1
This chapt er reveals background of the research, problem st at em ent s, object ives of the st udy, benefit s of the research, and thesis organizat ion.
A. Background of the Research
Lit erat ure is used t o express person’s idea in view ing life in t he societ y. We can find some ideas, m essages and port rait of a societ y by exploring it. It is t he mirror of hum an life t hat port rays hum an feeling, though, im aginat ion, and percept ion which can be view ed based on personal judgment .
Act ually in some w ays w om en are equal to men. But , in many societ ies
w om en become t he second. They are charact erized as passive, dependent and emot ional, whereas m en are charact erized as aggressive and act ive. Women have been subordinat e t o men in st at us, mobility and public
leadership. They should do
domest ic sphere, nurt uring children, maint aining
t he household and serving t heir husbands (M adsen, 2000:2).
The impact of fem inism on lit erary crit icism over t he past thirt y-five years has been profound and w ide-ranging. It has t ransform ed t he academ ic
philosophy, hist ory, religious st udies, sociology, ant hropology, film and
m edia st udies, cultural st udies, musicology, geography, econom ics and law (Plain and Sellers, 2007: 1).
Today, if w e pay at t ent ion more t o t he development of women’ s
problem s, especially in the equalit y on the right bet w een a man and a w om an, w e w ill find that the issues on wom en are cont roversial and com plex. Those problems need m ore solution and discussion. Those
problem s are not only t he responsibilit y for t he government , but also our responsibilit y t o solve t hose problems. As w e know that the problems of w om en are t he problem s of societ y, because w om en are t he im portant part of societ y.
Since past time, societ y has been dom inat ed by men. For a long t im e,
w om en have considered living from relying on m en’ s pow er. M en and w om en most ly follow the concept t hat a woman cannot st and by herself w ithout t he support of a m an. M en are considered as t he first class in
societ y, while w omen are t he second. This concept ion event ually leads t o t he role dist inct ions bet w een a m an and a wom an in societ y. This fact has
shown us t hat in t he whole of t he life aspect s, t he w om en are always dominat ed by m en. This domination is usually called by pat riarchal syst em in the societ y.
Pat riarchy is t he st ruct ural and ideological syst em t hat perpet uat es t he
cont rol fem ale sexual behavior. Women, according to this view , were
valuable only on the basis of their abilit y t o reproduce (Kuhlm an, 2008: 21). A t heory of sexualit y becom es fem inist t o the ext ent it t reat s sexualit y as a social const ruct of male pow er: defined by m en, forced on w om en, and
constit ut ive in t he m eaning of gender. Such an approach cent ers fem inism on the perspect ive of t he subordinat ion of w om en t o men as it ident ifies sex-t hasex-t is, sex-t he sexualisex-t y of dominance and submission-as crucial, as a
fundam ent al, as on som e level definitive (M acKinnon, 1989: 316).
Since w om en have been t reat ed as inferior t hey realize here t hat t hey have t o do som et hing. Thus, t hey can have equal right with other persons especially m en. Therefore, t hey did a movem en t . According t o Holman and Harmon (1986: 201) such movement is now called fem inism m ovement .
A fem ale inequalit y is defined as a st at e where w om en are universally subordinat e t o m en; m en are dom inant due t o their part icipat ion in public life and their relegat ion to the dom est ic sphere. The fem ale inequalit y is
described in t he Buck’s Pavilion of Women. The Chinese t radit ion influences t he people’s point of view about wom en in that era.
The novel is about a wom an nam ed M adame Wu. She lives in a
pat riarchal societ y w hich believes t hat a m an is t he head of a social unit . Act ually, pat riarchy it self m eans ruled by t he m ale head of a social unit. How ever, fem inist w rit ers have used t he concept t o refer t o the social syst em
of m asculine dominat ion over w om en. Buck here t ried t o show about a w om an nam ed M adame Wu t hat st ruggles t o have t he sam e right as m en in som e aspect s of life. The m al e dom ination and Chinese culture force M adam e
Wu to be a wom an t hat has no right t o have a good education.
M adam e Wu lived in the era of t he Second World War w hen m any foreigners cam e and visit ed China. It is also the era of w om en’s movem ent in Europe and America. How ever, China st ill m aint ains t heir t radition and beliefs t o rest rict w om en. They believe t hat w omen are not allow ed to work out side
of the house because t hey do not have a smart brain like m en.
Women just become w ives t hat give birt h, nurture t he babies and do t he household m at t ers. It also happens t o M adam e Wu. She did and handled
t he household mat t ers like choosing a w ife for her sons, doing accounting, and designing t he house. How ever, in her fort iet h birt hday she realized t hat
she had to do som et hing for her freedom from the rest rict ions.
Based on those aspect s, t he researcher w ould like t o analyze t he charact erist ics, sym pt oms and effect s of fem inism as shown in Pearl S Buck’ s Pavilion of W omen novel, and t he title is: GENDER EQUALITY IN PEARL S
B. Problem Statements
There are som e problem s t hat the w rit er w ant s t o discuss in this t hesis. Those are:
1. how is the social condition of America and China in 1940s?
2. how is t he personal profile of M adame Wu in Buck’ s Pavilion of Women novel?
3. what gender equalities are described in Buck’s Pavilion of W omen novel?
C. Objectives of the Study
The object ives of the st udy are as follow s:
1. t o describe t he social condit ion of Am erica and China in 1940.
2. t o port ray t he personal profile of M adame Wu in Buck’s Pavilion of W omen
novel.
3. t o reveal gender equalit ies described in Buck’s Pavilion of W omen novel.
D.Benefits of the Research
The w rit er divides t he benefit s of t he research into t wo aspect s;
t heoret ically and pract ically. Theoret ically concerns w it h the analysis of feminism t heory on the novel. Pract ically concerns w it h t he application of feminism theory found on the novel.
1. Thoretically, t he w rit er want s t o find out the gender equalit y show n by
t heory. The researcher analyzes M adam e W u’s profile and her way of life
t o analyze the gender equalit y in the novel based on feminism theory. 2. Pract ical: to get deeper underst anding about gender equalities in Pearl S
Buck’s Pavilion of W omen novel. Such finding help us t o underst and more
about fem inism.
E. ThesisOrganization
This thesis is divided into seven chapt ers. Those are:
1. Chapt er I is int roduction. It provides a summ ary of t he background of t his t hesis, t he problem st at em ents, t he object ives of t he st udy, t he benefit s of t he research and the thesis organizat ion.
2. Chapt er II is review of relat ed lit erat ure. It consist s of previous st udy and
t he underlying theory.
3. Chapt er III is research m et hod. It consist s of t ype of the st udy, the object of t he st udy, the t ype of collect ing dat a, t he t echnique of collect ing dat a, and
t he t echnique of t he dat a analysis.
4. Chapt er IV is social historical background. It consist s of social historical
background of America and China in 1940s and the life of Pearl S Buck. 5. Chapt er V is profile of the main charact er, M adame W u.
6. Chapt er VI is fem inist analysis.
