xii 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.
xiii 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.
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
v
Page of Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to:
My beloved parents,
Bapak and Ibu,
vi
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, Mas Agus, 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.
My big thanks goes to my best friends, they are Ila- Guntur (for being my
vii
‘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.
viii
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
ix
e) She becomes possessive toward her daughter... 49
f) She becomes obsessive toward her daughter’s love ... 52
x
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
xi
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
xii 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.
xiii 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 Bridge of San Luis Rey is written by Thornton Wilder, an American
novelist who was born in Madison, Wisconsin on April 17, 1897. He is the son of
the editor of the Winsconsin State Journal. Thornton Wilder wrote The Bridge of
San Luis Rey, in 1926 and being published in 1927. Different from his first novel
Cabala, The Bridge of San Luis Rey has the charm and quality that causes a
feeling of pity or sadness. Marquesa De Montemayor (Dona Maria) is one of the
major characters in the story beside Pepita, Uncle Pio, Esteban, Don Jaime. Dona
Maria is the daughter of a cloth merchant. She has an introvert character. We can
see quite clearly in her relationship with others but she is also a kind and
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.
The writer chooses Dona Maria as the character to be analyzed because
her character introduces the other key characters in the novel. However, she is not
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).
In this study, influence is bad effects as a result of bitter past experience
2. Absence of Love
Hauck states that love is 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
According to Loftus, behavior is physical realization of someone’s
psychological condition, meaning to say that people behave on their psychological
condition (155). In this study behavior is the reaction of Dona Maria in relation to
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)
While according to Horman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature
(81), the characterization is the way of the author to reveal the character in the
story. There are three methods that can be used in characterization of the
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
As opposed to describe character directly, the author can describe him
through the eyes and opinion of another character. From the opinion of other
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
The author can give us clues to a person’s personality through the
conversation of others and their opinion about the characters. What the other
characters say in the conversation about the certain character can give us
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
The author gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
The author is able to know what is going on in the mind of the character. He
can tell us what different people are thinking. He can do what we cannot do
in real life. In the novel, we accept this. From the direct description about
the character’s mind, the readers can analyze what kind of person he is
exactly. Therefore, the readers can understand the inner life of the character
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.
The formalist approach concentrates on the total integrity of literary
works. The involvement of each aesthetic part to the whole is seen as harmony to
the complete work. The biographical approach is used when we intend to judge
literary work based on importance of acknowledging the author’s personal life for
deep understanding to his writing. The sociocultural-historical approach asserts
the analysis of social, cultural and historical background as reference to the further
understanding of the story. The Mythopoeic approach is used when the critic
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
According to Fromm, in his book The Art of Loving (1963), states “love
in all aspects, there is not romantic love which is surrounded by wrong
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
Erotic love is the desire for complete union with another person. For
instant, sexual desire aims at fusion and is by no means only a physical lust, the
release of painful tension. A sexual desire can be stimulated by the anxiety of
aloneness, by the wish to conquer and be conquered, by egotism, by the wish to
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
The love of God is the religious form of love. It springs for the need to
overcome separateness and to achieve union. In all theistic religions, whether they
are polytheistic or monotheistic, God stands for the highest value, the most
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.
4. Particular childhood experience; a deep feeling of unworthiness make
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
People experience many kinds of deprivation in their life. These
deprivations sometimes influence human emotion. Emotional deprivation means
that because of environmental obstacle, the person is denied from stimulus objects
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).
One of the most common long-term effects of deprivation of love on
personality is emotional insecurity, a feeling of not belonging and of being unable
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.
To build a better character of a child, besides to accept and to love them,
we have to teach them how to love and to accept others. It will create child’s
satisfaction toward their environment. Hurlock emphasizes “To be happy and
satisfied in his social relationship, not only must the child be loved by others, but
he must be able to express his love for them” (308). “Their should be a guidance
to help the child develop the forms of emotional expression that can be most
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
The most basic, powerful and obvious of all human needs are his needs
for physical survival. Included in this group are the needs for food, drink, oxygen,
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).
Further, Maslow states that without love and belongingness the growth
and the development of someone’s ability will be troubled. Love is a healthy-
loving relationship between two people, which include mutual trust. The love
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.
Satisfactions of the self- esteem needs generate the feelings and attitudes
of self- confidence, self- worth, strength, capability, and the sense of being useful
and necessary in the world. In contrast the thwarting of these needs leads to
feelings and attitudes of inferiority, ineptness, weakness and helplessness. These
negative self- perceptions, in turn, may give rise to basic discouragement, a sense
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).
a) Compensation is usually defined as the exaggeration of a desirable trait to
reduce a feeling of inferiority caused by undesirable trait. Compensatory
behavior is always based upon feelings of inadequacy. Sublimation is one of
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).
g) Repression is an adjustment mechanism by which thoughts and experiences
that are in the conflict with the individual’s standards or frame of reference are
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.
Edmund Wilson admires Wilder’s felicity of style.” It has nothing of the
pose of the self-conscious effort to write beautifully, of the professional beautiful
writer but is felt through the whole of his work and as much in the conception of
the characters and the development of the situations in the structure of the
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).
The story of The Bridge of San Luis Rey makes use of two historical
characters. The man who was Vicaroy of Peru at the time and his lover, a street
singer known as La Perichole, although the historical Perichole lived considerably
later than the events in Wilder's novel occur (1748- 1819; Wilder places the
bridge collapse in 1714) who, in real life, was named Micaela Villegas. La
Périchole is an opera bouffe. Its title character is based on Micaela villegas (1748-
1819), a beloved Peruvian entertainer and the famous mistress of Manuel de Amat
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).
Marquesa is the presentation of a historical figure, Mme. de Sévigné (the
title of Marie de Rabutin-Chantal; 1626- 1696), a French letter writer. "She was
devoted to her children, and, after her daughter married and moved to Provence,
she began writing letters to her, without literary intention, that recounted events,
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.
I also use the theory of character and characterization, theory of love,
theory of rejection, theory of motivation, and theory of adjustment mechanism as
the approach in analyzing the novel. These theories help me to describe Dona
Maria’s character and to analyze the influence of absence of love on her behavior.
To answer the first problem formulation, I applied theory of character and
characterization. In additionthe theories of psychology are applied to answer the
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.
The secondary source is gathered from several relevant books related to
some theories that support the analysis. For the theory of character and
characterization, I used Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English
Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students, Abrams’ A Glossary of
Literary Terms, Horman and Harmon’s A Handbook to Literature. I also used the
book of theory of love from Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving, Herbert A.
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
This study consists of five chapters: Chapter I is the Introduction of this
study which is divided into four sections. First is background of the study. This
part contains the reason of this study and everything that related to the title of the
study. Second is objective of the study, to answer the problem formulation. Third
is problem formulation, which contains some formulated problems which I want
to analyze in this study, in form of question. Forth is definition of terms. The
terms that can be defined in the definition of term are those that appear in the title
of this study and in the problem formulation. I take the definition of the terms
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.
Since she stutters, she has difficulties in communicating with others. It
makes her look unattractive in other people’s view. Being unattractive brings
misfortunate for Dona Maria. She does not have any close friends. She is a lonely
“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).
However, Pepita accompanies her; Dona Maria still feels lonely.
Sometimes she neglects Pepita as if Pepita is not there. One day, Dona Maria asks
Pepita to accompany her to the church, but she leaves her alone there. She forgets
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.
As Dona Maria is growing as an adult, many suitors want to propose to
her, but as quick as possible she rejects them and prefers to be alone. Her mother
does not agree with Dona Maria’s decision. They quarrel. Finally, Dona Maria
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.
Dona Maria lives in a depressed situation until her beautiful daughter is
born. On her daughter, she places all her hopes to love and be loved. As she
perceives that children will love their parents, she tries to reach Dona Clara with
her “love”. But her love takes a wrong place when it changes to be
possessiveness. Dona Maria is too afraid of losing Dona Clara since her only
daughter is her only hope of love; she poured her daughter with obsessive love.
She does everything to obtain Dona Clara’s love even with the way which her
mother does to her; recriminations, screams and slamming of doors. Because of
her possessiveness and obsessive love, her daughter leaves her alone in Lima. It
shows that Dona Clara rejects her mother. She wants to avoid her mother. Dona
Clara does not want her mother to bother her, so she chooses Spain, where it
“… 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
Dona Maria is a rich and wealthy person in Lima, unfortunately her
appearance is not as good as her money. She is a not good-looking girl. She also
has difficulty in speaking. Her parents feel ashamed with her condition, so they
dress her up with a lot of jewelry in order to arouse social charm. “Her childhood
