THE INFLUENCE OF HER MOTHER’S LIFESTYLES
ON LIZA’S LIFE AS SEEN IN RENDELL’S
THE CROCODILE BIRD
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
METTY CAHYANINGRUM Student Number : 021214099
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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Because I never know where life is gonna take me and i can't change where i've been.
But today, I have the opportunity to choose.
And I choose to be the best that I can be. I choose to be authentic in everything I do. My past doesn’t dictate who I am.
I choose.
I’ve been done through some painful things that I thought I would never make it through.
Filled up with shame from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes.
I put myself in so many chaotic circumstances, but by the grace of God I've been given so many second chances.
Today I decided to let it all go. I'm dropping these bags, I'm making room for my joy.
I used to have guilt about why things happen they way they did Life is gonna do what it do.
I realize everyday I have the opportunity to choose.
From this day forward I'm going to be exactly who I am.
I don't need to change the way that I live just to get a man. (NO!) I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown, "from this day forward, every decision I make will be my own."
Growing up without retiring for the battle is on, Going on without relenting ‘till the final victory’s won
(Adapted from India Arie’s songs)
v
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declare that the thesis I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, January 25, 2007 The writer
vi ABSTRACT
Metty Cahyaningrum. 2007. The Influence of Her Mother’s Lifestyles on Liza’s Life as Seen in Rendell’s The Crocodile Bird. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis discusses Ruth Rendell’s novel entitled The Crocodile Bird. The novel pictures the life of a young woman named Liza who is secluded for almost all her life by her mother, named Eve, in an isolated place in Britain called Shrove. This study discusses the lifestyles that her mother chooses and how those lifestyles influence Liza’s life.
There are two problems to discuss in this study: (1) What kinds of lifestyles does Eve, Liza’s mother, choose? (2) How do the lifestyles influence Liza’s life?
This study is conducted by using a library research. There are two kinds of sources employed in this study: primary and secondary sources. The primary source is the novel The Crocodile Bird itself which becomes the object of the study. The secondary sources are books on literature, psychology and internet sources that provide information related to the study. This study utilizes theory of character and characterization and theory of motivation and lifestyles. The approach used is the psychological approach because this study deals with the main characters’ motivation, their lifestyles, and how those lifestyles can influence someone’s life.
The analysis of the main characters in the story shows that Eve employs some lifestyles in her life. They are simple living, environmentalism, serial monogamy, and secularity. She chooses those lifestyles because of some reasons. They are because of her horrible past experience, her love to Shrove, her love to Liza, and her criminal acts that she has done.
The analysis also shows that Eve’s choice of lifestyles influence Liza in many ways. The influences on Liza are on her curiousity on new things, her meaning construction of some things like marriage, death and love, her appreciation to the nature, her view about woman, and the way she sees her life.
vii
ABSTRAK
Metty Cahyaningrum. 2007. The Influence of Her Mother’s Lifestyles on Liza’s Life as Seen in Rendell’s The Crocodile Bird. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas novel karya Ruth Rendell yang berjudul The Crocodile Bird. Novel ini menggambarkan kehidupan seorang wanita muda yang bernama Liza yang hampir selama hidupnya dipingit oleh ibunya yang bernama Eve di sebuah tempat terpencil di Inggris yang bernama Shrove. Skripsi ini membahas gaya-gaya hidup yang dipilih oleh sang ibu dan bagaimana gaya-gaya hidup tersebut mempengaruhi kehidupan Liza.
Ada dua permasalahan yang dibahas dalam skripsi ini: (1) Apa saja gaya hidup yang dipilih oleh Eve, sang ibu? (2) Bagaimana gaya-gaya hidup tersebut mempengaruhi kehidupan Liza?
Studi ini menggunakan studi pustaka. Ada dua macam sumber yang digunakan: sumber utama dan sumber kedua. Sumber utama adalah novel The Crocodile Bird itu sendiri yang juga menjadi objek studi. Sumber-sumber kedua diambil dari buku-buku literatur, buku psikologi, dan sumber-sumber dari internet yang menyediakan informasi yang berkaitan dengan studi ini. Studi ini menggunakan teori tokoh dan penokohan serta teori mengenai motivasi dan gaya hidup. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikologi karena studi ini membahas mengenai motivasi dari para pemeran utama, gaya hidup mereka, dan bagaimana gaya hidup tersebut dapat mempengaruhi hidup seseorang.
Analisis dari para karakter utama di dalam cerita menunjukkan bahwa Eve memiliki beberapa gaya hidup dalam hidupnya. Mereka adalah gaya hidup sederhana, cinta lingkungan, monogami berseri, dan gaya hidup sekuler. Dia memilih gaya hidup tersebut karena pengalaman masa lalunya yang buruk, kecintaannya pada Shrove, kecintaanya pada Liza, serta perbuatan kriminal yang telah dilakukannya.
Analisis juga menunjukkan bahwa pilihan Eve akan gaya-gaya hidupnya mempengaruhi kehidupan Liza dalam banyak hal. Pengaruh pada Liza tersebut antara lain pada keingintahuannya akan hal-hal baru, pembentukan maknanya akan beberapa konsep seperti pernikahan, kematian, dan cinta, pengharaannya terhadap lingkungan, pandangannya mengenai wanita, dan bagaimana dia melihat kehidupannya.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Allah SWT for making everything possible. He is the power beneath every ease and luck. He also becomes my power whenever life brings me down. I would like to thank Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto, M.Humfor being very kind, patient, and helpful during my thesis writing. I know I kept on disturbing him with my phone calls and my paperwork which was always returned back to me with red marks. I also thank Paul Hooper for correcting my grammar and diction very quickly. He has been very kind and supportive. I thank all lecturers of English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University for being the best teachers ever. I thankMs Lanny Anggawati and Ms Wigaty for inspiring me so much. I also thank all English Education Study Program secretary staff, especially mbak Dani and mbak Tari, for helping me a lot.
I would like to thank my friends for always encouraging me. I thank Emeninafor being a real friend. She always helps me without me asking for it. I hope we can be friends forever no matter what happened, what happens, and what will happen. I thank Kristian for always inspiring me. I miss the crazy wild moments we have shared in Jogja. I am waiting for him to come back. I thank O’ok for being such a wonderful friend. He helps me through my joy and my pain. I also thank Mawar, Echi, Liza, Nek Sha-sha, Udjo, Dedy, Vivi and all Kijang Tiada Duanya crewfor the wonderful mystical moments we have shared. I also thank Esta for sharing fear and worry of examination. I thank all my PBI friends for giving me great life lessons.
I also give my gratitude to my friends in Communication Department UGM, Ratna, Mega, Towok,and Fury, for critizising my thesis, helping me to prepare my exam, and sharing beautiful moments. I thank to PR Manager in ibis Malioboro hotelMs Nikefor encouraging me to finish my thesis soon, and all my friends in ibis Malioboro for sharing wild moments. I thankBajoe for giving me great time and sharing dreams,Senofor sharing crazy and romantic moments, and Isaac Davis for offering love and dreams everyday. The way they make me feel inside is amazing.
Last but not least, I thank all my cyber friends in solo andsiswa channels for their smart jokes. Competing with them in scramble words quizes helps me a lot to refresh my mind and sharpen my knowledge. I wish the best for everyone.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... ….. i
APPROVAL PAGE ... …. ii
PAGE OF BOARDS EXAMINERS...………... iii
PAGE OF DEDICATION...………...… iv
STATEMENT OF WORK ORIGINALITY ...………. v
ABSTRACT………. vi
ABSTRAK ...……… vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....……….……… viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……….… x
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION………..1
A. Background of the Study ..………..………. 1
B. Objectives of the Study ..………..………5
C. Problem Formulation ………...……… 5
D. Benefits of the Study ...………...………..6
E. Definitions of Terms ...…...……….. 6
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ..………. 8
A. Review of Related Theories ..………..….. 8
1. Character and Characterization ……..…….………. 8
2. Critical Approach ………...………. 11
3. Motivation ………...………12
a. Definitions ………...………..12
4. The Hierarchy of Needs ………...14
5. Lifestyle ………..………..16
a. Definitions ………..………...16
b. Perspectives on Lifestyles ………..…………...17
c. Kinds of Lifestyles ………..……….. 18
d. Elements of Lifestyles ……….……….…. 20
B. Critisism onThe Crocodile Bird………..………. 22
C. Theoretical Framework ………..… 24
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY………... 25
A. Subject Matter ………..……… 25
B. Approach ……….. 26
C. Procedure ……….. 26
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS….………...……… 28
A. Eve’s Unique Lifestyles ... 28
1. Liza and Eve as the Main Characters ... 28
2. Eve’s Lifestyles ... 29
a. Simple Living ... 29
b. Environmentalism ... 31
c. Serial Monogamy ... 32
d. Secularity... 33
3. Eve’s Motivation in Choosing Her Lifestyles ... 34
a. Eve’s Horrible Past Experience ... 34
b. Eve’s Love to Shrove ... 38
c. Eve’s Love to Liza ... 40
B. The Influence of the Lifestyles on Liza’s Life ... 46
1. Liza’s Curiousity to New Things ... 46
a. To New People ... 46
b. To New Environments ... 47
2. Liza’s Curiousity ... 48
a. About the difference between men and women ... 49
b. About the little room ... 50
3. Liza’s Concept of Marriage ... 51
4. Liza’s Concept of Death ... 53
5. Liza’s Concept of Love ... 55
6. Liza’s Appreciation to the Nature ... 56
7. Liza’s View about Woman ... 58
8. Liza’s View about Her Life ... 59
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS……..………..……. 62
A. Conclusions ……….……….. 62
B. Suggestions ……….……….. 63
1. Suggestion for Future Researches ……….….……... 63
2. Suggestion for Teaching-Learning Activities ………... 64
The Implementation in Teaching Speaking ……….. 64
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………...………….. 66
APPENDICES………... 69
1. Summary ofThe Crocodile Bird ... 69
2. Biography of Ruth Rendell ……… 72
3. Lesson Plan for Teaching Speaking ... 74
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
In the first chapter, I will present four sections that form the introduction of my thesis. They are background of the study, problem formulation, aims of the study, and definition of terms. The background of the study is a brief description of the reasons for choosing the topic. The problem formulation shows the problems that I want to explore further. The objectives of the study describe the aims of this study. Finally, definition of term contains the description of some significant terms that I use in my analysis.
A. Background of the Study
Life is all about choice and everybody has their own choice of how they should live their life. Some people choose to be hippies and some choose to be part of the jet set community, some prefer to be atheists and some decide to be religious persons , some prefer to be soldiers and some would rather be ordinary citizens. This is what makes this world colorful.
Smith and Pergola (1991:1) label lifestyle as personal behaviours and habits. It includes exercise, eating habits, cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug use, safety, stress management, fashion, or relationships. Since it is defined as personal behaviours and habits, lifestyle comes in many forms depending on personal interest.
social relations, consumption, entertainment, and dresses. A typical lifestyle also reflects an individual's attitudes, values, or worldview. When a girl decides that she wants to be a nun, automatically her choice echoes the values she is inline with: the values that a certain religion brings. Even in sociologists’ perspectives, religion itself is a lifestyle; it carries options for individuals to choose. A person may have different lifestyles in over a period of time.
Lifestyle has its own effects on people. What an individual chooses as the best value may influence other individuals. MTV, for example, which regards itself as a music lifestyle mover, has the widest influence on the youth all over the world. It spreads values through its video jockeys and shows and makes those values absorbed by young people. A certain preacher in a church may also succeed in affecting hundreds or maybe thousands of people to follow the values he wants to spread through the spiritual lifestyle. The questions are how far lifestyle influences an individual and what the major influence is.
Before trying to answer those questions, first thing to know is who the closest people to a particular an individual are. If this individual relates mostly with his family, then the family is the group that influences him most. However, if he relates mostly with his friends then it is the friends who bring the major influence. Generally, an individual interacts primarily with his family. To be more specific, every individual intermingles initially with his mother. We all know that mothers always influence their children in many ways, because it is their nature to be the earliest persons who interact with their children.
with after they see the world are their mothers. This mother-children relationship continues for some time. Even busy modern career women have to go through this stage when they have children. In some families, a close relationship continues and is maintained until the children are considered big enough to live independently. Since a mother is the closest person to an individual, her lifestyle will influence her children considerably.
Socially, a mother should be the first person for her children. Medinnus and Johnson (1969: 342) write “Society dictates that she provides physical care for the children – feed them, keep them healthy and, if possible, clean. She must comfort and console them when necessary and in general nurture them and provide emotional support”. The above statement shows that society has its own model for the women to be a perfect mother. A mother is considered as a good mother if she can take care of her children, physically or emotionally.
Since the society has its own stereotype of a good mother, an unusual mother will be considered bad. Society believes that a good mother gives good treatment to her children, and that good treatment will shape good children. If a mother does not give the treatment that the society expects, then it is feared that the children will becomes bad ones too.
Literature as a work of art can portray such life experiences: how a mother’s lifestyle influences her children’s ways of life later, how the children adapt to such a relationship, or how children see the world. Since a novel can portray such life experiences as close to what appears in the actual world, people can learn much about life from reading literary works.
girl of sixteen years old named Liza lives secluded with her mother in an isolated place in Britain. It seems that Liza’s life is much influenced by her mother’s choice of lifestyle. The way her mother and Liza live is unique. There are not many people who want to live cutting themselves off from others with minimum amenities when in fact they could have them. Since Liza is still considered a child and not independent enough, she has to follow her mother’s choices. Considering those facts we can see that Liza in fact is under the control of her mother. Hence, she is truly influenced by her. Besides, Liza rarely communicates with others. She interacts mainly with her mother and her boyfriend.
The story begins when Liza’s mother is taken by the police. Liza, who has never seen the outside world before, is sent by her mother to go to a friend’s house in London. Instead of leaving for London, Liza goes to her boyfriend’s caravan in the wood. There, Liza tells him the murders her mother has done to men who come to their house.
Liza’s character is very interesting to discuss since her ideas are very complex. In her childhood, she has to face some events that a child should not see. The bewilderment and dilemmas which she has to cope with are not something easy for someone like her who is just sixteen. She does not know what to say knowing her mother has murdered three men in their own home. Should she protest to her mother, should she runaway from the house, and should she always follow what her Mother says, are some questions that got mixed up in her mind, not to forget how she tries not to be promiscuous on her dillema to kill her boyfriend or not.
Liza to be her twin. Liza grows up into a young woman who in some ways becomes cold and independent like her mother. She is not afraid to see blood and dead bodies because her mother never teaches her that blood is a scary thing. She also becomes an independent young woman like her mother who does not want to be dependent on men. It is interesting to see how Liza can direct herself the way she thinks it will be, to learn from what happened in her past, and to realize that she has to make choices to make her life better. Liza has to face many choices in her life which are often difficult. These are the things Liza should overcome by herself. Her struggle to face new things that lead her to her decisions is something interesting to understand.
This study will try to know how certain choices of lifestyles can influence other’s view and attitude in life. The aim of this study is to analyze the motivation for choosing her lifestyles by Liza’s mother and how that unique lifestyles influence Liza’s life.
B. Objectives of the Study
There are two objectives in this study of Ruth Rendell’s The Crocodile Bird. The first one is to get a better understanding of how the author illustrates Liza’s mother’s lifestyles. The second one is to identify how that lifestyles influence the way Liza faces the new things in her life and faces her hard life.
C. Problem Formulation
D. Benefits of the Study
Hopefully, by doing this study, I will be able to know the factors that force people to do things in their life. The first benefit is for me myself. I expect to make this study as a reflection of life so that I can make improvements in my own life.
The second benefit is for the readers. It is hoped that this study can assist the readers to gain their knowledge about literature, motivation, lifestyles, and a mother-daughter relationship because the supporting theories can somewhat facilitate them in improving the knowledge about those mentioned. The novel itself is also an example of how a small girl can survive in a world which is extremely strange and new for her. It may become a lesson for them to review whether they have tried hard enough to struggle for their life or not.
The last one is for the future researchers who plan to work on the same topic. Hopefully, this thesis can be helpful as a supporting resource for them in completing their study.
E. Definition of Terms 1. Lifestyle
She also puts an emphasis on television which she considers as the biggest influence on lifestyle choice.
2. Survival
In Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (1974:871) survival is defined as the state of continuing to live or exist, often despite difficulty or danger. White in Franken (2002:6) writes that humans interact with their environment in two basic needs; the need to master the environment on one hand, and looking out for their survival on the other. In addressing these needs humans usually put their survival needs first over the mastery. From that explanation, we can see that survival has a higher degree of substance than any other need in most situations. 3. Character
8 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
This chapter consists of three sections. The first section is a review of related theories, the second section presents some criticisms about the novel analyzed, and the third section presents a theoretical framework that describes how the theories reviewed are used in analyzing the novel.
A. Review of Related Theories 1. Character and Characterization
Pickering (1986:26) explains that the term character pertains to any individual in a literary work. A major or central character of the plot can be the
protagonist;his opponent is the antagonist. He describes that it is usually easy to identify the protagonist since he or she is the essential character whose fate becomes the readers’ focus of attention. However, the term protagonist and antagonist do not imply a judgement about the moral worth of either since many protagonists and antagonists represent a complex mixture of both positive and negative qualities.
and traits. They are usually described as complex multidimensional characters. They also often have considerable intellectual and emotional depth as well as the capacity to grow and change. Major characters are usually round characters.
Pickering (1986:29) also explains that characters in fiction can also be distinguished on the basis of whether they demonstrate the capacity to develop or change as a result of their experiences. Dynamic characters exhibit a capacity to change while static characters do not. Dynamic characters include the protagonist in most novels, and the readers usually can distingush the process of change. On the other side, static characters do not change or change a little.
In presenting characters in fiction, Pickering (1986:30-35) notes two basic techniques used by an author. The first one is by telling (or the direct method), which relies on exposition and direct commentary by the author. The other one is by showing (or the indirect method) which involves the author’s stepping aside. By this means, the author allows the characters to reveal themselves directly through their dialogue and their actions. With this method, much of the weight of character analysis is given to the reader to interpret. The readers require to infer the characters on the basis of evidence provided in the narrative. However, those methods do not stand alone, they can be used in a complementary way.
While Pickering mentions the basic technique, Murphy (1972: 161–173) mentions the techniques in a more specific way. They are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism.
as wearing inappropriate clothes shows that he is poor or comes from the lower social class.
Character as seen by another is another way in which an author uses other persons to build a certain character. In this case, the author describes him through the eyes and opinions of another. Thus, the reader gets a reflected image from other persons’ perspectives.
Speech is a way in which the author gives us the insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what the person says. In this way, the character is directly presenting to the reader clues to his character.
Another way to know a certain type of character is through past life. By doing this, the author allows the readers learn something about a person’s past life and recognize the events that have shaped certain characters to become such unique figures.
An author also can use other method, that is conversation of others. Here, the author gives us clues to a person’s character through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him. It means that what the other people say and discuss about that person in the story can contribute to the reader’s understanding about the character of that person.
Readers can also get clues from a person’s reactions in the novel. The character of a person in the story can be seen from how he reacts to various situations and events happening in the story.
An author can also describe his character through character’s thoughts. The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Here, the author has total authority over the people in the novel since he can show what a person is thinking about through his description. The reader can accept those descriptions as a clue to understand the characters of the person.
The last way is through mannerisms. A person’s character is described through the person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies.
From these explanations, we can conclude that a character in the novel is a stereotype of a living person in the real life. This character brings certain traits, as well as moral values, which can be analyzed through the character himself and other elements surrounding and affecting him.
2. Critical Approach
with the universal recurrent patterns of human thoughts such as the ancient myths and folk rites to understand the literary works. And the last one is the psychological approach; it emphasizes the use of psychology theories to analyze the personality and behaviour patterns shown in the literary works. The last approach is the approach that I would like to use in my thesis.
3. Motivation a. Definitions
There are many things that force us to do something. Franken (2002:3) explains that the basic assumption of all motivation theory is that for every behaviour, there is a cause. It is a logical way of thinking because human must have a basis for doing an action. Petri (1981:3) defines motivation as “the concept we use when we describe the forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behaviour”. This concept is also used to explain differences in the behaviour intensity; more intense behaviour is considered as a result of higer motivation.
b. Major constructs in motivation
There are several major constructs frequently used in motivational theory. Each of them will be explained as follows:
1) Energy
This first idea about motivation construct comes from the assumption that there is some source of energy that drives behaviour. The idea is that the energy behind behaviour is general (Petri, 1981:5).
2) Heredity
programmed in the human mind even before the human is born. This is what most people call the “instinct” (Petri, 1981:5).
3) Learning
Motives are often drawn through observation. This process is called modeling. That is why as a person gets older, his motivations become more complex. Finnbogason and Guillaume in Piaget mention the role of imitation in the learning proccess (Piaget, 1962:87-88). In child development, imitation continues into assimilation. It is also often related with the children’s intelligence; the brighter the children are, the more complex their play is.
4) Social interaction
Our behaviour is frequently motivated by the presence of other alters. They are family, friends, or acquintances (Petri, 1981:6). In some cases, even strangers influence our behaviour. Without other people around us, we will be lonely. Paloutzian and Janigian (1989: 32) write that there are two kinds of loneliness: emotional loneliness and social loneliness. Emotional loneliness is a state where someone feels lonely though he or she is surrounded by many people, while social loneliness is a state where a person is lonely because of social isolation. Socially, loneliness is hard to overcome, but it can be reduced by having someone to love (Hojat, 1989:93). Social isolaton may reduce one’s sense of dignity perception.
5) Cognitive processes
6) Hedonism
Hedonism comes from the assumption that we are motivated by pleasure and pain; we learn to approach situations that are pleasurable and learn to avoid situations that are painful (Petri, 1981:7).
7) Growth of Motivation
Growth of motivation stresses the idea that humans are motivated to reach their full potential-physical, psychological, and emotional needs. Rogers (1961) calls it as the fully functioning individual while Maslow (1970) uses the term self-actualization (Petri, 1981:7).
From those explanations we can see that there are many things that can force us to do something. However, in reality, there are two things That are dominant. They are learning and social interaction. Learning is a motivation that is gained from inside a human, that is human thinking. We can say that it is the inner factor. While social interaction is the outer factor that a person gets from his acquaintance with others. However, both factors do not stand alone, they influence each other.
4. The Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow in Franken (2002: 14-15) groups needs in a hierarchical arrangement, with the more basic or primary needs at the bottom.
Only when the needs at the most basic level are satisfied does the next set of needs become relevant; people will concern themselves with
a. Physiological needs
The first level of the hierarchy is the physiological needs such as hunger and thirst. Since human is a living being, he is motivated to fulfill his first biological need that is to avoid hunger.
b. Safety needs
These needs represent the need for safety or security in our environment. Higher needs become unimportant when one’s life is endangered.
c. Love and belongingness needs
These needs involve a hunger for affectionate relationships with others, a need to feel part of a group, or a feeling that one ‘belongs’.
d. Esteem needs
These are the needs for a positive, high evaluation of oneself. There are two categories of this need; a need for self-esteem and a need for esteem from others.
e. Cognitive needs
Cognitive needs consist of the wish to know, to understand, and to explore others and the surroundings.
f. Aesthetic needs
They are the needs of order, beauty, and so forth. g. Self actualization needs
Self actualization needs are the highest needs one an individual where he or she search for self-fulfillment and realize his or her potential.
From the above explanations, we can conclude that human has many kinds of needs. Basically, most people will put physiological needs first, because it is part of human instinct to do that. However, since the society demands more, nowadays people are looking more toward esteem needs, that is how to gain the approval and recognition of others.
5. Lifestyle a. Definitions
lifestyle comes in many forms depending on the personal interest. However, Taylor (2002:1) suggests that firstly we have to compare the term ‘lifestyle’ with the term ‘way of life’. He writes that at the local level, ‘lifestyle’ is replacing the traditional ‘way of life’. The shifting of ‘way of life’ to ‘lifestyle’ has happened because of the rise of media which brings many choices to the individual. In her explanation, ‘way of life’ means the way an individual is living his/her life in the aspect of class/ economy and society issues as far as the logistics of making a living. While ‘lifestyle’ means the moral and way of life that an individual chooses or possibly the herritage or traditions and ethnic ways of life. A ‘way of life’ is generally something imposed on a person by his/her circumtances, while a ‘lifestyle’ is generally the choice by those people, who can afford it and make their own manner of living. One can be poor or lonely and make that ‘his/her lifestyle’ if he or she chooses to live out of it and is not forced into it by his/her situation.
b. Perspectives on lifestyle
Lyons and Langille (2000:20) explain some perspectives on lifestyle choice. The first perspective shows us that opportunities and limitations for choice vary considerably. It refers to the fact that although we do make choices, the choices are limited. They explain that the range of choices available depends on one’s education, relationships, socialization, personality, physical and mental ability, situational factors and goals, financial, and other material resources. This means, of course, that the higher income or education is, the greater the degree of choice.
which they know are harmful because they meet certain immediate needs. An example of this perspective is shown by many educated people who know the danger of smoking or alcohol but they still use it as part of their lifestyle. One of the reasons that forces them to choose this is socializing.
Finnally, the third perspective shows that there are important linkages between lifestyle choice, determinants, and health. The perfect example is smoking. The choice to smoke brings effects on the health of the person.
c. Kinds of lifestyle
There are many kinds of lifestyles. They are classified as follows:
1) General: activism, asceticism, modern primitivism, back to the land, bibliophilia, clothes free, comunal living, groupie lifestyle, hippie, nomadism, quirkyalone, rural lifestyle, simple living, traditional lifestyle.
(www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles)
In this study, I will likely employ one of them, that is simple living. “Simple living is a lifestyle where an individual chooses to live more simply for reasons of personal taste, a sense of fairness, or for personal economy”.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_living)
2) Income or occupation based lifestyles: criminality, farming, jet set, piracy, poverty, prostitution, sarariman, workaholic, yuppie.
(www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles)
3) Consumption-based lifestyle: conspicuous consumption, digital lifestyle, straight edge (punk), voluntary simplicity, homelessness.
(www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles)
of vegetarianism, veganism, freeganism, environmentalism, and feminism, social conservatism which consist of nationalism, fundamentalism, and moralism, political independence and hedonism.
(www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles)
In this thesis I will use environmentalism. Environmentalism is “a lifestyle of those who concern for preservation, reservation, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of polution, and the proper land using”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism).
5) Lifestyle classifications used in marketing: achievers, affluent, belongers (joiners), early adopters, empty nesters, emulators, opinion leaders, over consumers, young singles, yuppies (Mitchell:2006)
6) Military lifestyles: guerrilla, child soldier, mercenary, survivalism, soldier, terrorist (www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles).
7) Sexual lifestyles: celibacy, chastity, free love, leather virginity, monogamy, polyandry, polygamy, polygyny, serial monogamy, swinging, transvestism, transsexualism, zoosexuality (www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles).
8) Lifestyle based on spiritual or religious preferences: Agnostics, Secularity, Ahimsa, Hinduism, Baha’I Faith, Breatharianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Cults, Evangelicalism, Eremitism, Islam, Judaism, Missionary, Preisthood, rasta, Zen, Thelema, Yoga
This thesis will use one of the lifestyles based on spiritual preferences, that is secularity. Secularity is the state of being free from religious or spiritual qualities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularity). Secularity has two distinct meanings. The first one is it asserts the freedom of religion, and freedom from religion, and the second one is it refers to a belief that human activities and decisions should be based on evidence and fact, not superstitious beliefs and religious domination.
9) Musical subculture lifestyles: Beatnik, Emo, Goth, Hip-hop, Mod, Punk, Rave (www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles)
10) Lifestyle based on recreation: Surfer, Athleticism, Hunter, Extreme Sport, Artist, golf, Recreational drug use (www.wikipedia.org/list_of_lifestyles). d. Elements of lifestyle
Frolich and Potvin in Lyons and Langille (2000:22-27) write that there are several determinants or elements of lifestyles. They are:
1) Personal life skills
empathy, mutual support, self-help and advocacy, communication, and coping (2000:23).
2) Stress
The ways people choose their lifestyle are also strongly influenced by stress (2000:23).
3) Norms and Culture
It is undoubtable that all human behaviours reflect, to some extent, the culture and values of a given society. Community norms and standards of behaviour also limit personal choice (2000:23).
4) Control and coherence
A sense of life control and coherence are other important components of lifestyle choice. It includes the control over anxiety, insecurity, and depression (2000:24).
5) Belonging
Belonging refers to the social relations and support from family, friends, and communities. It is clear that people who have a tight relationship with their friends or family have different lifestyles compared to those who live alone or do not have a firm affiliation with others (2000:25).
6) Pleasure
7) Personality
Lyons and Langille also explain that personality traits such as optimism and self-efficiency contibute to the lifestyle choice. Those who have optimism have different choice of lifestyle than those who are pesimists (2000:26).
From the explanations we can conclude that there are many things that influence a person to choose certain kinds of lifestyles. Nowadays, people are influenced mostly by the culture and norms of their society. The culture that is obtained from mass media affects people most in their social life and consumption patterns.
B. Criticism onThe Crocodile Bird
The author of this novel, Ruth Rendell, is one of most prolific crime writers. Some critics say that she is “The Queen of Crime” after Agatha Christie. She was born on February 17th 1930 in London. She studied in Essex University, where there, she also started her writing career by working at Essex newspaper as a reporter and subeditor in 1948-1950. She started her first novel with the character of Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford, the protagonist of her police procedural novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Rendell).
Not only famous with her novel series of Wexford, she has been known for her psychological crime novels wherein she explores themes such as sexual obsession, the effects of misperceived communication, chance and the humanness of criminals. The novel analyzed in this thesis,The Crocodile Bird(1994) is one of Rendell’s psychological crime novels. It brings the theme of the side effects of secrets kept and crimes done.
about the novel taken from http://www.greenline.co.nz/books/The-Crocodile-Bird.htm. Stuart Whitwell from BookList writes that Rendell is doing a sort of resemblance when the readers are told about the story of a child named Liza who is brought up in an idyllic setting. She is given the attention she needs and an old-fashioned but thorough education. He calls it a resemblance because Liza’s life story is similar to Rousseau’s book, one of the books Liza’s reads. He also shows another resemblance on showing how Liza is similar to Scheherazade, the princess who tell stories to the King. Whitwell also adds that this novel is a cunning, subtle, and extraordinary book. He writes that Rendell, who has already been one of the bests, seems to get better and better.
Patricia Craig, a critic from The Times Literary Supplement also gives her praise to this novel: She says that the novel is a picturesque novel which has considerable suspensions of disbelief. The readers have to accept that a mother can keep her daughter (born in 1975) from contact with all but a few human beings. That same mother also, in most ways an intelligent and agreeable young woman, is secreting a murderous impulse. She says that Rendell is presenting a kind of fairy-tale unreality informs her narrative, since the description seems impossible to present-day thinking. She states that this novel is written in careful, straightforward, almost childlike prose; and it keeps the readers addicted to it, once they have surrendered to the atmosphere of the novel.
ideal-intelligent, independent, and resourceful? She states that The Crocodile Bird
provides much food for thought for mature teens who have a taste for the unexpected.
Rendell is also said to be one of the finest practitioners of the craft in the English-speaking world by The New York Times Book review. She also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. As Barbara Vine, she also writes crime and psycological novels.
C. Theoretical Framework
In conducting the study, I utilize some references for analyzing the novel. I employ the psychological approach proposed by Rorhberger and Woods. Jr. to analyse the main character in the story.
Pickering’s and Murphy’s theories of character and characterization are going to be employed in this study. The theory of characterization is needed to determine the characters’ type. It is important for me to understand the ways of characterization because they are the basis of all literature analysis.
25 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter consists of three sections. The first section subject matter, that is the explanation of the subject discussed , the second section is the description of the approach that I employ in this thesis, and the third section is the description of procedure conducted in working on the thesis.
A. Subject Matter
This thesis analyzes a novel entitled The Crocodile Bird published by Arrow Books in 1994. This novel consists of 359 pages, printed in paperback. The author is Ruth Rendell, a reporter, journalist, editor, and writer. She has published many best selling mystery and psychological crime novels. She also has earned many awards for her works, like the Silver, Gold, and Cartier Diamond Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association, three Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America, The Arts Council National Book Awards, and the Sunday Times Literary Award. She is famous for her elegant prose and sharp insights into the human mind, as well as her ability to create intricate plots and characters. She has also given contribution to the society through her works which reflect the social changes and bring awareness to such issues as domestic violence and the change in the status of women.
country mansion, Shrove. Before her seventeen birthday, Liza is forced to leave the gatehouse because her mother, Eve, has killed a man. This is not the first one. Liza has seen her mother kill three men but the police only accuses Eve for one murder that she commits. Instead of going to Eve’s bestfriend’s address , Liza goes to her boyfriend’s caravan in the wood. There , she describes her lonely life for almost seventeen years and what Eve has done. Here , Liza is analogized as the crocodile bird , a creature that can live safely in the mouth of a predator, a crocodile , and even gives a sign of dangers to the crocodile.
B. Approach
The thesis will use the psychological approach. Using the psychological approach means that we use the psychology theories to analyze the work of literature (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971:3). The thing that is being analyzed is human behaviour pattern appears in the novel. It means that literature is closely related to psychology because characters and stories in literary works are a reflection of human relationship in the real world which is often examined from the perspective of psychology. By this means, I will use theories of psychology to analyze the characters in the novel.
C. Procedure
First step was reading the novel several times in order to get the topic for the study. After getting the idea that was considered proper to write in this study, I formulated some problems that I considered significant. Consultations with my sponsor helped me a lot to get the best problem formulation. After getting the best topic, I searched some literature from the library and internet that could support my analysis. To get a better understanding about the novel, I had to re-read many times and chose some evidence that could support my analysis later.
28 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter consists of two sections. The first part of the analysis will discuss why Eve, Liza’s mother, chooses her unique lifestyle. The second part will discuss how her mother choice of lifestyle influences Liza’s life.
A. Eve’s Unique Lifestyles
There are many reasons why an individual chooses certain lifestyles. Lyons and Langille (2000:20) write that although we do make choices, the choices are limited. They explain that the range of choices depends on one’s education, relationship, socialization, personality, physical and mental ability, situational factors and goals, financial, and other material resources.
Before discussing Eve’s choice of lifestyles, I will try to reveal the characterization of both characters.
1. Liza and Eve as the Main Characters
positive and negative sides. Besides, it is Liza’s fate that becomes the focus of attention in the novel which makes it clear that her character is the protagonist one. Both Liza and Eve are categorized as main characters. In contrast, Eve is described as an antagonist
Based on the relative degree mentioned by Forster in Pickering (1986:27), Both Liza’s and Eve’s characters can be categorized as the round ones since they have a number of qualities and traits. However, Liza’s character is more dynamic than Eve’s character because her character grows and changes. Although Eve also brings some complexities in her characteristics, she is likely more static than Liza.
2. Eve’s Lifestyles
As mentioned before, life is all about choices, and what we choose is what we call as our lifestyle. In the novel we can see that Eve has some lifestyles choice. Actually, there are many options that can be chosen by Eve as her lifestyles. She can live normally as other women in her age in the city and raises her child easily with the help of her friend, or finds a better job than just a servant in Shrove. However, she chooses to live a hard life at Shrove with her daughter. She chooses to live with minimum facilities though in fact she has some money to live decently.
In the novel, we can see that Eve employs some unique lifestyles. They are:
a. Simple Living
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_living). An individual may pursue this kind of lifestyle for a variety motivation, such as spirituality, health, ecology, social justice, and even because of rejection of consumerism. Those who choose this kind of lifestyle mostly live in conditions of poverty or do not focus on wealth although they actually own more.
In the novel, we can see that Eve employs this kind of lifestyle. We can see it from the way she chooses to live in poor condition though actually she has much money in her savings. However, she is rather to live in a simple life by avoiding to get in touch with the outer world which she considers consumptive (p.86). Her simple life is also shown by her restricted interaction with people as she does not want to start arguments with people.
Mother said she didn’t want to see the world. She had seen enough of it for a lifetime, enough for ever, it was all horrible. Nor did she want the gate-house done-up and bathroom put in. she didn’t want him wasting his money on her. Luxuries of that kind meant nothing to her and Liza.
(p.86)
Eve refuses to use many kinds of facilities which can make her life easier. She has rather live what she has for years and does not have any intention to renew or to make any changes.
Life had never been soft. They made their own pleasures with the minimum of aid, without toys, television, videos, CD players, external amusements.
(p.336)
b. Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a lifestyle of those who concern for preservation, reservation, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of polution, and the proper land using (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmentalism). In the novel, we can see that Eve’s biggest ambition is having Shrove as hers. She spends her childhood there, grows up there, and spends her teenage there. She witnesses the beauty of Shrove since she is born and she falls in love with it (p.151). She will never let Shrove is contaminated by anything that might harm the purity of the nature.
We can say that Eve is an environmentalist. She adores nature and tries to live with the nature. She utilizes what the nature provides her to use. The woods, the garden, and all that Shrove has are her immense love. She teaches Liza to act the same way as her, ‘I hate shooting birds. I hate people shooting anything, rabbits, squirrels, anything, it’s wrong. And I thought Eve - my mother - I thought she did. She said so, she taught me to think like that” (p.22-23). Liza also knows that her biggest love is Shrove, and not her,
‘Yes, I expect that’s the word. The dogs would have been destroyed like the ones in Bruno’s story. Mr Tobias loved his dogs and he’d have blamed Eve and given her the sack and turned us out of the gate-house. Or that’s what she thought. Maybe he would and maybe he wouldn’t but she thought he would and that was the important thing. She couldn’t leave Shrove, you see, she couldn’t, that was the most important thing in the world to her, Shrove, more important even than me. Well, Mr Tobias was important to her too but only in special sort of way.’(p. 56)
Shrove as the most important thing in her life. c. Serial Monogamy
Serial monogamy is a form of monogamy in which the participants have only one sexual partner at any one time (adopted from website page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_monogamy). What makes it different with ‘true’ monogamy is the ‘true’ monogamy suggests having one sexual partner in a lifetime while serial monogamy proposes to have more than one sexual partner in their lifetime despite the fact whether they are married or unmarried.
Recently, this is the sexual lifestyle that is commonly applied in the world.
For years Eve has a kind of relationship with Jonathan Tobias, although they do not claim themselves as lovers. However, everytime he spends his holidays at Shrove, Jonathan always stays with Eve.
‘This guy Tobias, he slept with your Mum? I mean, they was in the same bed?’
‘They were lovers, they were like us.’
‘That wasn’t right,’ Sean said very seriously, ‘not with you in the house, not with a little kid.’(p.104)
Eve is a person who employs this kind of lifestyle. She chooses to have her domestic partners. Her domestic partners are Jonathan Tobias and Bruno Drummond. When she is with Jonathan Tobias, she is not interested in building a relationship with other men. She starts to have a new relationship after Jonathan Tobias gets married to someone else.
‘But he married someone else and that was the end of her love life.’
a new lover. She was only a bit thirty, Sean, she was young. She couldn’t give up everything.’ (p.131)
From the description we can conclude that Eve employs a serial monogamy lifestyle. When Jonathan Tobias leaves her for another girl, she develops a relationship with a man named Bruno. However, when Bruno is gone, she is back again to Jonathan who is divorced.
d. Secularity
Secularity is the state of being free from religious or spiritual qualities. Secularity has two distinct meanings. The first one is it asserts the freedom of religion and freedom from religion, and the second one is it refers to a belief that human activities and decisions should be based on evidence and fact, not superstitious beliefs and religious domination (taken from the website http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularity).
Eve is not a religious person. She knows and understands the philosophy of some religions in the world but she does not follow any of them. It is Shown in how she never goes to church and never prays. However, she does not compel her view to her daughter. She is quite liberal to her child in the way she teaches her to know religions in the world and let her daughter to judge.
Eve is actually comes from a devoted Christian family. Her parents always go to church when they are still alive. However, Eve is different and she does not want to be compared with anyone else, even her parents.
The lady said, ‘Oh, my dear, I haven’t seen you for an age. Don’t you ever come down to the village anymore? I must say I’ve expected to see you in church. Your mother was such a regular at St Philip’s.’
Eve’s secularity is illustrated plainly in her statement that she does not believe in any god. However, she teaches her daughter some religions of the world equally.
The Tobiases sent a Christmast card, as did Heather and the aunt. Did we send them cards? Liza wanted to know. Mother said no, certainly not. It was absurd celebrating Cristmast if you didn’t believe in the Christian God, or indeed any god at all, but she gave Liza a lesson on Christian religion just as she taught her about Judaism and Islam and Buddhism. (p.188)
From Liza’s description and Eve’s statement, we can see that Eve employs secularity lifestyle because she does not want to be tied to any kind of religion. Her acts also show how she does not wish to be part of any religious community. 3. Eve’s Motivation in Choosing Her Lifestyles
There are many things that force us to choose our lifestyles. To avoid misunderstanding, it is important to know the motivation behind one’s deed. In Eve’s case, the motivations behind her choosing of lifestyles are:
a. Eve’s Horrible Past Experience
Mother said she didn’t want to see the world. She had seen enough of it for a lifetime, enough for ever, it was all horrible. Nor did she want the gate-house done-up and bathroom put in. she didn’t want him wasting his money on her. Luxuries of that kind meant nothing to her and Liza. (p.86) When Liza is still a little girl, she sometimes asks her mother about the world outside Shrove. However, she is not too interested in seeing it herself because she never has a picture of it.
‘Have you seen everywhere in the world?’ Liza asked, carefully combing Annabel’s hair.
‘Near enough,’ Mother said mysteriously. ‘I have seen more than enough of people. Most people are bad. The world would be a better place if half the population were to perish in a huge earthquake. I have seen more than enough places. Most places are horrible, I can tell you. You have no idea how horrible and I’m glad you haven’t. that is the way I want to be. One day, when you have grown up the way I want you to, you can go out and have a peep at the world. I guarantee you’ll come running back here, thankful to be restored in heaven.’ (p.92)
When Liza asks Eve why Jonathan Tobias does not have the same thinking as Eve does about the outworld since he loves to travel a lot and move from one place to another, Eve replies in a short answer that ‘Perhaps because I have seen more dreadful things than he has or just that I’m wiser.’ (p.92).
Liza still does not understand why her mother chooses to live a simple life, even until she is grown up and able to think more clearly. However, she knows that her Mother has a bad experience in the past.
‘You said the world had treated her bad. I mean, like what? What had it done to her?’
‘You won’t believe this but I don’t know. That is I don’t know the details. She’d had me without her husband, there was that, she hadn’t got Shrove when she thought she was going to, she told me a lot more about that later but she never told me what made her-well, bury herself and me down there. When she took me out of that room and locked the door again I hadn’t any idea why she didn’t explain. I only knew it had something do with the box with the glass front.’
Learning is the motive that is learned through observation (Petri, 1981:5). In Eve’s case, she learns a lot through her experiences. Her bad incidents in her past teach her a great life lesson. From her parents’ life she learns about the difficulties of being poor. Then, she finds ways to get out from poverty. From her experience of being a single parent in big city, she learns that modernity is not everything that a child needs, and from her raping exeperience she learns not to trust strangers and these what lead her to her solitary life.
Petri (1981:6) explains that our behaviour is motivated by our interaction to other people surround us. We are motivated by the presence of other alters. Family, friends, acquintances, and even strangers influence our behaviour. In this case, the way Eve chooses her lifestyle is obviously influenced by many persons, especially those who appear in her past.
The three strangers who rape her apparently influence Eve’s life. If she never meets them, her life would not be the same. The next person who influences her choice most is Jonathan Tobias, the man to whom she is in love with. The other person who influences Eve significantly is Liza. Her appearance to the world changes everything in her life. Trevor Hughes, the man who tries to rape her, is also one of the persons who make her choose her lifestyles. Bruno, her boyfriend, and people in the town whom she does not know well also have roles in her life.
her safety need that leads her to feel secure makes her select this alternative. The learning factor also plays a role here. Since Eve has experienced some horrible events in her past that cause a trauma in her, she does not want to interact intensely with other people.
Also, the ways Eve chooses to live isolated from others, to bring up Liza sheltered from the world, not to allow Liza to go school, not to allow Liza to visit the town, not to allow any meeting other people or keep down meeting others to the minimum, and to bring Liza up in a totally protected childhood and youth become her revenge to all what has happened to her. She feels that the world has treated her so badly. Eve’s decision obviously brings some consequences for herself since she has a daughter who needs to socialize and get knowledge. Because she does not want other people to come to her and her daughter’s life, she chooses to teach her daughter at home and avoid others to get involve in their life.
The bad incidents in her life also make Eve not to be tied in a certain religion. Eve’s parents are devoted Christians when they are still alive. They use to take Eve to the church. However, the raping incident that happens in her past, makes her think that God never helps her when she is down. She clings to the fact that God does not help her family when they are poor, when she is raped, and when she has to survive in the city. Her hard life makes her never trust anyone, including God. She only trusts herself.
cognitive abilities. She learns a lot from her life and tries to make her life change. b. Eve’s Love to Shrove
Eve loves Shrove very much. She grows up there and spends her life from childhood until teenage at Shrove. She feels that there is a tight feeling between her and Shrove. Eve wants to live at Shrove only with her daughter. Her dream is to live a peaceful life with her daughter forever. She manages to live a hard life at Shrove and be responsible for her only daughter. Because she only wants the life for her and her daughter, Eve tries hard to make herself and her daughter’s life separated from other people.
Eventhough the owner of the house, Jonathan Tobias, is willing to pay some money for another person to clean the house, Eve rather chooses to clear up Shrove by herself. She even makes an imaginary person to deceive Jonathan Tobias so that he thinks thereisa woman who cleans the house there (p.121). She makes her life difficult by acting as two persons in a same time.
The same way happens when Mr Frost, the gardener of Shrove, dies because of old age. Eve does not want to find a successor of him. She would rather do all the garden-work by herself: mowing the grass, planting the seeds, or cutting the flowers (p.269). When Liza finnaly succeess in persuading her to get a successor of Mr Frost, still, Eve chooses a very old and unintelligent person to be the gardener. She chooses the same type of person because she thinks he will not disturb her with the questions about the way she chooses her lifestyle.
them. They learn to make their own pleasures without toys, television, videos, CD players, or other external amusements (p. 336). Eve’s choice automatically becomes Liza’s single option, since Liza knows her mother as her only family. Liza never knows that their life is so hard until she finds out how other people live their life after she sees it on television.
“…Now that Liza was older she was beginning to see that Eve had made her life hard of her volition, had made all kinds of difficulties for herself where there might have been ease and pleasantness” (p. 272).
As she is growing up, Liza realizes that her mother loves Shrove more than anything in the world. At first she is dissapointed with the fact. However, later on, she learns to accept it. When Sean, her boyfriend, tells her that the reason behind Eve’s grief is because she is in love with Jonathan Tobias, and Jonathan Tobias chooses another woman, Liza is not sure about that.
‘I don’t know about being in love,’ Liza said.
‘Maybe a bit. She wanted Shrove House, that was what all that was about. She wanted Shrove House for herself, to make sure she’d never been parted from it. That was the only way. If she married Mr Tobias it’d have been hers.’
He was shocked. ‘That’s not right.’
‘I can’t help it. It’s the way it was. It was always like that. She wanted that place, to be there all the time and sure she could be, more than anything in the world. It was all she wanted.’ (p.105)
Liza is sure that her mother loves Shrove much. It comes from the fact that she always leaves her at Shrove alone and does not feel worried about it. Sean tells Liza that what her mother does is wrong: to leave her only child at home alone.
‘That was wrong.’ Sean was in censorious mood. ‘Suppose something had happened to you.’
‘Maybe not. Just as well for her. You might have hurt yourself or the place caught fire.’
She thought but didn’t say, the place burning down would have been a bigger tragedy for Eve. Shrove on fire would be worse than Liza dying in it. (p.106)
Sean never really believes that Eve only thinks about Shrove and nothing else. So he tries to find information to make sure that what Liza is thinking is wrong. He asks Liza whether Eve tries to contact Tobias or not. This is to see whether Eve is actually loves Tobias or Shrove.
‘Well, she never did, no. At least, so far as I know she didn’t. she didn’t get a chance, did she, with him so far away and we weren’t on the phone, we hadn’t a car, we were trapped down there in a way.’
‘But wasn’t that was what she wanted?’
‘Oh, yes, it was what she wanted. She wanted to be at Shrove and be undisturbed and isolated but what she’d wanted most was to own Shrove. I think she gave up that idea when he got married. I mean, she gave it up for a while. It was very hard for her, she’d counted on it for so long, but she had to give it up. Of course I don’t know what went on in her mind, I was only a child, but I think she regretted a lot of things, she had bitter recriminations.’ (p.130)
Maslow (2002:14) writes that one of the needs that motivates someone to do something is his or her love and belongingness, that is a feeling that one belongs. Based on the descriptions we can see that one of the reasons behind choosing her lifestyles is Eve’s love of Shrove. Eve feels that she belongs to Shrove and Shrove belongs to her. She isolates herself and her daughter at Shrove because she loves Shrove much. It is the only place she considers as the best place to live because of the beauty of the nature and the location which is far from anywhere. She also considers Shrove as her sanctuary since it is the place where she grows.
c. Eve’s Love to Liza
nature of a mother. As a woman, Eve has a parental force that leads her to do something to protect her child. It is not a duty but a need. As previous analysis, this is what Maslow calls as love and belongingness needs (2002:14). In this case, Eve’s mother instinct directs her to choose her unique lifestyle in order to guard her daughter from the contamination of the world by employing the simple life.
Also, the cognitive processes within ourselves make significant different in the development of motivation (Petri, 1981:6). That is why intellectuals gain more than those who do not taste education. In choosing her lifestyle, Eve is somewhat influenced by her thought. Her consideration about having a baby and leaving her study makes her choose her unique lifestyle. She does not want to have an abortion and even never thinks about that. Her experience of seeing the babysitter who leaves the children in front of television and does not take care of them makes her choose to raise her child by herself. Her bad experiences in outer world make her think that the best place to grow for her child is at Shrove. She thinks a lot and her thinking leads her to choose the simple life lifestyle.
To keep her and her daughter isolated, she tells lies to everyone but Liza. The ways she tells Liza about her dishonesty shows her closeness to her daughter. It is showed in this quotation:
‘And didn’t you never go to school?’
‘No, I never did. Mother taught me herself at home.’ ‘It’s against the law, that.’
Diana Hayden in the lane and Eve told her we were in a hurry because she was taking me to catch the bus for school.
(p. 88)
Lies are repeatedly told, whether they are apparent or hidden. When Matt, the bricklayer, wants to know why Liza is not at school, Eve says coldly, ‘It’s Easter. The schools have broken up for Easter’ (p. 97). Liza, who never knows what Easter holiday is, realizes the vital fact about the statement that her mother has made years after it. She realizes that Eve has not told a lie because it is the Easter holidays. However, the impression she has given Matt is the false one. Later on, Eve’s habit on telling lies is learned by her daughter; Liza becomes acquinted in telling lies too.
Her love to Liza is also the reason why Eve does not try to find a boyfriend or a husband to live with. She wants to protect Liza from anything that can pollute her purity. When she has Bruno as her boyfriend, it is not her who tries to find him but it is Bruno who finds her.
overcome, but it can be reduced by having someone to love. Socially, Eve’s loneliness of course cannot be healed since she is far away from everyone. However, by having another person near, especially a family member, Eve can trim down the emotional loneliness that she has.
A close relationship between Eve and her daughter creates a tight bound between them. The way Eve chooses an isolated life influences Liza’s way of thinking. This mother-daughter relationship is so strong until it makes the same perspective in both persons; Liza never feels bothered with her condition.
‘Didn’t you want to go to school? I mean, you know, kids wants friends.’
‘I had Eve,’ Liza said simply, and then, ‘I didn’t want anyone else. Well, I
had Annabel, my doll. She was my imaginary friend and I used to talk to
her and discuss things with her. I used to ask her advice and I don’t think I minded when she didn’t answer. I didn’tknow, you see. I didn’t know life could be different. (p. 88)
Liza thinks that there is nothing to complain about the way her mother treats her. However bad it is, she does not feel that her mother should be blamed.
‘You poor kid. Bloody awful childhood you had.’
Liza wasn’t having that. She said hotly, ‘I had a wonderful childhood. You mustn’t think anything else. I collected things, the gate-house was full of my pressed flowers and pine cones and bowls with tadpoles in and caddises and water beetles. I never had to dress up. I never ate food that was bad for me. I never quarreled with other children or fought or got hurt.’
He interrupted her and said perpicaciously,’But you know about those things.’
‘Yes, I know about them. I’ll tell you how, but not now, not this minute. Now I just want you to know my childhood was all right, it was fine. She’s not to blame for anything that happened to me, she was a wonderful mother to me.’(p. 89)
