i
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ABSENCE OF LOVE
ON SOMEONE’S BEHAVIOR AS SEEN IN DONA MARIA’S BEHAVIOR IN THORNTON WILDER’S THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Florentina Aryanti Student Number: 021214086
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
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Page of Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved parents,
Bapak and Ibu,
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank Jesus Christ, for His unlimited blessing and love, so I can finish my thesis. He supports me whenever I am fearful or in pain.
I would like to thank my major sponsor, Drs. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A.,Ph.D. His lessons about the world of literature and the ways to face problems have released me from difficulties. He has also guided me to write this thesis with care and effectiveness. Without his deep concerns, I am sure that this thesis would never be completed.
My special thanks go to all lecturers who have shared their knowledge and encouragement during my study in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Special thanks also go to all PBI staff for their help and friendliness during my study in Sanata Dharma University.
My deepest gratitude goes to my beloved Bapak and Ibu, for their unending love and fantastic affection, and moreover, for their permitting me to spend a little longer than the appointed time in this university. I really love them. My appreciation also goes to my older brother, MasAgus, who had taken care of me and supported me both spiritually and financially all the time.
This thesis is also dedicated to Mas Adi and Mbak Ika who have supported me, so I can reach this degree. I thank them for motivating and guiding me, so I can finish my thesis.
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‘02 friends that cannot be mentioned one by one, and the special person in my life, Ifan ”Panjul”, who has supported me to finish my thesis and trusted me that I can do that.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all my friends in Kulon Progo, Jack- Bud,
my nice nephew, Mbak Mami, Manis, and Wiwik for reminding me to accomplish my
thesis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ... i
APPROVAL PAGES ... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... iv
DEDICATION PAGE ... v
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE A. Review of Related Theories ... 7
1. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 7
2. Critical Approach ... 12
3. Theory of Psychology ... 13
a) Definition of Love ... 13
b) Theory of Rejection ... 19
c) Theory of Motivation ... 20
d) Theory of Adjustment Mechanism ... 23
B. The Criticism on Thornton Wilder and His work ... 24
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e) She becomes possessive toward her daughter... 49
f) She becomes obsessive toward her daughter’s love ... 52
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CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions ... 55
1) Conclusion of the Description of Dona Maria in The Bridge of San Luis Rey ... 55
2) Conclusion of the Influence of the Absence of Love in Dona Maria’s Behavior ... 57
B. Suggestions ... 58
1) The Suggestion for the Future Researchers ... 58
2) Suggestion for Teaching and Learning Activities ... 58
3) The implementation of The Bridge of San Luis Rey in Teaching Extensive Reading I ... 60
REFERENCES ... 62
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TABLE OF APPENDICES
Page
Appendix 1 The Summary ... 65
Appendix 2 The Biography of Thornton Wilder... 69
Appendix 3 Thornton Wilder’s Works ... 71
Appendix 4 Novel’s Cover ... 73
Appendix 5 Picture of Thornton Wilder ... 74
Appendix 6 The Material for Extensive Reading I ... 75
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ABSTRACT
Aryanti, F. (2009). The Influence of the Absence of Love on Someone’s Behavior as seen
in Dona Maria’s Behavior in Thornton Wilder’s “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”.
Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.
This thesis analyzes a novel written by Thornton Wilder in 1927 entitled The Bridge of San Luis Rey. It tells about five victims of the collapse of the bridge of San Luis Rey. This study discusses the influence of the absence of love in someone’s behavior as seen in that of Dona Maria, the main character of the novel. The novel also talks about how to value love.
In order to achieve the aim of the study, there are two questions to be answered. They are “How is Dona Maria described in the novel?” and “How does the absence of love influence Dona Maria’s behavior?” In this thesis, there are two kinds of sources. They are primary source and secondary source. The primary source is The Bridge of San Luis Rey itself whereas the secondary source is books, criticism and reviews from internet related to the topic. The approach used in this study is psychological approach while the theories applied are theory of character and characterization, theory of love, theory of rejection, theory of motivation and theory of adjustment mechanisms.
After analyzing the novel there are two findings. The first finding reveals that Dona Maria is lonely, introvert, and miserable. Besides having no self-confidence, she is also an unfaithful Christian. The second one reveals the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria’s behavior. She does not care about her appearance, becomes a drunkard, becomes a daydreamer and withdraws herself. Besides, she becomes possessive and obsessive toward her daughter; she also has no idea how to express love in a good way toward her daughter.
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ABSTRAK
Aryanti, F. (2009). The Influence of the Absence of Love on Someone’s Behavior as seen
in Dona Maria’s Behavior in Thornton Wilder’s “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”.
Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma
Skripsi ini menganalisa sebuah novel berjudul The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Novel ini berkisah tentang lima korban runtuhnya jembatan San Luis Rey. Studi ini mendiskusikan tentang pengaruh ketiadaan cinta pada perilaku seseorang seperti pada perilaku Dona Maria sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel. Novel ini juga menceritakan bagaimana menghargai cinta.
Untuk mencapai dua tujuan dalam studi ini, ada dua pertanyaan untuk dijawab. Yaitu bagaimana Dona Maria digambarkan dalam novel dan bagaimana ketiadaan cinta mempengaruhi perilaku Dona Maria. Ada dua macam sumber yang digunakan dalam studi ini; yaitu sumber utama dan sumber pendukung. Sumber utama adalah novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey itu sendiri, sedangkan sumber pendukung adalah buku-buku, kritik, referensi dari internet yang berhubungan dengan topik. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan psikologis, sedangkan teori-teori yang digunakan adalah teori karakter dan karakterisasi, teori cinta, teori penolakan, teori motivasi dan teori mekanisme penyesuaian.
Setelah menganalisa novel ini, ditemukan dua penemuan. Penemuan pertama mengungkap bahwa Dona Maria adalah orang yang kesepian, tertutup, dan menyedihkan. Selain dia tidak mempunyai rasa percaya diri, dia juga seorang kristiani yang tidak beriman. Penemuan kedua mengungkap pengaruh ketiadaan cinta pada perilaku Dona Maria, Dia menjadi tidak peduli pada penampilannya, minum minuman beralkohol, sering melamun dan menarik diri. Selain menjadi posesif dan obsesif tehadap anak perempuannya. Dia juga tidak bisa mengekspresikan cinta dengan benar.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
Chapter one consists of background of the study, aim of the study, problem formulation, benefit of the study and definition of terms. Background of the study describes the reason for analyzing the topic and my personal reason for choosing the topic. Problem formulation gives the general description of the problems that will be analyzed in the study. Aim of the study explains the goals of this study. The last part is the definition of the terms. In this section, some terms that are related to the study will be defined.
A. Background of The Study
What comes into our mind when we are trapped and suffer from a loss of affection? What may the suggestion be for this situation? Love is the common theme in our daily life. Can love be the only reason to break out of the isolation? Love is a universal concept that everybody is familiar with. The word “love” is widely used over million of times in songs, poems, and fictions and mostly in everyday events. However, when being asked about the clear definition of love, people usually cannot give the best idea of what love means to them. Even from the same person, sometimes we find the different opinion about love. Love is a very difficult word to define, but it can be perceived easily through some effects that it creates.
The feelings of joy, happiness and peace are the effects created by love. Love is not restricted to the relation between sexes, but it is more than sexual
relationship. This universal concept may exist between human beings and God, parents and children, brothers, sister, friends and even between people and other creatures, such as in a child’s affection for a pet.
Many people would put love as their most important need. In order to satisfy the needs, a person needs to build an interaction with others. It is because humans are known as social being. They cannot survive without other’s help. Since it is not easy in making the relationship, sometimes problems may occur in human’s relationship. Furthermore, if an individual perceives if she or he is powerless and live in disharmony with his or her surrounding, it will result in alienation. In addition, according to Maslow the failure to satisfy the human basic needs can have an impact on an individual’s psychological life. The failure to satisfy their needs can be one of the motivations which can cause some reaction which sometimes cannot be easily known.
the readers. A moralistic work when we can get from our real life that is a lesson about giving love and being loved.
The story is about the collapse of the finest bridge in Peru which precipitated the five travelers into the gulf below. All the victims, Dona Maria, Pepita, Esteban, Uncle Pio, Don Jaime have the same bad experience since in their whole life they are lacking of love and feel lonely. A Franciscan monk who witnesses the accident tries to investigate whether the accident is an Intention or not. He makes a research on the five victims and tries to prove it mathematically and historically. His research results in an enormous book. His book, however, is considered as heretical. His theories are unaccepted and he is burnt along with his book.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey is divided into five chapters. In chapter 2 of the novel, Dona Maria is described. She is one of the characters in the novel. This study is focused on the character of Dona Maria and her relationship with her daughter, Dona Clara. Dona Maria is one of the victims of the accident. The discussion covers how she is described in the novel and how the absence of love controls her life. The reason for choosing the topic is because love is the most important need for all human beings. Sometimes a person will do anything to obtain love from someone special in his or her life. In order to avoid misconception of love, it is important for us to understand the true love.
love even from her daughter. She gives her daughter an idolatrous love. In her opinion, she has given the best for her daughter but her daughter does not pay it back. Finally, she realizes that she loves her daughter in the wrong way. She is thinking about her own hopes not her daughter’s hopes, and all those mistakes happen because of Dona Maria’s childhood. Love is closely related to the psychological aspect of human life. Hence, the approach the writer used in this study was psychological approach.
B. Aim of the Study
The aim of the study is to find out how Dona Maria is described in The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Besides, this study also has the aim to find out how the absence of love affects somebody’s life as seen in Dona Maria, the main character of Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
C. Problem Formulation
This study focuses on the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria as the central character in the story. The problems of the study can be formulated as follows:
1. How is Dona Maria described in the Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey?
D. Benefits of the Study
There are at least two groups of people who will gain benefits from this study. They are the readers in general and the students. Hopefully, by reading this study the readers will be able to enrich their knowledge about literary works especially American literature and Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey
For the students of English Language Education Study Program, this study hopefully may give them knowledge about American Literature and give them understanding of Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey. For the teachers of English Language Education Study Program, this study could be used as one of the teaching references. The novel can be used as teaching material for teaching literature classes.
This study is also beneficial, especially for me because I have had experiences of how to analyze a novel and have had an understanding about the value of love from books of references for the study.
E. Definition of Terms
In analyzing this novel, the writer needs to know first about the meaning of influence, absence of love and behavior.
1. Influence
According to Drever, the terms influence is defined as any past or present condition experienced as or actually playing a part in determining ones behavior, or course of thought, in the present: a common type of delusion”(134).
2. Absence of Love
Hauck states that loveis a powerful feeling one has for person, animal or things that has satisfied or will satisfy our deepest desire (16).
Therefore, in this study, the absence of love is a situation in which someone’s deepest desire is not satisfied.
3. Behavior
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
In order to conduct the study, the writer uses some theories to support the analysis in chapter IV. The related theories are explained briefly in this chapter in order to help the reader have a clear description about the foundation of the study. In this chapter the review of the related theories, criticisms and sources will mainly be discussed. In the theoretical review, the writer discusses theories of literature. While in criticism and sources, the writer will mainly discuss the criticisms that are concerned with my discussion and some sources that are taken from books and website to support my analysis.
A. Review of Related Theories
In this part, the writer would like to present some related theories used in this study. They are theory of character and characterization, theory of definition of love, theory of rejection, theory of motivation and theory of adjustment mechanisms.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
Before analyzing a novel, we need to understand the character well because a character plays an important role in the novel. According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, characters are the persons presented in dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral and disposition qualities that are expressed in what the say (the dialogues) and what they do (actions) (20). Here the character has a quality as human beings. A
character brings the readers a description about how the story flows therefore the readers can imagine what the story is about.
Abrams also mentions that there are two types of character, simple or flat character and round or complex character. Flat character is character that possesses just one certain dispositional quality. He seems less to have trait behavior that can give a surprising effect to the reader. The flat character can be easily recognized and more familiar whenever they come in and easily be remembered by the readers afterward. A round character is more lifelike rather than flat character because we may see all sides of this character. He possesses many kinds of traits or various attitudes. The character is also capable of surprising us (20- 21). Flat character is easy to describe rather than round character because flat character does not make any significant development.
Henkle states in his book Reading a Novel, that characters are categorized into “main or major characters” and “minor characters”. Major character is the most character in the story. The readers give him/ her fullest attention because he/she performs the key structural function; upon him/her we build expectation and desires. Minor characters only perform a limited function in the story. They may be less sophisticated, so that their responses to the experience are less complex and important (22)
1.The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the word illustrated by the action.
2.The presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the readers will be able to deduce the attributes of the actions.
3.The presentation from within the character without comment on the character by the author, the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the character
Murphy, in Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and English Novel for Overseas Students, mentions some ways to describe characters. In describing character in a work of art, author can use one of the following ways:
1. Personal Description
In revealing characters, the author can present the physical appearance of the characters. The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes. By summarizing the author’s description of the character physical appearance, the readers can imagine what kind of person he is (161).
2. Character as Seen by Another
The others’ point of view about the certain character might be an important point to understand the character well (162).
3. Speech
Through the choice of word or what the person says, the author can give us an insight into the character of one person in the story. Whenever a person speaks, whenever he is in a conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clues to his character. Commonly, we know someone’s insight from his speech because from the speech we can analyze what kind of person he is (164).
4. Past Life
The author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character by learning about the person’s past life. This can be done through the direct comment of the author, through the person’s thought, through his conversation or through the medium of another person. What happens to the character to the present life can be the result of what happened to him in the past life. Therefore learning the person’s past life can help the readers in analyzing character in the story (166).
5. Conversation of Others
conversation of other characters since it will help us understand the character (167).
6. Reactions
The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how the person reacts to various situation and events. The readers can recognize whether the character is strong or weak, smart or not by analyzing their actions coping with different situation. The reader can also get the image of the character from their attitudes (168).
7. Direct Comments
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly. Since the author gives the description and comment on the character directly, it will be easier for the reader to find out the information on the character. Besides it is easy, misinterpretation can be reduced (170).
8. Thought
9. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habit and idiosyncrasies which may give the reader some clues about the character. What people always do or habit can reflect their inner side positively and negatively. We can also infer what a character is like from what he does, thinks or says (173).
2. Critical Approach
In analyzing a literary work, a novel for instance, we will use a certain approach in order to make the analysis clear and understandable. Rohrberger and Woods, Jr state that we need to employ a mean that is called a critical approach in order to understand and apprehend the aesthetic values of literary work (3). Rohrberger and Woods, Jr define five kinds of critical approach called formalist approach, biographical approach, sociocultural-historical approach, mythopoeic approach, and psychological approach.
considered sharing the same universal belief to certain community mind. Generally, the patterns involve death or rebirth, guilt and sacrifices, primitive rites, or patterns behavior basic to Christian theology. Psychological approach involves theories of psychology to explain the character’s personality in the story. The proponents of this approach insist that each character’s behavior could be referred to the psychology of human being. By the approach, the character’s thought and behavior can be traced more profoundly because it has close relationship with human’s life.
3. Theory of Psychology
a). Definition of Love
Since the analysis deals with the influence of the absence of love, so it is necessary to use theory of love.
According to Hauck in his book How to Love and be Loved, love is a powerful feeling one has for persons, animals or things that has satisfied, is satisfying or will satisfy our deepest desires and needs. From the definition, the writer may infer that actually not people that we love but what people do for us that we love.
1) Types of Love According to Eric Fromm
love, erotic love and love of God. Here are the explanations of those five types of love:
a. Brotherly Love
The most important kind of love which underlies all types of love is brotherly love. Erich Fromm in his book The Art of Loving, states this love as “the sense of responsibility, care, respect, knowledge of any other human being, the wish to further life. This kind of love the bible speaks of when it says: love thy neighbor as thyself. Brotherly love is love for all human beings” (47).
b. Motherly Love
In contrast to brotherly love, motherly love is love between equal the relationship of mother and child by its very nature of inequality. Motherly love is unconditional affirmation of the child’s life and his needs. This affirmation has two aspects; those are the care and responsibility.
Motherly love has been considered as the highest kind of love, the most sacred of all emotion bonds. It seems, however, that the real achievement of motherly love lies not in mother’s love for a small infant, but in her love for growing ( 49- 52).
c. Erotic Love
sexual desire can easily blend with and be encouraged by any strong emotion, of which love is only one (52- 57).
d. Self Love
Self-love is sometimes considered as selfishness because it is assumed that loving oneself does not love others. Fromm states that an attitude of love toward themselves will be found in all those who are capable of loving others. To understand self love better we can infer from the quotation below:
If you love yourself, you love yourself as you do yourself. As long as you love another person less than you love yourself, you will not really succeed in loving yourself, but if you love all alike, including yourself, you will love them as one person and that person is both God and man. Thus he is a great and righteous person who, loving himself, loves all others equally” (61- 63). From the comment, I can conclude that we cannot succeed loving ourselves if we love others less than we love ourselves.
While Rollo May states that Eros is a fundamentally self-love. Eros is not possessive love. Sometimes we are afraid of losing our beloved because we think we love him/ her so much. This love is called possessive love.
e. Love of God
2) Obsessive Love
The writer also uses theory of obsessive love. According to Forward and Buck, obsessive love is the result of rejection. There are four conditions that can be used to recognize it, those are: a painful or worry of wishing for love, a great desire to posses or be possessed by their target of obsession, physically or emotionally rejection from their target, and they become to behave in self-defeating ways because of that rejection.
A person who suffers from obsessive love believes if only the person they fixate on can make him feel happy and rewarded. It means that the target of their obsession is the only person who will make them fulfilled.
Hodgkinson states in his book Obsession love. How to Free Your Emotion and Live Again, there are some factors that causes obsessive love. Here is the explanation:
1. Leisure; obsessive love is identical with boredom or monotony in life. 2. Feeling of vulnerability and a perceived failure to belong; because those who are undergoing dramatic life changes and the associated fear and lack of self-confidence will seek out an exit for their anxieties.
3. An inflated opinion of oneself; obsessive love is believed as the stem of insecurity, so the feeling of insecure lead the obsessed people to seek out someone with attributes that they want for themselves.
Hodgkinson recommends realizing that one who loves obsessively has not fallen in love with a real person, but rather an illusion. It is estimated that most of obsessive love is motivated by projection. The obsessed is not falling in love with their target because of any salient properties of the target, but for what that target represents to the obsessed.
3) Possessive Love
According to Anja Heij, possessive relationship is psychologically suffocating and can be even physically suffocating for the person it concerns. It does not allow personal space to the other one. The path to the other one has chosen for his/her life is deliberately surpassed for the sake of someone’s egocentric purposes (Conditional Love- Possessive Relationship).
Deep inside her heart, a possessive person is longing for love and appreciation. They also feel insecure and afraid of loss, especially of relationships. They have difficulty in experiencing self-love, self acceptance and the behavior they show is a great example of compensation.
The possessive people need affirmation, confirmation and domination of the persons in their near surroundings. They will hold on tightly to present relationships, and show great difficulty if a child tries to break lose in living its own adult life or marrying a partner (Conditional Love- Possessive Relationship). 4) Deprivation of Love
deprivation of love. Hurlock states that deprivation of any emotion is harmful to the personality, but deprivation of love is especially damaging (210-214). The theory of deprivation of love is beneficial to identify the effects of deprivation of love towards human behavior.
According to Hurlock, in his book Personality Development, many adults experience deprivation of love, especially in the old age and after the death or divorce of a spouse. Deprivation can be almost as damaging to the self–concept in adulthood as in childhood. Deprivation of opportunities to love and to be loved delays the normal pattern of physical and mental development. This, in turn affects the personality. Some of the specific effects of emotional deprivation have been reported to the physical, social and emotional (211).
Hurlock also states that the effects of deprivation to the human physical can be seen in listlessness, emaciation, quietness and general apathy, and psycho somatic illnesses. To human social, the effect can be revealed in handicaps in learning how to get along with people, lack of responsiveness to the advances of others, lack of cooperation, and hostility. And to the emotional deprivation, the effects can be seen in lack of emotional responsiveness and interchange (the emphatic complex), feelings of insecurity, resentments as expressed in social behavior, restlessness, anxiety, temper tantrums, and many other forms of maladjustive behavior (212).
relationships outside the home because he has not found them satisfying in the home. He feels inferior and incapable of loving and being loved, and he develops a generalized hostility toward people (213).
b) Theory of Rejection
Hurlock in his book Child Development (296) states “Affection is an emotional reaction directed toward a person, an animal or a thing. It indicates warm regard, friendliness, sympathy, or helpfulness, and it may take a physical or a verbal form”. By accepting someone as our friend or our family, we have given them our love. Parents’ treatment to the child will influence the child’s emotion and growth in his later life. Hurlock adds “Parental attitudes are often responsible for child emotionality (304). “In childhood, there is a strong drive to be with others, when this need is not met, the child will be unhappy. . . (326). It is also stated by McDougall rejected children are likely to have decreased self-esteem and to be at greater risk for internalizing problems like depression.
Human is social creature, but it is impossible to interact with everyone all the time. So, rejection can be experienced as part of life although in different level for certain person. However, rejection can become a problem when it is excessive, when the relationship is important, when the rejection is by an entire group, or when the individual is particularly sensitive to rejection. The experience of being rejected can cause some psychological effects such as loneliness, reduced self-esteem, aggression, and depression. It can also lead to feelings of insecurity and a heightened sensitivity to future rejection (Rejection).
c) Theory of Motivation
Abraham Maslow in Larry A. Hjelle and Daniel J. Zeigler’s book entitled Personality Theories: Basic Assumptions, Research and Applications defines motivation, which relates to the human needs. He believed that much of human behavior could be explained by the individual’s tendency to seek personal goal states that make life rewarding and meaningful. Maslow proposed that human desires (i.e., motives) are innate and that they are arranged in an ascending hierarchy of priority or potency. It is known as Maslow’s hierarchical theory of motivation (368-374). In order of potency there are five kinds of needs. The needs are: basic physiological need, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, self esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.
a. Physiological needs
simulation. A person who fails to fulfill this basic of needs will not be around long enough to attempt to satisfy higher level needs. Physiological needs dominate human desires, forcing them on one’s attention before higher –order goals can be pursued (369- 370).
b. Safety Needs
If the physiological needs have been satisfied, an individual becomes concerned with a new set, often called the safety security needs. Maslow suggested that safety needs are most readily observed in infants and young children because of their relative helplessness and dependence on adults. Maslow further noted that parents who apply only unrestricted, permissive child- rearing practices do not satisfy a child’s safety needs. Maslow cited parental quarreling, physical assault, separation, divorce and death within the family as particularly harmful to a child’s sense of well being. In effect these factors render the child’s environment unstable, unpredictable and hence unsafe (370- 371).
c. Belongingness and Love Needs
According to Maslow, love and belongingness needs constitute part of human basic needs, particularly psychological needs. The need of belongingness and love is important. People with unsatisfied need for love or the feeling of belongingness will experience alienation (44).
The failure to satisfy the needs for security relationship with others caused someone get psychological problem and will behave negatively. The psychological problems are related to spiritual disorders, to loss of meaning, to doubt about the goals of life, the grief and anger over a lost love, to seeing life in different way, to loss of courage or hope, to despair over the future, to dislike for oneself, to recognition that one’s life is being wasted or that there is no possibility of joy and love (371- 372). Maslow also states in his book Toward The Psychology of Being the needs for belongingness and love relations can be satisfied only by other people (34).
d. Self-esteem Needs
Maslow divided self-esteem needs into two subsidiary sets: self-respect and esteem for other people. The former includes such things as desire for competence, confidence, personal strength, adequacy, achievement, independence, and freedom. An individual needs to know that he or she is worthwhile. Esteem from others includes prestige, recognition, acceptance, attention, status, fame, reputation, and appreciation. A person seeks self- esteem only after he or she achieves the belongingness and love needs.
A person who has self-esteem is more confident and capable and more productive. When self esteem is absent the individual has feelings of inferiority and helplessness, which result in discouragement and possible neurotic behavior (372- 373).
e. Self- Actualization Needs
If all the foregoing needs are sufficiently satisfied, the need for self- actualization comes to the fore. Self- actualization is the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. Self- actualization is a person’s desire for self- improvement, his or her drive to make actual what she or he are potentially (373- 374).
d). Adjustment Mechanism
Adjustment mechanism is a device used to achieve indirect satisfactions of a need in order that tension may be reduced and self-respect maintained. Adjustment mechanisms are used to maintain frustration. Carroll defines that there are eight kinds of adjustment mechanism. They are compensation, substitution, identification, egocentric, rationalization, negativism, day-dreaming, regression and repression (214-234).
kinds of frustration. An example of sublimation is maladjustive behavior of a person who resorts to alcoholism (216-219)
b) Identification is a mechanism of adjustment by which an individual establishes a strong emotional tie with another person, a group, a group of persons, or an institution, and then achieves his satisfaction at least in part, by proxy, basking in reflected glory (220).
c) Rationalization involves the process of devising socially acceptable reasons for an act or an opinion which is socially unacceptable and so deemed blameworthy by an individual (222).
d) Negativism is an aggressive withdrawal. A negativistic person is one who strongly resists suggestion from others. It may be used as a means in achieving respect and of maintaining self-respect (226).
e) Daydreaming is a satisfying imaginative fulfillment of desires. It is an escape from the difficulties of real life into a realm where all obstacles to success can be ignored or effectively surmounted (227-228).
f) Regression is a form of adjustment involving a retreat from the complexities of the present to the earlier and simple form of behavior. The person who chooses this mechanism is usually introverted, non-suggestible, and lacking in self-confidence (232).
B. The Criticisms on Thornton Wilder and His Work
For the references of my analysis, I take some criticisms and sources. From the description in the criticism we can understand the novel better. The criticisms are taken from books and website and also from the previous researcher on the Thornton Wilder’s work.
According to Stuckey in his book entitled The Pulitzer Prize Novel: A critical Backward Look, Wilder’s narrator undertakes to answer the question raised by Brother Juniper, to show that for each of the five people involved in the bridge accident, Friday noon, July twentieth, 1714, was the possible times to die. It’s just because that was the day on which that person was destined happier than he would ever again become (74- 75).
He also states that the novel is artfully constructed; there are no loose ends, no blind alleys or false leads, no lapses into vulgarity, or no wildly improbable assertions about the intellectual or more profundity of the characters. Neither are there any obvious appeals to popular prejudices or any sermonizing in which personal morality is equated with financial success.
C. Context
The Bridge of San Luis Rey is a 1927 novel by American author Thornton Wilder that tells the story of several interrelated people who happen to be on an Incarope-fiber suspension bridge in Peru and the events that lead up to their being on the bridge at the time of its collapse and their deaths (Peru).
The setting of place in the novel is in Peru in 1714. Peruvian territory was home to theNorte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. It was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century, who established a Viceroyalty with jurisdiction over most of its South American domains. Independence was declared on 1821 but consolidated only after the Battle of Ayacucho, three years later (Peru).
When the Spanish landed in 1531, Peru's territory was the nucleus of the highly developed Inca Civilization. Centered at Cuzco, the Inca Empire extended over a vast region, stretching from northern Ecuador to central Chile (Peru).
Villegas, was one of the signers of Peru’s declaration of independence from Spain on July 28, 1821. He discovered Camila Perichole. Her real name was Micaela Villegas (Peru). She was singing in cafés at the age of twelve and uncle Pio had always been the very soul of cafes” (119).
Thornton Wilder is an American novelist but he took Peru as his setting for his story. Wilder wrote The Bridge of San Luis Rey in 1926, but the setting of time in the story is in 1714. In my opinion, Wilder used Peru as his setting of place in his story because there was a conflict between Peru and United States in 18th century (Peru).
There was a military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place beginning in April of 1898 which is called American war. Hostilities halted in August of that year, and the Treaty of Paris was signed in December (Peru).
The war began after the American demand of Spain peacefully resolving the Cubanfight for independence was rejected, though strong expansionist sentiment in the United States may have motivated the government to target Spain's remaining overseas territories:Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, and the Caroline Island (Peru).
stories and gossip in the 1,700 letters of this correspondence, related in a natural, spontaneous tone, provide a vivid picture of the 17th-century French aristocracy" (Encyclopedia Britannica). Parallels between Marie de Rabutin-Chantal and Doña María are thus obvious to even the casual reader of the novel (Peru).
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter is divided into five parts; they are subject matter, approach, procedure, source and organization of study. The first part, subject matter is about the focus of the study. The second part, approach, discusses the approach being used in this study. The third part, procedure contains the step that I employed in analyzing problem formulation. The fourth part sources, encloses the sources that I use to answer the questions in this study. The last part is the organization of the study.
A. Subject Matter
This thesis deals with one of Thorton Wilder’s novels, The Bridge of San Luis Rey. The novel was published for the first time by Albet and Charles Boni and was renewed by a division of Simon and Schuster, Inc., 630 Fifth Avenue, New York. The Bridge of San Luis Rey consists of five chapters and describes separately about Marquesa De Montemayor in chapter II. From her behavior, I get concrete ideas of her character.
The novel tells about the collapse of the finest bridge in Peru which precipitated the five travelers into the gulf below. The five people killed, Marquesa De Montemayor (Dona Maria), Esteban, Pepita, Don Jaime, and Uncle Pio have the same experience in their life, the lack of love and feeling lonely. In this study, I try to explore Marquesa De Montemayor, the main character of the novel. To understand the main character well, it is necessary to know how
Marquesa De Montemayor is described in the novel. The second topic is to see the influence of the absence of love on someone’s behavior as seen in Dona Maria, the main character of The Bridge of San Luis Rey. The discussion and answer of the two ideas will be presented in chapter IV.
B. Approaches
The main approach of this study is psychological approach. I use this approach to find out the answer of my formulated question of how the main character is described and now the influence of the absence of love in somebody’s life as seen Dona Maria, the major character of the novel. The proponents of this approach insist that each character behavior could be referred to the psychology of human being. By the approach the characters thought and behavior can be traced more profoundly.
C. Procedures
To answer the problems formulated in chapter one, I read a story in order to attain a good understanding of the content of the story. I focused on the major character. Dona Maria and made some notes of the important descriptions of her which gives clues about her characteristics. Some relevant books were read, some author’s statements were quoted to help me understand more the ideas. Some sources and references were sought in order to complete understanding the study. Besides, I also involved my own interpretation by reading any articles related to the topic.
D. Source
The method I used in this study is library research. There are two sources I used in writing my thesis. First is primary source and second is secondary source. The primary source is the novel itself, The Bridge of San Luis Rey.
I also obtained some articles from internet sites concerning the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and the theories which really help me in analyzing the problem of this study.
E. Organization of Study
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter intends to answer the two questions that are formulated in the problem formulation. The analysis helps me to find out how Marquesa De Montemayor or well known as Dona Maria is described in the novel and how the absence of love influences Dona Maria’s behavior.
A. Description of Dona Maria’s Character in The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Dona Maria is one of the major characters in The Bridge of San Luis Rey. She becomes a major character because she has an important role in the novel. She introduces many key characters in the story. Henkle states that major character performs the key structural function (22). It is important to analyze the major character since it helps me to answer the second problem formulation. From the analyses of the characters, I can understand better the influence of the absence of love on the main character’s life. There is a relation between novel and reality. The story in the novel is one of the thousand stories that happen in human life.
According to Abrams there are two types of characters, simple or flat character and round or complex character. Dona Maria has complex character because she is more life like. She possesses many kinds of traits and attitudes. The character is also capable of surprising us (20-21). Dona Maria is a good-hearted woman but she is a drunkard. She is an aristocrat in Lima but she appears in an eccentric dress and behavior. She has a bad relationship with her parents, her husband and her daughter.
While according to Murphy in Understanding Unseens, we can analyze the character of Dona Maria from her personal description, opinion from other characters, her speech in a conversation, her past life, conversation of other characters, her reactions to various situation and events, and direct description from the author (161-173).
In this thesis, I analyze the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria’s behavior. The description, therefore, is limited on Dona Maria’s characteristics in the novel. Dona Maria is characterized as lonely, introvert, miserable, not good-looking, unconfident, and an unfaithful Christian.
1. Dona Maria is lonely
Dona Maria is a daughter of a cloth merchant in Lima, the capital city of Peru. Her parents are successful people in Peru. Although Dona Maria comes from a wealthy family, unfortunately she is not a good-looking girl and suffers from inability to speak fluently. Therefore, her mother forces her to wear a lot of jewelry to arouse some social charms. It can be seen that Dona Maria’s parents tried to fulfill Dona Maria’s needs of affection with a life of luxury. Her needs of love and attention are not satisfied since her parents are busy people. It makes her create her own world. She is not accustomed to share what she feels with her parents. She used to live and think alone.
“Her childhood was unhappy: she was ugly; she stuttered; her mother persecuted her with sarcasms in an effort to arouse some social charms and force her to go about the town in a veritable harness of jewels. She lived alone and thought alone “ (14).
According to Horman and Harmon, we can analyze the character through the explicit presentation by the author of the character (81). In the novel, Thornton Wilder states explicitly that Dona Maria lives alone and thought alone in her childhood.
2. Dona Maria is introvert
Dona Maria always talks to herself audibly. Like a mad person, she has another world in her mind and becomes unaware of her surrounding as when the people in the theater are laughing at her. She does not realize that they have just insulted her; in fact, she is happy visiting the theater for she has found some blessed phrases during the visit; some phrases which might brighten her next letter to her daughter. And hopefully her daughter will say something pleasant to her after reading it.
“But the Marquesa remained unaware of what had taken place; in fact she was quite pleased, for during the visit she had contrived a few felicitous phrases, phrases (who knows) that might bring a smile for her daughter’s face and might make her murmur: “Really, my mother is charming” (28).
into her own world. One time, she has a humorous chat with Pepita but at other times, she is unaware if Pepita accompanies her.
“No less her heart suffered, for on some days Dona Maria would suddenly become aware of her and would talk to her cordially and humorously, would let appear for a few hours the exquisite sensibility of the Letters; then on the morrows she would withdraw into herself again and, while never harsh, would become impersonal and unseeing” (44). It is clearly stated in the quotation above that Dona Maria is an introvert. She does not like to tell her problems to other people. An introvert is a quite person who is more interested in their own thoughts and feelings rather than spending time with others.
3. Dona Maria is miserable
Dona Maria grows up in a luxury life, but without love and understanding. Her parents are too busy earning money. It has a bad effect on Dona Maria’s childhood. There is no one to share her feelings and it leads her to be a lonely child who is craving affection.
“Her childhood was unhappy: she was ugly; she stuttered; her mother persecuted her with sarcasms in an effort to arouse some social charms and force her to go about the town in a veritable harness of jewels. She lived alone and thought alone“ (14).
We can see that Dona Maria lives in lonely childhood and lack of affection from the last sentence of the quotation. She cannot share love and affection with her parents.
married with a wish that she can get love from her husband. Nevertheless, her husband does not give her the love, understanding, or companionship that she wants and needs
“ Many suitors presented themselves, but as long as she could she fought against the convention of her time and was determined to remain single. There were hysterical scenes with her mother, recriminations, screams and slamming of doors. At last at twenty six she found herself penned into marriage with a supercilious and ruined nobleman …..She still lived alone and thought alone” (14).
From the last sentence of the quotation, it can be inferred that her marriage cannot give her the love she expected. She still cannot share what she wants and feels with her husband, so again she lives with no love and care.
“… when an exquisite daughter was born to her she fastened upon her an idolatrous love. But little Clara took after her father; she was cold and intellectual. At the age of eight she was calmly correcting her mother speech and presently regarding her with astonishment and repulsion. The frightened mother became meek and obsequious but she could not prevent herself from persecuting Dona Clara with nervous attention and fatiguing love. Again there were hysterical recriminations, screams and slamming of doors. From the offers of marriage that fell to her, Dona Clara deliberately chose the one that required her removal to Spain. So to Spain she went, to that land from which it takes six months to receive an answer to one’s letter” (14-15).
From the quotation and the theory stated by Forward and Buck, it can be concluded that Dona Maria is in the conditions of obsessive love. Her daughter rejects her because Dona Maria believes that her daughter is the only person who can make her life brighter and happier.
There are three conditions that make Dona Maria feels lack of love. First, her parents did not give her the love and understanding she needed. The second is even after she gets married her husband does not give her love and companionship. The last is her only hope to be loved by her daughter is rejected. Since her husband cannot fulfill her needs of love, so to her daughter she hopes love. However, her daughter rejects her and chooses to leave her alone. From the three conditions, the writer concludes that Dona Maria is miserable
4. Dona Maria is not good-looking
sarcasms in an effort to arouse some social charms and force her to go about the town in a veritable harness of jewels” (14).
5. Dona Maria is unconfident
Relating to the theory that experiences of being rejected can cause some psychological effects such as loneliness, reduced self-esteem, aggression and depression, it can also lead to feelings of insecurity and a heightened sensitivity to future rejection. The experience of being rejected by Dona Clara also causes bad effects on her perception about herself. Living in depression leads Dona Maria to lose her self-esteem.
Dona Maria feels that all the people in her surrounding always reject her, moreover when her daughter leaves her alone. The situation of being rejected has a great impact on Dona Maria’s character. She thinks that her family abandoned her because of her faults. She feels unworthy and unloved. She has nothing to be proud of. It can be seen in her dialogue with Perichole, an artist who insults her in the theater. Dona Maria says that her daughter and Perichole are great women, but she is nothing. Dona Maria admires her daughter so much as she admires Perichole. It is not proper if Perichole asks apology to Dona Maria.
“Offended, offended at you, my beautiful,… my gifted child?Who am I, a…an unwise and unloved old woman, to be offended at you? I felt, my daughter, as though I were-what says the poet?-surprising through a cloud the conversation of the angels” (35).
“I am glad you are here,” she continued,” for now you have heard from my own lips that she is not unkind to me, as some people say. Listen, senora, the fault was mine. Look at me. Look at me. There was some mistake that made me the mother of so beautiful a girl. I am difficult. I am trying. You and she are great women. No, do not stop me: you are rare woman, and I am only a nervous… a foolish…a stupid woman. Let me kiss your feet. I am impossible. I am impossible. I am impossible” (38).
From the conversation in the dialogue above, Dona Maria wants to convince Perichole that what happen to her is her fault. It is her fault because she is a mother of a beautiful and brilliant girl. While, she believes that she is only a stupid and ugly mother. She cannot be an idol-mother for her daughter. Therefore, it is fair if Dona Clara left her alone in desperation. It shows that Dona Maria really loses her self-confidence. She feels so little and has nothing to be proud of in front of her daughter.
6. Dona Maria is an unfaithful Christian
Feeling of being unloved makes Dona Maria loses her faith in God. The only thing she wants from God is her daughter to love her, but she cannot get it. Her daughter’s rejection and her assumption that no one really loves her leads her to believe that God does not love her either.
“The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs. Her religious beliefs went first, for all she could ask of a God, or of immortality, was the gift of a place where daughters love their mothers; the other attribute of Heaven you could have for a song” (20- 21).
mother; she will know what Dona Maria feels as a mother. Hopefully, Dona Clara will love her. So, this event is an important thing for Dona Maria, she wants her daughter to give birth to her child in a good condition. She does everything that she believes can help her daughter in the delivery. Dona Maria practices a superstitious belief for her child’s protection. She does not allow a knot in the house, as it is a symbol of bad luck. She also marks every second step on the stairs; and someone who accidentally steps on the mark will be driven from the house with tears and screams.
“She fell into the most abominable superstition. She practiced a degrading system of taboos for a child’s protection. She refused to allow a knot in the house. The maids were forbidden to tie up their hair and she concealed upon her person ridiculous symbols of a happy delivery. On the stairs the even steps were marked with red chalk and a maid who accidentally stepped upon an even step was driven from the house with tears and screams” (46).
Even though Dona Maria also follows religious belief, it cannot prove that she is a good Christian. She does it because she is not satisfied if she only applies the rites of pagan worship. She wishes God will give a sign whether the delivery will be alright. She does both superstitious and religious belief to make the efficacy greater. It shows that Dona Maria does not really believe in God.
B.The Influence of the Absence of Love on Dona Maria’s Behavior
To analyze deeper how the absence of love influences Dona Maria’s behavior, I divide this analysis into two parts. The first part is love experienced by Dona Maria. The second part is the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria’s behavior.
1. Love Experienced by Dona Maria
Since the analysis deals with the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria’s behavior and her personal relationship, it is important to know better how she experienced love during her childhood up to her marriage.
a) In Her Childhood
Firstly, I want to analyze Dona Maria’s childhood. It is important to analyze some memorable things which are experienced in someone’s childhood. Some situations that happen during childhood will have an effect on someone’s personality development, especially if it is a bitter experience.
drive to be with others, when this need is not met, the child will be unhappy . . . (326).
“She was a daughter of a cloth merchant who had acquired the money and the hatred of the Limeans within a stone’s-throw of the Plaza. Her childhood was unhappy: she was ugly; she stuttered; her mother persecuted her with sarcasms in a effort to arouse some social charms and forced her to go about the town in a veritable harness of jewels. She lived alone and thought alone” (14).
The inconsistent, insincere and unconcern from parents toward their children becomes the causes of feeling unloved and insecure. Rejection experienced by children can cause some psychological effects such as feelings of unworthy, neglected, isolated, and low self-confidence. It also happens to Dona Maria. Dona Maria’s parents are busy people. They do not have much time to spend with Dona Maria. They cannot fulfill Dona Maria’s need of love. This situation makes Dona Maria feel rejected and unloved. Moreover, Dona Maria has inability to speak fluently and is not pretty.
b) In Her Young Adulthood
attitude; disobeying and anti-social behavior. Dona Maria also experiences this situation. Being unaccepted in her childhood affects her social adjustment. She has difficulty learning socialization. That is why Dona Maria rejects them and remains single. Dona Maria does not want to get married. Her decision makes her mother get angry with her. Derisively her mother treats her.
“Many suitors presented themselves, but as long as she could she fought against the convention of her time and determined to remain single. There were hysterical scenes with her mother, recriminations, screams, and slamming of doors” (14).
From the quotation, I conclude that Dona Maria never experiences romantic love before her marriage. I assumed that Dona Maria’s refusal to get married shows that she feels lonely. Her loneliness is more than just a need of someone beside her. She just needs to be loved. In addition, she is accustomed to live in that way, without anyone else in her life to share her feeling.
c) In Her Marriage
sneers of her guests. Still she lived alone and thought alone” (14). From the explanation above, I conclude that Dona Maria is suffering from lack of affection and attention.
2. The Influence of the Absence of Love on Dona Maria’s Behavior
In the previous part, I have discussed love experienced by Dona Maria. In this part, I discuss how the absence of love affects Dona Maria’s behavior.
According to Maslow, the failure to satisfy the needs for security relationship with others caused someone get psychological problem. Dona Maria is characterized as lonely and introvert. In her life, she does not get love and affection from her parents and her husband. The feeling of being unloved by her surrounding influences her behavior. The effects of lack of the absence of love are explained below:
1)She Neglects Her Appearance
According to Maslow, the failure to satisfy the belongingness and love needs may develop some psychological problems. The problems are related to spiritual disorders such as, to loss of meaning, to doubt about the goals of life, the grief and anger over a lost love, to seeing life in a different way, loss of courage or hope, to despair over the future, dislike for oneself, recognition that one’s life is being wasted or that there is no possibility of joy and love (371- 372).
Based on the theory, I can infer that Dona Maria is in despair over her future. She believes that there is no possibility of joy and love for her. Her desperate feeling also influences her life physically. Living in loneliness, makes Dona Maria ignore people’s opinion about her appearance. Even though Dona Maria is an aristocrat, the Limeans see her as a weird woman.
“On the street you beheld an old woman, her red wig fallen a little over one ear, her left cheek angry with leprous affection, her right with a complementary adjustment of rouge. Her chin was never dry; her lips were never still. Lima was a city of eccentrics, but even there she became its jest as she drove through the streets or shuffled up the steps of its churches (16).
2)She gets drunk
herself from suffering. According to Carrol, ”Sublimation is one of compensatory behaviors. Sublimation includes all activities substitute for all kinds of frustration. An example of sublimation is maladjustive behavior of a person who resorts to alcoholism (216-219).
“You should know that after the departure of her daughter, Dona Maria had lighted upon a certain consolation: she had taken to drinking. Everyone drank chica in Peru and there was no particular disgrace in being found unconscious on a feast day. Dona Maria had begun to discover that her feverish monologues had a way of keeping her awake all night” (30). To escape from the reality, Dona Maria is getting drunk. She is afraid to face the reality that her daughter has left her. It is hurt for her. She chooses to drink liquor because it will help her to be unaware of what has happened to her life.
3)She becomes a daydreamer
Dona Clara’s leaving makes Dona Maria’s life become incomplete. The condition affects her psychological condition. As a human being, her need of love and belongingness is not complete. Dona Maria’s love and belongingness need is affected by her daughter’s leaving. Being unable to satisfy her love and belongingness need makes Dona Maria daydream of reconciliation with her daughter. According to Carrol, daydreaming is a kind of adjustment mechanism. Daydreaming is a satisfying imaginative fulfillment of desires. It is an escape from the difficulties of real life into a realm where all obstacles to success can be ignored or effectively surmounted (6).
notice that she is the subject of the merriment; since she is too busy thinking of her daughter. “The malicious actress had seen the Marquesa arrive and presently began improvising couplets alluding to her appearance, her avarice, her drunkenness, and even to her daughter’s flight from her (28). The quotation shows how Dona Maria is considered as a weird woman who suffers from lack of affection. But Dona Maria is happy for the her visiting since she finds some new beautiful words for her next letter. She even does not notice that she becomes the joke since she is too busy thinking of her daughter. She imagines if her daughter will give her a compliment for her letter.
“But Marquesa remained unaware of what had taken place; in fact she was quite pleased, for during the visit she had contrived a few felicitous phrases, phrases (who knows) that might bring a smile to her daughter’s face and might make her murmur: “Really, my mother is charming” (28-29).
After Dona Clara leaves her, Dona Maria became more introvert. The only thing in her mind is her beloved daughter. She lives in a metaphor stage with the scene of forgiveness and her daughter’s regret. Dona Maria’s imagination of reconciliation with her daughter makes her to daydream. She becomes unaware of her surroundings since what come in her mind is her daughter saying “You are the best of all possible mothers, forgive me”. (22)
4)She Withdraws Herself
“No less her heart suffered, for on some days Dona Maria would suddenly become aware of her and would talk to her cordially and humorously, would let appear for a few hours the exquisite sensibility of the Letters; then on the morrows she would withdraw into herself again and, while never harsh, would become impersonal and unseeing” (44).
According to Hurlock, deprivation of love can affect someone physically, socially, and emotionally. And to the emotional deprivation, the effects can be seen in lack of emotional responsiveness and interchange (the emphatic complex) (212). Dona Maria suffers from deprivation of love since in her childhood her parents treat her sarcastically. And it is getting worse when her daughter rejects and leaves her. It affects her emotionally. She becomes less aware toward her surrounding.
5).She Becomes Possessive Toward Her Daughter
Maslow states in his book Toward The Psychology of Being that the belongingness and love relations can be satisfied by other people i.e., only from outside the person (34). It means that human must build a relationship to satisfy the love and belongingness needs. It is also seen in Dona Maria’s effort to fulfill her needs of love and belongingness. In order to satisfy her needs of love and belongingness, Dona Maria builds a relationship with her daughter. Since Dona Maria has a rejected experience in her life, so it is hard for her to build a good relationship with Dona Clara. The feeling of being unloved and insecure influences her personal relationship with her daughter.
unconcern from her parents toward Dona Maria becomes the causes of feeling unloved and insecure. Rejection experienced Dona Maria causes some psychological effects such as feeling of unworthy, neglected, isolated and low self-confident. That negative perception is brought in to her adulthood. It influences her motivation and her action in building relationship with others.
At the first time when I read The Bridge of San Luis Rey, I regard Dona Maria has motherly love. She is concerned about her daughter’s well being. For example: after Dona Clara moves to Spain Dona Maria still sends her so much money and some gifts. She is also concerned about her daughter’s health when she hears that her daughter is pregnant. She does some voodoo things to make a happy delivery. In addition, she even prays in the church. She wants to make sure that what she does will make the efficacy greater
Nevertheless, when I analyze the novel, I conclude that Dona Maria has possessive love. She loves her daughter because she wants her daughter to love her in return. Dona Maria knows that her love for Dona Clara is a burden for her. But she cannot resist it. The rejection creates a painful worry of losing her daughter’s love, however it is, she wants to posses her daughter.
“And when on the balcony her thoughts reached this turn, her mouth would contract with shame for she knew that she too sinned and that though her love for her daughter was vast enough to include all the colours of love, it was not without the shade of tyranny: she loved her daughter not for her daughter sake but for her own. She longed to free herself from this ignoble bond; but the passion was too fierce to cope with” (23).
According to Anja Heij, deep down hidden in the soul of possessive persons, they need little child, longing for love and appreciation. Under the surface lies deep-seated insecurity and fear of loss, especially of relationships (Conditional love-Possessive Relationship). Based on the theory, I can conclude that the motivation of Dona Maria becomes possessive toward her daughter because she longs for love and appreciation from her daughter.
Nevertheless, Dona Maria’s effort to obtain love from her daughter is not easy. Her daughter takes after her husband. Since Dona Maria stutters, she cannot speak well. Dona Clara treats her with a feeling of disgust. Being rejected by her own daughter makes Dona Maria become awkward. Dona Maria is afraid of losing her daughter. She becomes too possessive. The more Dona Maria dotes on Dona Clara, the more the girl ignores her mother.
6) She Becomes Obsessive toward Her Daughter’s Love
her feel happy and rewarded. It means that the target of their obsession is the only person who will make them fulfilled (Forward and Buck). It is also described in the novel that Dona Maria also experiences those conditions. She is rejected by her parents, her husband, and her only daughter.
“And then on the green balcony a strange warfare would shake the hideous old lady, a singularly futile struggle against a temptation to which she would never have the opportunity of succumbing. How could she rule her daughter when her daughter saw to it that four thousand miles lay between them? Nevertheless Dona Maria wrestled with the ghost of temptation and was worsted on every occasion. She wanted her daughter for herself; she wanted to hear her say: “You are the best of all possible mothers”; she longed to hear her whisper: forgive me” (22).
From the quotation, the writer concludes that Dona Maria is too obsessed with her daughter. She wants her daughter’s love and admitted her as the best mother.
While Hodgkinson states that one who loves obsessively has not fallen in love with a real person, but rather an illusion. The obsessed is not falling in love with their target because of any salient properties of the target, but for what that target represents to the obsessed (Obssession Love. How to Free Your Emotion and Live Again). Dona Maria’s concern toward her daughter is actually the reflection of love that she never gets before.
