstairs room and we slept six (p.63)”.
liqueur which the monk has. Liqueur is strong and usually sweat alcoholic spirit drunk in small quantities especially after dinner. In fact the liqueur is drunk before having dinner. It shows that the monks have good financial condition or more prosperous than peasants. The setting is also explained through the properties of statue and flowers situated in the garden, like in this quotation:
The whet administered, I was left alone for a little in the monastery garden. This is no more than the main court, laid out in sandy paths and beds of parti-coloures dahlias, and with a fountain and a statue of the Virgin in the centre (p.47).
The setting is arranged structurally and in details. The beauty of the setting is created by adding the properties, so that the setting looks more beautiful. It brings a comfortable atmosphere of living. Moreover, the comfortable life for monks or clergymen can be seen from the condition of the room which is clean and decorated with accessories. The objects in the room give information about the financial condition of the society.
It was clean and whitewashed, and furnished with strict necessaries, a crucifix, a bust of the late Pope, the imitation in French, a book of religious meditations…(p.47).
In the novel, manufactured setting and physical arrangement do not only show and emphasize the social and financial condition of the peasant, but also show the social and financial condition of the monks.
Thence my good Irishman took me around the workshops, where brothers bake bread, and make cartwheels, and take photographs; where one superintends a collection of curiosities, and another a gallery of rabbits (p.49).
arrangement of the room evokes a comfortable feeling. The properties and its arrangement show and emphasize the good financial condition.
The actual geographical location in this novel refers to the place inhabited by the society. The condition of topography, natural and artificial scenery reveals the social condition of society in France. Most of the description of landscape conveys an unwell condition; it presents a boring miserable place. The manufactured setting and its physical arrangement of peasants’ cottage or inn show the poverty as having bad financial condition. On the contrary, the actual geographical location of the monastery evokes comfortable feeling and shows good financial condition.
2. The Occupations and Daily Manner of Living of the Characters
Setting can be learnt through the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters to discover the social condition of the society in the novel. In the novelTravel with a Donkey in the Cevennes,the occupations and daily manner of living of the characters are conveyed through the statement of the character in the novel.
It was five in the morning, and four thousand feet above the sea; and I had to bury my hands in my pockets and trot. People were trooping out to the labours of the field by twos and threes, and all turned round to stare upon stranger. I had seen them coming back last night, I saw them going a field again; and there was the life of Bouchet in a nutshell (p.20).
early morning and stop working at night. Peasants do that a such work everyday. The life of the peasants in Bouchet is conditioned in that daily routine. The occupation is clarified by the description about people who work in the field. It is also presented in this sentence: “On both sides of the road, in big dusty fields, farmers were preparing for next spring (p.23).” The quotation gives the information that a farmer does his or her work in the field continually. Working in the field is a daily routine for farmers. The quotation above shows that the farmer’s occupation is done in most of the season. The daily manner of peasants is described by working hard.
From all these furrowing ploughshares, from the feet of oxen, from labourer here and there who was breaking the dry clods with a hue, the wind carried away a thin dust like so much smoke (p. 23).
The quotation above shows that peasants need work hard to cultivate the field with its dry soil. In the novel, the occupation of peasants or farmers which is shown are not only working in the field but also gathering leaves for the animals.
The slope was strewn with lopped branches, and here and there a great package of leaves was propped against a trunk; for even the leaves are serviceable, and the peasants use them in winter by way of fodder for their animals (p.89).
The setting presents peasants’ or farmers’ occupation with their daily manner which always do labor in the field along the day and some of them also gather leaves for the animals. It is a routine activity for them.
morning that the daily manner of living of shepherds is leading their animals. Shepherds’ work is always keeping animals. The novel describes the shepherds’ work along the day.
The road smoked in the twilight with children driving home cattle from the fields; and a pair of mounted stride-legged women, hat and cap and all, dashed past me at a hammering trot from the canton where they had been to church and market (p.16).
The setting describes shepherds, who are children, who drive the cattle home in the afternoon, while women go home from the church or market. The daily life shows that shepherds lead their animal to the rural horn in the morning and lead them home in the afternoon. The novel also describes that at night shepherds still keep animals.
Cattle awake on the meadows; sheep break their fast on dewy hillsides, and change to a new lair among the ferns; and houseless men, who have lain down with the fowls, open their dim eyes and behold the beauty of the night (p.67).
The quotation explains that shepherds who are houseless keep their animal in the open nature. They spend all their time just with the cattle. When the cattle wake up, they do too. Close to the last chapter of this novel, shepherd who is very old struggles with the harsh nature in driving their animals.
A very old shepherd, hobbling on pair of sticks, and wearing a black cap liberty, as if in honour of his nearness to the grave, directed me to the road for St. Germain de Calberte […] Where he dwelt, how he got upon this high ridge, or how he proposed to get down again, were more than I could fancy (p.108).
every time. The occupations and daily manner of living of the shepherds show the harsh life for shepherds.
The setting of the novel also presents a seller occupation. In the beginning of the story, the setting is explained by the action of character who wants to start his journey and buy a donkey in the market. It can be seen that seller is one of occupation in the society.
Father Adam had a cart, and to draw the cart a diminutive she-ass, not bigger than a dog […] Our first interview was in Monastier market-place […] all the buyers and sellers came round and helped me in the bargain; and the ass and I and Father Adam were the centre of a hubbub for near half an hour (p. 4).
From the statement, it can be seen that bargaining process happens between a buyer and a seller. Thus, some part of the societies has the occupation of sellers. In order to support the description of seller occupation, the setting presents the statement of a character who hears the rattle of cart or carriage. The setting is clarified by the sound, like in the following statement of a character.
I have heard the rattle of a cart or carriage spring up suddenly after hours of stillness, and pass, for some minutes, within the range of my hearing as I lay abed (p.69).
The sound of the cart’s clatter indicates that someone does an activity using this object. A cart’s function is to carry things and in this discussion, the cart is used to carry goods to the market. The daily manner of living of the seller is starting the work at the hour after midnight. That statement informs that the daily life of a seller is full of hard work in a difficult condition.
more occupations described in this novel. The setting is conveyed through the monk, priest and soldier. Like in the previous section, this occupation is described through the character’s experience who is Scotsman. He observes his environment where he becomes a boarder near the monastery.
For in a Trappist monastery each monk has an occupation of his own choice, apart from his religious duties and the general labours of the house. Each must sing in choir, if he has a voice and ear, and join in the haymaking if he has a hand to stir: but in his private hours, although he must be occupied, he may be occupied on what he likes (p.49).
The monks’ occupation is presented directly in the sentences. The occupation as the social setting explains that the monks have double occupation, both the obligatory job and individual job. The continuity of the occupation is also implied. By two in the morning the clapper goes upon the bell, and so on, hour by hour, and sometimes quarter by quarter, till eight, the our of rest; so infinitesimally is the day divided among different occupations (p. 52). The monks’ daily life is described through the sound of the bell. The bell indicates that it is the hour when they begin their job. The monks’ occupation seems to be structurally regular activities. The occupation of the monks in this novel is described through sound, too.
The occupation of priest and soldier are also shown in this novel. “A priest, with six or seven others, were examining a church in process of repair, and he and his acolytes laughed loudly as they saw my plight (p. 13)”. The daily manner of living of the priest is bad that they do not care about other’s trouble. The novel also describes a parish priest who spends a while in the monastery for prayer.
[…] He was an old soldier, who had seen service and risen to the rank of commandant; and he retained some of the brisk decisive manners of the camp (p.55).
This novel describes the priest as a religious people, but he does not have good manner because he does not care other’s trouble and does laugh at other’s trouble. The quotation above also describes the soldier who becomes a guest that observes and learns about life in the monastery.
3. The Time or Period in which the Action Takes Place
In the novel Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes, the setting of time is presented through direct statement at the beginning of the story.
It was already hard upon October before I was ready to set forth, and at the high altitudes over which my road lay there was no Indian summer to be looked for (p.2).
The month of the year describes the setting of time in this novel. The month in the above quotation presents the condition at that time namely the cold weather. In the next part of the novel, the presentation of time happens in the morning. “I was up in the morning (Monday, September 23rd), and hastened my toilette guiltily, so as to leave a clear field for madam, the cooper’s wife.” (p.20) The time in which the action takes place is in the morning. The time includes the day and the date as the setting of the novel. It happens in the inn of Bouchet St. Nicolas when the Scotsman character spends the night in his journey.
It was perishing cold, a grey, windy, wintry morning; misty clouds flew fast and low; the wind piped over the naked platform; and the eastern hills, where the sky still wore the orange of the dawn (p.20).
The setting of time in the quotation above uses the description of morning as grey, cold, windy, and wintry with foggy cloud. This condition of setting is found in the area around the inn in Bouchet. It brings an image of pathetic feeling. Moreover, the description of the setting is intensified by the description of naked platform that gives the image of hard life. Thus, the setting of time in the novel has evocative function. Most of the setting of time in the novel is presented indirectly.
Already the sun had gone down into a windy looking mist; and although there were still a few streaks of gold far off to the east on the hills and the black firwoods, all was cold and grey about our onward path (p.14).
The setting of time in the quotation indicates that it is morning by giving the description of few lights far away in the east. The evocative function gives a bad image of living. Most parts of setting of time in the morning are described by giving few amounts of light and by showing that it is cold and grey condition. The setting of time in this novel is always described continually from morning until night. “When I awoke for the third time (Wednesday, September 25th), the world was flooded with a blue light, the mother of dawn.”(p.34)
dress which would always be a measurement of the eighteenth-century theatricality and sensuality (http: // www.metmuseum.org / toah / hd / eudr / hd_eudr.htm).
[…] with an elegantly embroidered ribbon to her cap, and a new felt hat atop, and proffering, as she strode along with kilted petticoats, a string of obscene and blasphemous oaths (p. 15).
The type of dress worn by the woman is described as the eighteenth century dress type. It shows that the setting of time happens in the eighteenth century. Moreover, the quotation above also describes the type of woman’s hat which also indicates the eighteenth century as the setting of time. As stated in the website that flowers, birds, and bows became dominant motifs in a style that highlighted a kind of idealized femininity (http: // www.costumes.org / Classes / fashiondress/18thCent.htm).”
4. General Environment of the Characters
[…] the church was crowded to the door, there were people kneeling without upon the steps, and the sound of the priest’s chanting came forth out of the dim interior (p.10).
Religion is recognized and professed by the characters in the novel. In St. Martin de Frugeres people practice worship in the morning in the church. Similar idea is presented in this quotation. “The inn was again singularly unpretentious […] There were five children, one of whom was set to its morning prayers at the stair-foot soon after my arrival, and a sixth would ere long be forthcoming (p. 37)”. The quotation describes the child of the innkeeper who is praying in the morning when the Scotsman arrives in the inn in Cheylard. Religion exists in the environment.
In the novel, Stevenson describes religious fanaticism as the general environment of the characters in the novel. The idea is presented by the action of the characters that show their view as fanatical.
But I was now among a different sect of orthodox. These two men were bitter and upright and narrow, like the worst of Scotsmen, and indeed, upon my heart, I fancy they were worse. The priest snorted aloud like a battle-horse (p.57).
The quotation above shows the two characters, the parish priest and the soldier, who spend a while in the building near the monastery, who have bad characteristic. They quarrel about religion with the Scotsman who spends a while, too.
But he could not away with such a monstrous attitude. No, no, he cried; ‘you must change. You have come here, God has led you here, and you must embrace the opportunity (p.57).
arrives in that monastery area must profess Catholic. The fanatical view toward religion is described by the parish priest’s statement that orders the Scotsman convert his parents’ religion. “ ‘Your father and mother?’ cried the priest. ‘Very well; you will convert them in their turn when you go home’” (p. 57)”. The religious fanaticism in the novel is described also by the view of the Prior.
‘Hear that!’ he cried. ‘And I have seen a marquis here, a marquis, a marquis’- he repeated the holy word three times over-‘ and other person high in society; and generals. And here at your side, is this gentleman who has been so many years in armies decorated, an old warrior. And here he is, ready to dedicate himself to God (p. 59, 60).
The Prior’s statement shows his religious fanaticism. He defends the parish priest and the soldier, then praises the soldier who has high status in society to convert his religion and to become a novice. The religious fanatical idea is described also through villagers in Cassagnas that argue about religious controversy. “ ‘It’s a bad idea for a man to change,’ said he; and the remark was generally applauded (p. 105)”. The quotation explains about the gendarme, one of villagers in Cassagnas, who thinks that it is a bad idea for man to change his religion. The people in St. German de Calberte show a similar idea. “I dined with a pair of Catholics. They agreed in the condemnation of a young man, a Catholic, who had married a Protestant girl and gone over to the religion of his wife (p. 114)”. The religious fanatical idea is described that a man may not change his religion just because of marrying a girl.
