ABSTRACT
MONIKA SUNARTO (2015), Feminine Oedipus Complex in E.L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
The object of the thesis is the novel Fifty Shades of Grey. It was written by E.L James in 2011 as the first book of her trilogy. This novel is first published as a non-printed novel. Fifty Shades of Grey consists of 26 chapters and 514 pages.
There are two objectives of this study. The first objective is to depict the main character of this novel, Anastasia Steele. The second objective is to find the reflection of feminine Oedipus complex in Anastasia Steele’s masochism.
The method utilized by the writer in analyzing this novel is library research. The primary source is the novel itself- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James. The secondary sources are taken from books and articles related to the theory that the thesis uses which are theory about feminine Oedipus complex and theory about masochism. The secondary sources are also taken from internet websites that discuss about several studies related with this thesis.
ABSTRAK
MONIKA SUNARTO (2015), Feminine Oedipus Complex in E.L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Objek dari skripsi ini adalah novel berjudul Fifty Shades of Grey. Novel ini ditulis oleh E.L James pada tahun 2011 sebagai buku pertama dari triloginya. Novel ini adalah buku pertama dari trilogi milik James. Novel ini pertama kali dipublikasikan secara online. Fifty Shades of Grey terdiri dari 26 bab dan 514 halaman.
Ada dua tujuan dalam penulisan skripsi ini. Tujuan yang pertama adalah untuk menggambarkan kepribadian Anastasia Steele yang merupakan tokoh utama didalam novel. Tujuan yang kedua adalah mencari refleksi dari Oedipus kompleks wanita didalam diri masokisme Anastasia.
Metode yang digunakan penulis dalam menganalisis novel ini adalah studi pustaka. Sumber primer yang digunakan adalah sebuah novel berjudul Fifty Shades of Grey karangan E. L James. Sumber- sumber sekunder yang digunakan diperoleh dari buku- buku dan artikel- artikel terkait dengan teori yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini yaitu teori mengenai Oedipus kompleks wanita dan teori mengenai masokisme. Sumber- sumber sekunder yang digunakan juga diperoleh dari laman web yang membahas tentang studi- studi yang terkait dengan thesis ini.
FEMININE OEDIPUS COMPLEX IN
E.L JAMES’
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Monika Sunarto
Student Number: 114214107
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
FEMININE OEDIPUS COMPLEX IN
E.L JAMES’
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Monika Sunarto
Student Number: 114214107
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
v
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis
Yogyakarta, May 20, 2015
vi
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Univeristas Sanata Dharma
Nama : Monika Sunarto
Nomor Mahasiswa : 114214107
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul
FEMININE OEDIPUS COMPLEX IN E.L JAMES’
FIFTY SHADES OF GREY
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memmberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internetatau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin pada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 20 Mei 2015
Yang menyatakan,
vii D
Doo aannyy hhuummaann bbeeiinngg eevveerr rreeaalliizzee lliiffee wwhheenn tthheeyy lliivvee
i itt?? ––
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viii
FOR
MY GOD
WHO GIVES ME
THE SWEETEST FAMILY
AND DOZENS OF AMAZING
COMPANIONS
L
O
V
ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Saying thank you is surely not enough to express my gratitude towards God, but I still cannot find another perfect word to express my gratitude towards all the love and the blessings that He gives in my whole life. In His name, I have lived my 22 years in the endless protection and affection. Thank God.
My gratitude also goes to my advisor, Mr. Paulus Sarwoto, for guiding me to produce this thesis. Thank you for always calming me down, while I got crazy working on my thesis. To my co-advisor, Mr. Hirmawan Wijanarka, I would like to express my gratitude for the finishing touch of this thesis.
My most affectionate gratitude goes to my mother- the one who is always mad at me, the reason of my success, the flower of my forest, the sun of my storm. I thank her for everything that she gives. Please wait until I can make her proud of me. I will give her plenty of beautiful grandchildren.
I am grateful of all of my best friends: Amanda aka Mbak Susu-the one who promises me to buy a Teddy Bear if I have finished this thesis soon, Enno-the one who sticks on me from high school, Ria- my Borneo twin, Regina Kukuh- my Arabian-wannabe friend and Nonon-my skin care’s advisor.
Finally, the last but not least, to my future I would like to say, “Here I go!”
x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE……… ii
APPROVAL PAGE………. iii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE……… iv
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY………... v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH.. vi
MOTTO PAGE... vii
DEDICATION PAGE ………... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS……… x
ABSTRACT……….. xi
ABSTRAK ………. xii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ……….. 1
B. Problem Formulation ……… 4
C. Objectives of the Study ……….... 4
D. Definition of Term ………. 4
CHAPTER II: REVIEW LITERATURE A. Review of Related Studies ……….... 5
B. Review of Related Theories ……… 12
C. Theoretical Framework ………. 19
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study ……… 21
B. Approach of the Study ………... 22
C. Method of the Study ……….. 23
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Depiction of Anastasia Steele ……….. 25
B. The Reflection of Feminine Oedipus Complex in Fifty Shades of Grey.. 37
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION ……… 52
xi
ABSTRACT
MONIKA SUNARTO (2015), Feminine Oedipus Complex in E.L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey, Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
The object of the thesis is the novel Fifty Shades of Grey. It was written by E.L James in 2011 as the first book of her trilogy. This novel is first published as a non-printed novel. Fifty Shades of Grey consists of 26 chapters and 514 pages.
There are two objectives of this study. The first objective is to depict the main character of this novel, Anastasia Steele. The second objective is to find the reflection of feminine Oedipus complex in Anastasia Steele’s masochism.
The method utilized by the writer in analyzing this novel is library research. The primary source is the novel itself- Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James. The secondary sources are taken from books and articles related to the theory that the thesis uses which are theory about feminine Oedipus complex and theory about masochism. The secondary sources are also taken from internet websites that discuss about several studies related with this thesis.
xii
ABSTRAK
MONIKA SUNARTO (2015), Feminine Oedipus Complex in Fifty Shades of Grey
by E.L James, Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas
Sanata Dharma.
Objek dari skripsi ini adalah novel berjudul Fifty Shades of Grey. Novel ini ditulis oleh E.L James pada tahun 2011 sebagai buku pertama dari triloginya. Novel ini adalah buku pertama dari trilogi milik James. Novel ini pertama kali dipublikasikan secara online. Fifty Shades of Grey terdiri dari 26 bab dan 514 halaman.
Ada dua tujuan dalam penulisan skripsi ini. Tujuan yang pertama adalah untuk menggambarkan kepribadian Anastasia Steele yang merupakan tokoh utama didalam novel. Tujuan yang kedua adalah mencari refleksi dari Oedipus kompleks wanita didalam diri masokisme Anastasia.
Metode yang digunakan penulis dalam menganalisis novel ini adalah studi pustaka. Sumber- sumber sekunder yang digunakan diperoleh dari buku- buku dan artikel- artikel terkait dengan teori yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini yaitu teori mengenai Oedipus kompleks wanita dan teori mengenai masokisme. Sumber- sumber sekunder yang digunakan juga diperoleh dari laman web yang membahas tentang studi- studi yang terkait dengan thesis ini.
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled,
for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4). Having sex is a part of human nature. Human can not run from this need but shall learn to control it. Marriage is a way suggested by God to control this need. Sex act itself is “an action performed with another person for sexual pleasure” (Webster: 1964). It means that the essence of sex act is not only about the reproduction but also about the sexual pleasure or sexual gratification.
There are various ways for people to get their sexual gratifications. One person may have different way to get his or her sexual gratification from others. Person that gets sexual gratification from being hurt both physically and mentally is called masochist. The action is called masochism. The main characteristic of sexual masochism is “a marked preference for obtaining or increasing sexual gratification
through subjection to pain or humiliation” (Davison& Neale, 1996:345-346). Masochism is not accepted since “these behaviors have been pathologized by institutions of majority society” (Kularski, 2011:1).
masochism is Fifty Shades of Grey. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James may be the most controversial novel in 2011 since it is sold more than seventy million copies through worldwide. It becomes best seller novel less than a year of its printed publication. Fifty Shades of Grey is the first book of James’s trilogy. The other two books are Fifty Shades of Darker and Fifty Shades of Freed.
In the very first few chapters of this novel, the readers are offered with an ordinary romantic story that tells us about an innocent girl whose name is Anastasia Steele and her romantic intention with a multi-billionaire man, Christian Grey. The changes come in the middle of this book. In the middle of this book, the innocent Anastasia Steele turns to be a masochist as she commits to have a romantic relation with a rich but practitioner of BDSM (Bondage, Dominant and Sadomasochism), Christian Grey. The sadomasochism between Anastasia and Christian leads this novel as one of the controversial novels in history.
Up until now, there is “no universally accepted cause” (Fahmy, 2015) or agreements that can explain why several people prefer to get harmful sex acts. However, scientists say that “the suppression of inappropriate sexual fantasies is the reason why people could develop several destructive sex behaviors such as masochism” (Davison & Neale, 1996:399).
Psychoanalytic approach is assumed to be the most suitable approach to explain Anastasia Steele’s destructive behavior as it makes us understand about how “
life-events, as we grow up, that shape our psychological development, and these early experiences tend to play out in our adult lives” (Bressler, 1999:81). It means that people’s personalities are formed by every life moment that they encounter in youth. Every moment gives them problems. The problems that cannot be overcome are repressed by their mind. The repression can lead them to do certain destructive behaviors such as what happens to Anastasia Steele.
This thesis uses theory from Freud about infantile sexuality in female. This theoryis first introduced by Sigmund Freud in his paper titled “Female Sexuality” in 1931. He says in his paper that male and female develop differently. He then introduces Oedipus complex in its feminine form to explain how female’s sexual development is different from male’s sexual development.
hostile” (Freud, 1931:1). Every child develops this syndrome without exception. Some might have overcome it well, but some cannot overcome this syndrome. Some of the children, who cannot overcome it well, may develop an oedipal fixation which leads them to do certain destructive behaviors such as sadomasochism. This thesis tries to use this idea to show the contradiction between Anastasia Steele’s personality and her destructive behavior as a masochist.
B. Problem Formulation
1. How is Anastasia Steele depicted in Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James? 2. How does feminine Oedipus complex cause Anastasia Steele’s masochism?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study aims to answer the problems formulated above. The first objective of the study is to give the depiction of Anastasia Steele. The second objective is to find how feminine Oedipus complex causes Anastasia Steele’s masochism.
D. Definition of Term
To avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding, it is necessary to give the definition of term that used in this study:
Feminine Oedipus Complex
5 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
Reviewing other studies improves the quality and originality of this thesis. At the same time, it also decreases the possibility of plagiarism and improves the understanding of the studies. Since this thesis uses psychoanalytic approach, it discusses several studies that also utilize psychoanalytic approach, especially ones that are concerned with Freudian theory just like this thesis.
One of the researchers who discusses about Freudian theory is PriyoWidiantono. PriyoWidiantono writes an analysis on The Storm by Kate Chopin. His thesis intends to answer three major questions: How the major characters and minor characters are presented by Kate Chopin in The Storm; how the writer depicts the setting and the plot in The Storm; and how the reflection of Freudian theory through the major characters in The Storm are presented by Chopin.
After that, he analyses the characterisation, or “the way the characters are presented” using Murphy’s theory. He finds that Calixta is described as an active married woman who is pretty, attractive and diligent. Another major character, Alcee, is described as “a man who understands what women need and what women want” (Widiantono, 2009:36). Furthermore, Bobinot as the minor character is described as “a responsible husband and full of attention to his child and wife” (Widiantono,
2009:39), while Bibi is described as “a little child who looked very wise and cared
about his mother” (Widiantono, 2009:41).
The next theory that Widiantono uses is the theory of setting. Widiantono uses the theory from Kenny as the main theory that to analyse the setting of The Storm. Widiantono analyses the setting of The Storm by dividing the setting into three different types, which are neutral setting; spiritual setting; and setting as dynamic. Another theory that he uses to answer question number two is the theory of plot by Kennedy, Pickering and Hoeper. Using this theory, Widiantono divides the plot of The Storm into five major components, which are exposition; complication; crisis; climax; falling action; and resolution or denouement. These two major theories intend to answer question number two.
The last theory that he uses to answer the third question is the Freudian theory about id, ego, and super-ego. He uses the theory to show the change of Calixta’s and Alcee’s attitudes. At first, Calixta is described as a good wife who worries about the
wants to protect Calixta from the storm. However, the storm finally changes their attitudes from the previous good man and woman into an illegal couple by committing adultery. The reason behind their change can be explained by of Freudian theory of id, ego, and superego. The fact that Calixta and Alcee still have passion toward each other as the result of an unfinished love story between them in the past within their unconscious part of mind is the main reason of the adultery.
The study conducted by Widiantono uses the same approach as this thesis, which is the psychoanalytic approach. Another similarity is about the way the two researches are conducted. This thesis is conducted by analysing the intrinsic elements of the story, and then moves on to the extrinsic elements. Both Widiantono’s research and this thesis are analyzing the intrinsic elements on the characterization of the characters in the novels.
The difference between the study conducted by Widiantono and this thesis lies on the way Widiantono tries to find the significance of story’s setting in helping the characters’ unconscious wills come up. This thesis does not use the significance of
superego in defining the characters because the theory has been overused by many researchers.
Another study almost similar to this thesis is an article titled “The Tell-Tale Art: A Psychoanalytic Study of Poe’s Short Stories” by Mark Twain. In his study, he analyses three of Edgar Allan Poe’s story, which are “The Fall of the House of
Usher”; “Morella”; and “The Tell-Tale Heart”. As we know, Poe’s stories are always out of ordinary. He seems to know how to amaze the reader by making a story that have never been thought before. Most of his pieces of writings are gothic. Twain, in this article, wants to identify the reason behind Poe’s unique writing.
In conducting his study, firstly, he chooses three famous short stories of Poe. From his analysis on “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Morella”, he finds out
that the Madeline and Morella are the depiction of Edgar’s mother who passes away
when he is only an infant. It can be seen from the relation of both Madeline with Usher as the major characters in “The Fall of the House of Usher”, and the relation of the little Morella and her father in “Morella”. All of these female characters have blood relations with the major male characters. However, these female characters become the fantasy of the male major characters. The third short story which he analyses is “The Tell- Tale Heart”. In this story, we find no female characters, only males. The narrator in this story kills the old man with no exact logical reason.
the narrator kills the old man is to fulfil his deep fantasy to kill his father symbolized by the old man. From Twain’s analysis on those three short stories, he concludes that the short stories by Edgar Allan Poe are actually the representation of Edgar’s unconscious mind. Edgar wants to eliminate his father and replaces his father position since he develops oedipal fixation.
Both of Twain’s study and this study discuss the result of people who can not overcome their infants’ sexual desires. However, this thesis does not apply Oedipus
complex theory, but Feminine Oedipus complex. It is merely because of the different gender of the object of study. Furthermore, Twain’s object of study is the author and his writings, while the object of this thesis is the character represented in the narrative work.
Another study is a study conducted by Rami Blair with the title “Turn Me On: Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele, and the Politics of Pleasure in Fifty Shades of Grey” which discusses the same novel as this thesis. Blair does not only analyse Fifty
Shades of Grey but also the other two books of this trilogy. He also analyses Fifty Shades of Darker and Fifty Shades of Freed.
and Anastasia is the symbol of modern patriarchy. The study conducted by Rami intends to find the nature of Christian and Anastasia’s relationship using psychoanalytic approach.
The very first step of Blair’s study is his analysis towards Anastasia Steele’s depiction. In his study, he depicts Anastasia as “a cold-blooded academic who expresses general disinterest in her erotic side” (Blair, 2013). The fact that she
accepts Christian raises a big confusion. Blair says that actually the inner goddess represents Anastasia’s Eros (the representation of feminine Eros). In the novel,
Anastasia has “eschewed the traditional promiscuous collegiate sexual lifestyle for the classic texts of Hardy, Wilde, and the Brontë sisters” (Blair, 2013). It shows that
actually her knowledge about sex is far from expert compared to the modern definition of sexual consciousness; she is sexually infantile. Blair also uses the definition of virgin based on Victorian notion that virgin is not about doing the first sexual intercourse but about the loss of innocence. It means that Anastasia is still virgin even after doing her first penetration with Christian as her sex consciousness is still dormant and not yet awake.
However, Anastasia has the same power too. Anastasia does the same thing as Grey. It is shown when Anastasia creates certain hard-limits in order to control Christian. Then, it also erases the symbol of patriarchy in sex as both of Anastasia and Christian are using sex as their weapons in controlling each other which we may call as the politics of pleasure.
The study conducted by Blair uses the same novel and the same approach as this thesis, but the difference lies in the focus of the study. Blair, in his study, intends to find the nature of Christian and Anastasia’s relationship as many critics say that their relationship is the symbol of patriarchy in sex, but this thesis only focuses on the contradiction between Anastasia Steele’s masochism and her personality.
Another similar study with this one is Yopi Jalu Paksi’s undergraduate thesis, titled “The Idea of Electra Complex in Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy””. In his undergraduate thesis, Paksi tries to see the idea of Electra complex in the poem Daddy. In conducting his study, he tries to find the symbolical meaning of “Daddy” in this
poem as the author in the poem depicts “Daddy” as a symbol of Nazi. He tries to find
the symbolical meaning of “Daddy” in the author’s life and in the poem. Then, he
finds that the depiction of “Daddy” by the author is the symbol of disappointment of
the child because she can’t have the love of her “Daddy”. Due to that, “Daddy” is
symbolized as a Nazi which is full of cruelty; he can not give the love that the daughter wants.
thesis uses the term from Freudian which is feminine Oedipus complex. In the research, Paksi tries to find the significance of the author’s past life towards its work while this thesis only focus on the character in the narrative work with no inference from the author.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Characters and Characterization
Characters are “persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and
emotional qualities” (Abrams, 1999:34). Those values can be examined by the
inferences of action, speech, and motivation. Motivation in this context means “characters’ temperament, desires and moral natures for their speech and action”
(Abrams, 1999:34). Characterization is the way author depicts characters to “convey to the reader what sort of people they are” (Murphy, 1972:161).
There are nine methods of describing characters in literary work. They are physical appearance, direct speech from the author, description from the other characters, conversation that describe the characters by the other characters, the characters’ speech, past life, thought, manner or their habits and reaction toward
2. Basic Concepts of Using Psychoanalytic Approach
Psychoanalytic criticism is “a form of literary criticism using of the techniques of
psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature” (Barry, 2009:92). Psychoanalysis
itself is “a form of therapy which aims to cure mental disorders by investigating the
interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind” (Barry, 2009:92). It means that psychoanalytic tries to criticize a literary work by investigating the conscious and unconscious minds of the persons related to the literary works. The persons that have been investigated can be the characters represented in the narrative work or even the writer
Summarizing the idea of psychoanalytic approach, Bressler creates four basic concepts of using psychoanalytic approach, which are:
1. “A distressing event or situation that occurs in youth is repressed into the unconscious” (Bressler, 1999:86)
People will never know about their personal problems since people’s mind tend to
how perfect the families are. The sign of emotional problem that occurs as the result of a repressed experience is the repetition of self-destructive behaviour.
2. The repressed feelings are “buried in our unconscious through the use of defences” (Bressler, 1999:86)
There are four common defences that come up from the repressed experiences. The first is denial. Denial is when people deny by believing that an emotionally painful situation does not exist or never occurred. The second, avoidance is when people stay away from anything that could lead them to the painful memory. The third, displacement is when people take out their negative feelings about something or someone so that they can feel relieved without even realizing the real cause. The last, projection is when people project their problems onto someone else in order to prove that they don’t have the problems.
3. Core issue that comes up from the powerful buried experiences
If the experience buried in the unconscious is powerful enough, it will become a core issue (core issue is a fundamental part of people’s personalities that determines many of their feelings and a good deal of behaviour). Bressler also mentions that there are five core issues that generally occur in human’s life. They are low self-esteem (the unwarranted belief that we are less worthy than other human beings and, therefore, don’t deserve attention, love, or any other form of life’s rewards),
insecurity (unable to sustain a feeling of personal identity), fear of abandonment (the unwarranted nagging belief that our friends and loved ones are going to desert us
of intimacy (unwarranted but unshakeable and overpowering feeling that emotional closeness will seriously damage or destroy us and that we must, therefore, protect ourselves by remaining at an emotional distance from others) and oedipal fixation (a dysfunctional bond with a parent of the opposite sex that we don’t outgrow and that
doesn’t permit us to mature into adult relationships with others). There are two kinds
of oedipal fixation. They are mother fixation and father fixation. In mother fixation,
“people are attracted only to women who resemble the mother, but because of this the
shadow of the incest taboo makes the expression of sexual feelings towards them difficult or impossible” (Barry, 2009:103), vice versa with father fixation. Because of that, people “degrade their love objects”(Barry, 2009:103) in order to make their love objects available as sexual partners.
4. Core issues will result on certain “self-destructive behaviours and may show up in the recurrence of disturbing dreams” (Bressler, 1999:86)
The manifestation of core issue is a certain destructive behaviour such as “choosing unhealthy friends or romantic partners, displaying inappropriate social
3. Female Sexuality
Infantile sexuality is “the notion that sexuality begins not at puberty, with
physical maturing, but in infancy, especially through the infant’s relationship with the mother” (Barry, 2009:93). There are three stages in infantile sexuality. They are oral, anal and phallic stage. In oral and anal stage, children “experience no distinction
between itself and the world” (Madsen, 2000:94). The phallic stage is when children experience the distinction between itself and the world. In this stage, males and females will develop differently. “We have long realized that in women the development of sexuality is complicated by the task of renouncing that genital zone which was originally the principal one, namely, the clitoris, in a favor of new zone, the vagina” (Freud, 1928:1).
Since woman has two sexual organs, “the sexual life of the woman is regularly
split up into two phases, the first of which is of a masculine character, whilst only the second is specifically feminine. Thus in female, there is a process of transition from the one phase to the other, to which there is nothing analogues in males.” (Freud, 1928:2). The first female sexual development occurs in their early stage when the centre of genital is clitoris. This stage is considered to be masculine, because clitoris “is the analogues to the male organ” (Freud, 1928:2). As the female in this stage is
“changes in sex, so must the sex of her love object change” (Freud, 1928: 3). As the
centre of female genital changes to her vagina, female experiences her second stage of sexual development, the feminine stage. In this stage, female’s love object changes from her mother to her father. “The original mother-object has to be exchanged for the father” (Freud, 1931:1) is one of the important stages in female development.
To pass the first stage of female sexual development, female need the figure of a father. The existence of a father with penis will make her realizes that she is castrated. There are three possibilities when female realizes that she is castrated based on Freud in Female Sexuality. The first is she gives up her phallic age as she is “dissatisfied with her clitoris” (Freud, 1931:4). It will lead to a suspension of her whole sexual life.
It may also lead to “a masculine proclivity in other fields” (Freud, 1931:4). The second possibility is she “clings in obstinate self-assertion to her threatened
masculinity” (Freud, 1931:4) which leads to a homosexual relation. The last
possibility is the occurrence of “normal Oedipus Complex in its feminine form” (Freud, 1931:4).
Oedipus complex is the attachment of children “to the parent of the opposite sex, while their relation to the other parent is predominantly hostile” (Freud, 1931:1). Oedipus complex in its feminine form is when female has successfully changed her
love’s object from her mother to her father. To pass the normal sexual development,
However, there is “possibility that many women may remain arrested at the
original mother-attachment and never properly achieve the change-over to men”. (Freud, 1931:1). These female are stuck in their pre-Oedipus stage as they never properly change their love object to the opposite gender. It is supported by the fact
that a girl “never completely loses her pre-Oedipal identification with her mother.”
(Madsen, 2000:94). It places the “girl in a position of ambivalence where she belongs
completely to neither the mother nor the father but still seeks to belong to the powerful masculine culture” (Madsen, 2000:95). Since female’s love to her mother is natural while her love to her father is build-up, woman cannot simply omit the repression of her love towards her mother. This, of course, reflects in her later development.
Although pre-Oedipus analysis is elusive “as if it had undergone some specially inexorable repression, but pre-Oedipus stage in female is more important than we have hitherto supposed” (Freud, 1931:1). It is supported by the fact that female’s clitoris with its masculinity still continues to function in later female sexual life:
4. Masochism
Masochism is “a sexual perversion characterized by pleasure in being subjected to pain or humiliation especially by a love object” (Webster: 1964). The person that does masochism is called as a masochist. Masochism includes Paraphilias. Paraphilias is “a group of disorders in which sexual attraction is to unusual objects, and sexual activities are unusual in nature” (Davison&Neale: 1974:339). Paraphilias
occurs because of the suppression of inappropriate sexual fantasies. This suppression increases the imagination of the doer about those fantasies. So, when the need to fulfil their fantasy finally comes to its limit, people will exaggerate in showing it. For several people, the suppression of their sexual fantasies can lead to masochistic acts. However, “there is no universally accepted cause or theory explaining the origin of
sexual masochism, or sadomasochism in general” (Fahmy: 2015).
C. Theoretical Framework
To answer the problems formulated in the previous chapter, the writer will use several theories. The first theory that the writer uses to answer the first question is the theory of characters and characterization by Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Term (1999) and Murphy in Understanding Unseen (1972). The first question is related on the depiction of Anastasia Steele as the main character of the novel.
in short, her destructive behaviour. Her destructive behaviour will be analysed using psychoanalytic approach. Psychoanalytic criticism is “a form of literary criticism which uses of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature”
(Barry, 2009:92). Psychoanalysis itself is “a form of therapy which aims to cure mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious element in the mind” (Barry, 2009:92).
In using the approach, this thesis uses several basic concepts of psychoanalytic approach from Bressler. Bressler’s concepts stress on four things. Those concepts stress on repressed memory, defenses, displacement and projection. This thesis uses these four basic concepts of Bressler to analyze Anastasia’s masochism. Apart from
Bressler’s concepts, this thesis also uses the theory about female sexuality from Freud and Madsen to show Anastasia’s repressed memory and the theory about masochism
21
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
Fifty Shades of Grey has first published as a non-printed novel. In 2011, The
Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House in Australia published this novel as a printed
novel. Fifty Shades of Grey was written by a British author, E. L James. It sold more than 70 million copies less than a year of its printed publication. It made this book one of the New York Times Bestseller Novels in 2011.
Fifty Shades of Grey is the first book of James’s trilogy. The other two books of this trilogy are Fifty Shades of Darker and Fifty Shades of Freed. The genre of this trilogy is erotic romance. Fifty Shades of Grey is composed by twenty six chapters consisting of 514 pages. In the very first few chapters of this book, the readers are offered a conventional romantic story between a rich man and an innocent student. However, it turns out to be an unexpected love story between a rich, albeit a practitioner of BDSM and an innocent student. The rich man has turned this innocent virgin student to be a masochist. It makes this novel filled with many depictions of harsh sexual acts done by the couple.
(Blair, 2011:1) since Christian in this novel uses sex (Anastasia’s orgasm) to control Anastasia.
B. Approach of the Study
This study will use psychoanalytic approach. Psychoanalytic approach is “a form of literary criticism which uses some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature” (Barry, 2009: 92). Psychoanalysis itself is “a method of
treating emotional and psychological disorders” (Bressler, 1999: 148). In short, psychoanalytic approach is an approach to analyze literary works using psychoanalysis. The psychoanalytic approach is used by the writer of this study because the purpose of this study is to find the reason behind Anastasia’s psychological disorder as a masochist.
Psychoanalytic approach is assumed to be the most suitable approach to explain
Anastasia Steele’s destructive behavior as it makes us understand about how “life
-events, as we grow up, that shape our psychological development, and these early
experiences tend to play out in our adult lives” (Bressler, 1999). Unconsciously,
people are shaped by every moment of life that they experience. Every moment gives them problems. Naturally, the problems that can not be overcome are repressed by their minds. This repression can lead them to do certain destructive behaviors such as what happens to Anastasia Steele as a masochist. Furthermore, since this novel is
written using Anastasia Steele’s point of view, it makes psychoanalytic analysis more
C. Method of the Study
The method of this study was library research. There were several books, journals and articles had been used to support this thesis. The primary source of this research was the novel itself, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James, as the main purpose of this
study was to analyze the major female character’s psyche in the novel.Beside the
novel itself, this thesis also used several sources as the secondary sources to support this research. One of those secondary sources was book by M. H Abrams titled A Glossary Literary Term Seventh Edition on the theory of characters and characterization. Understanding Unseen by Murphy was also added as a secondary source to complete the previous theory about characters and characterization. Others secondary sources were the book by Peter Barry titled Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory and Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice by Bressler were needed to give the fundamental understanding about psychoanalytic approach. A book from David& Neale entitled Abnormal Psychology Revised Sixth Edition was also used to give the basic understanding on how people can be masochists. Apart the printed sources, this thesis also used non-printed book. They were books from Sigmund Freud entitled “Female
Sexuality” and Feminist Theory and Literary Practice by Deborah L. Madsen. Those
books discussed about the theory of Feminine Oedipus complex.
extrinsic elements. The research started from analyzing the characteristic of Anastasia. The theory used to analyze Anastasia was the theory of characters and characterization by Murphy and Abrams. From the analysis, the thesis identified the contradiction between her personality and her decision to be a masochist.
Then, the thesis tried to analyze the contradiction using four concepts of psychoanalytic approach by Bressler in Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice by Bressler. Before using the concepts, the thesis tried to use the simple definition on psychoanalytic approach by Peter Barry in Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory.
Bressler stated that human has one core issue which shaped their personality. Because of that, this thesis tried to find Anastasia’s core issue. From the surface analysis, this thesis found that Anastasia’s core issue was oedipal fixation.Because of that, the theory of feminine Oedipus complex by Sigmund Freud in “Female
Sexuality” and the theory of masochism by David and Neale in Abnormal Psychology
25 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This chapter discusses the questions stated in the problem formulation in two parts. The first part discusses question number one on the depiction of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James. The second part discusses question number two on how Feminine Oedipus complex causes masochism in Fifty Shades of Grey.
A. The Depiction of Anastasia Steele
Anastasia Steele is the main character in Fifty Shades of Grey. Characters are “persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work who are interpreted by the
reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities” (Abrams, 1999:34). Characterization is the way author depicts characters to “convey to the reader what sort of people they are” (Murphy, 1972:161). In part A, this thesis
discusses the characteristics of Anastasia Steele by looking at her characterization in the novel.
(Murphy, 1972: 161-171). As this novel is written using Anastasia Steele‟s point of view, it makes direct speech from the author, character‟s speech and character‟s thought are categorized the same.
The first depiction of Anastasia Steele is the depiction of her physical appearance. Anastasia is depicted as “brown-haired girl with blue eyes that too big for her” (James, 2011:3). Anastasia depicts herself as “too pale, too skinny, too scruffy, uncoordinated” (James, 2011:51) girl. Anastasia cares less about her own looks since she is rather boyish. She is rather boyish since she prefers using jeans instead of feminine clothes. It can be seen from the following quotation:
“Do you always wear jeans?” he asks out of blue. “Mostly.”
He nods (James, 2011:47).
She‟s all tiny camisole, tight jeans, and high heels, hair piled high with tendrils hanging down softly around her face, her usual stunning self. Me, I‟m more of a Converse and T-shirt kind of a girl, but I‟m wearing my most flattering jeans (James, 2011:56).
The first quotation is Anastasia‟s and Christian‟s conversation. Christian asks her
whether she always use jeans or not, Anastasia answers it by saying that most of the time she uses jeans. The second quotation is Anastasia‟s depiction about herself. She
From the way Anastasia depicts herself previously, we may see her low self-esteem. Anastasia lives in “a lifetime of insecurity” (James, 2011:51). For example, she feels her skin is too pale although Christian depicts Anastasia‟s skin as “the most beautiful skin, pale, flawless” (James, 2011:113) skin. Her low self-esteem can also be seen from her thought. There are two quotations that clearly show her low self-esteem.
The first quotation tells us that she doesn‟t feel comfortable in a luxurious place, she even doesn‟t think that she suits there. At first, she depicts Christian‟s office as “a huge twenty-story office building, all curved glass and steel, an architect‟s utilitarian fantasy, with Grey House written discreetly in steel over the glass front doors” and “the enormous- and frankly intimidating-glass, steel, and white sandstone lobby”
(James, 2011:4), but after that, we can see that she doesn‟t feel she suits to this luxurious place. It is seen by her speech, “She hands me a security pass that has “visitor” very firmly stamped on the front. I can‟t help my smirk. Surely it‟s obvious
that I‟m just visiting. I don‟t fit here at all (James, 2011:5)”.
I‟ve never been comfortable with one-on-one interviews, preferring the anonymity of a group discussion where I can sit inconspicuously at the back of the room. To be honest, I prefer my own company, reading a classic British novel, curled up in a chair in the campus library. Not sitting twitching nervously in a colossal glass-and-stone edifice (James, 2011:6).
Apart from her low self-esteem, Anastasia is also depicted as an obedient girl. She is classified as an obedient girl because she cannot say no to Kate‟s requests. She even has to sacrifice herself only to fulfill her demands. For example, Anastasia agrees to replace Kate for interviewing Christian although she has “final exams to
cram for and one essay to finish” (James, 2011:3). She even has “to drive 165 miles to downtown Seattle in order to meet the enigmatic CEO of Grey Enterprise Holdings, Inc” (James, 2011:3) and leaves her work for the interview. However, Anastasia agrees to do Kate‟s demand by saying “Only for you, Kate, would I do this” (James, 2011:4).
She is not only obedient to Kate, Anastasia is also obedient to Christian Grey. She agrees to have coffee with Grey even though she hates coffee. It is seen in this quotation; “I am going to have coffee with Christian Grey . . . and I hate coffee” (James, 2011:40). It shows that Anastasia cannot say no to Christian likes she cannot say no to Kate. Another proof is in the following quotation. In the following quotation, there is a conversation from Anastasia and Christian. In the conversation, Christian forces Anastasia to eat her meals even though she doesn‟t want to eat it:
”Eat” he says more sharply. “Anastasia, I have an issue with wasted food... eat”
“Eat what‟s on your plate...
Swallowing my last piece of pancake, I peek up at him. He‟s eyeing me speculatively.
“Good girl,” he says. (James, 2011:76)
The speech from Christian to Anastasia below can also strengthen the depiction of Anastasia as an obedient girl. In his speech, Christian says that he needs to control Anastasia in a certain way he wants. If Anastasia doesn‟t follow his orders, Christian
will give her punishment:
“It‟s the way I made, Anastasia. I need to control you. I need you to behave in a certain way, and if you don‟t- I love to watch your beautiful alabaster skin pink and warm up under my hands. It turns me on” (James, 2011:288).
Although depicted as an obedient girl, Anastasia is also depicted conversely. It can be seen by her rejection to other characters‟ requests. Anastasia always rejects to
go with Paul, her boss‟s brother, “Whenever he‟s home he asks me on a date, and I
always say no. It‟s a ritual” (James, 2011:34). We can see that Anastasia rejects Paul‟s invitation but accepts Christian‟s invitation to have some coffee although she dislikes coffee. Anastasia even rejects her parent‟s demand. Her rejections to her parent can be seen in these quotations:
“This is Kate‟s dress.” I glance down at the gray chiffon halter neck dress. He frowns (James, 2011:233).
“Why are you wearing Kate‟s dress?” Oh . . . no (James, 2011:408).
that Anastasia borrows Kate‟s dresses. Anastasia surely knows that her parents dislike
her borrowing dress from Kate, but she still borrows dresses from Kate. The interesting thing is when Carla tries to buy Anastasia a dress. Anastasia refuses Carla‟s suggestion by saying, “Oh, Mom, you don‟t need to do that. I have plenty of
clothes” (James, 2011: 408). Refusing Carla‟s suggestion, Anastasia prefers to use Kate‟s dresses.
Anastasia‟s depiction can also be seen by another character‟s point of view. The
followings are several speeches stated by Christian, Anastasia‟s lover, which can be used to depict Anastasia‟s personality, “Like Eve, you‟re so quickly to eat from the tree of knowledge” (James, 2011:74) and “Impatient as ever, Miss Steele” (James,
2011:215). These quotations show Anastasia as an impatient girl. When Anastasia wants something, she will be really eager about it.
Not only that, Anastasia is also depicted as a careless girl by Christian since she does something without even thinking about the risk of her action, “Well, if you were mine, you wouldn‟t be able to sit down for a week after the stunt you pulled
yesterday. You didn‟t eat, you got drunk, you put yourself at risk” (James, 2011:67). Apart from her irresponsible action, Christian depicts Anastasia as a “very self-contained” (James, 2011:43) girl. Anastasia doesn‟t agree about it. The fact that Anastasia doesn‟t think that she is self-contained but another person does, supports the argument about Anastasia‟s low self-esteem. We can see that all of the
Not only that, Christian depicts Anastasia as a virgin and an inexperienced girl in any romantic relation, “I knew you were inexperienced, but a virgin!” (James, 2011:49).
Apart from Christian‟s depiction, we also get the depiction of Anastasia through her best friend, Kate. Kate depicts Anastasia as a smart girl. The fact that she is smart can be seen by her GPA which is almost perfect, “I told you your GPA would open doors, Ana” (James, 2011:161). Although Anastasia is depicted as a smart girl, she is also depicted as an inexperienced in any romantic relationships. It is seen from Kate‟s speech:
“What do you mean, someone like me?” I demand, affronted.
“An innocent like you, Ana. You know what I mean,” she says a little irritated.
I flush (James, 2011:39).
There is one similarity from the depiction of Anastasia Steele given by Christian and Kate. Both of them depict Anastasia as an innocent girl. Her innocence is seen in her romantic experiences. She is inexperienced in any romantic relationships. She is not only depicted as a virgin in the novel, but she has hardly ever fascinated any men. It is interesting since Anastasia is a girl who is currently in her twenty-one, not a child whose sexual development hasn‟t grown. This fact comes up in Kate‟s utterance, “You, fascinated by a man? That‟s a first,” she snorts (James, 2011:21).
Although hardly has Anastasia ever fascinated men, Christian finally makes her fascinated. Christian is the only men made her fascinated. Anastasia admits it by saying, “And for the first time in twenty-one years, I want to be kissed” (James,
was that guy in my chemistry class who liked me, but no one has ever sparked my interest- no one except Christian Damn Grey. Maybe I should be kinder to the likes of Paul Clayton and Jose Rodriguez, though I‟m sure neither of them has been found
sobbing alone in dark places” (James, 2011:51).
Next is Anastasia‟s depiction seen by her past life. Looking back to Anastasia‟s past life, she is depicted as a girl with four fathers in her life. Her biological father passes away when she is only an infant, “My father died when I was a baby” (James, 2011:45). After that, her mother marries Ray Steele. Anastasia stays with her second father, Ray Steele, when her mother marries husband number three, “Yes. My mom met Husband Number Three when I was fifteen. I stayed with Ray” (James, 2011:46).
Although Anastasia lives apart from her mother, her relationship with her mother is fine, “My mom is wonderful. She‟s an incurable romantic” (James, 2011: 45). We may be confused by the fact that Anastasia prefers to live with her step father despite living with her biological mother. This is quite interesting thing to discuss. The discussion on it will be on the second part of this chapter. However, from her past, we may see that Anastasia is lonely since she lives apart from her mother and her stepfather. She is also depicted as a “taciturn” (James, 2011:45) like her stepfather by Christian.
set up the digital recorder and am all fingers and thumbs, dropping it twice on the coffee table in front of me” (James, 2011:9) and “I am on my hands and keens in the doorway to Mr. Grey‟s office” (James, 2011: 7). Sometimes her clumsiness put her in endanger, “It all happen so fast- one minute I‟m falling, the next I‟m in his arms and he‟s holding me tightly against his chest” (James, 2011:48).
The spontaneous Anastasia is seen through her action.She often does something without even thinking about the result of her action. For example, she easily agrees to do Kate‟s and Christian‟s demands without thinking first. Many times she regrets it.
For example, she regrets when she agrees to replace Kate for the interview, “I cannot believe I have let Kate talk me into this” (James, 2011:4). The worst is she even does not make any preparation for the interview, “Of course, I would know if I had done some research” (James, 2011:11).
The spontaneous Anastasia can also be seen by the way she expresses her thought. ““Maybe, you‟re just lucky.” This isn‟t on Kate‟s list- but he‟s so arrogant” (James, 2011:10). In this utterance, Anastasia spontaneously criticizes Christian after he shows his arrogance. She doesn‟t think twice when she says it. She doesn‟t even consider the fact that she is saying such thing to a multi-billionaire CEO who is also the main donator of her college.
“I flush, and my heart rate inexplicably increases. That wasn‟t the reason, surely. He just wanted to show me around so I could see he was lord of all he surveyed. I realize I‟m biting my lip, and I hope Kate doesn‟t notice it” (James, 2011:20).
“I flush at the waywardness of my subconscious- she‟s doing her happy dance in a bright red hula skirt at the thought of being his” (James, 2011:67).
“I gasp, completely unaware that I am chewing my bottom lip and my mouth pops open. That has to be the sexiest thing anybody has ever said to me” (James, 2011:73).
“Nervously, I tuck my loosened hair behind my ear” (James, 2011:13).
Apart from the depiction of innocent Anastasia, Anastasia is also depicted as a masochist. The main characteristic of sexual masochism is “a marked preference for obtaining or increasing sexual gratification through subjection to pain or humiliation” (Davison& Neale, 1996:345-346). Due to the previous explanation, there are two keys of masochism. First is pain or humiliation in sex acts and the second is increasing sexual gratification derives from the pain or humiliation. Below are several descriptions taken from Anastasia while she and Christian are having sex:
He places his hand on my naked behind, softly fondling me, stroking around and around with his flat palm. And then his hand is no longer there . . . and he hits me-hard. Ow! My eyes spring open in response to the pain, and I try to rise, but his hand moves between my shoulder blades, keeping me down. He caresses me again where he‟s hit me, and his breathing‟s changed-it‟s louder, harsher. He hits me again and again, quickly in succession. Holy fuck it hurts. I make no sound, my face screwed up against the pain. I try to wriggle away from the blows-spurred on by adrenaline spiking and coursing through my body (James, 2011:274).
I grip the post harder and push back against him as he continues his merciless onslaught, again and again, his fingers digging into my hip. My arm are aching, my legs feel uncertain, my scalp is getting sore from his tugging my hair . . . and I can feel a gathering inside me. Oh no . . . and for the first time, I fear my orgasm . . . if I come . . . I‟ll collapse. Christian continues to move roughly against me, in me, his breathing harsh, moaning, and groaning. My body is responding . . . how? (James, 2011:329).
In the first quotation, we may see that Anastasia is hurt while Christian thrusts her. In the second quotation, Christian ties Anastasia with a bond that bites her flesh. The next quotation is the description when Christian does “fuck hard” (James,
2011:100) to Anastasia. All these three description shows pain while they are having sex.
Another description that shows pain while Anastasia and Christian are having sex is seen in their conversation:
“Shall I make you come?” “Please,” I beg.
The crop bites my buttock. Ow! “Please what?”
“Please, Sir.”
He smiles at me triumphant (James, 2011:324).
In the quotation, Christian hits Anastasia with crop while they are having sex. He hits her because Anastasia doesn‟t call her Sir. Christian wants Anastasia to call her Sir
whenever they are having sex.
their sex acts. The increasing of Anastasia‟s sexual gratification can be seen by the descriptions taken from Anastasia below:
He reaches down, and from his pants pocket, he takes out his silver-gray silk tie. . . that silver-gray woven tie that leaves small impressions of its weave on my skin. He moves so quickly, sitting astride me as he fastens my wrists together, but this time, he ties the other end of the tie to one of the spokes of my white iron headboard. He pulls at my binding, checking it‟s secure. I‟m going anywhere. I‟m tied, literary, to my bed, and I‟m so aroused (James, 2011:191).
I steal into the bathroom, bewildered by my lack of underwear. While drying myself after my enjoyable but far too brief shower, I realize he‟s done this on purpose. He wants me to be embarrassed and ask for my panties back, and he‟ll either say yes or no. My inner goddess grins at me. Hell . . . two can play that particular game. Resolving there and then not to ask him for them and not give him that satisfaction, I shall go meet his parents sans culottes (James, 2011:332).
In the first quotation, Anastasia feels so aroused when Christian bounds her to her bed. In the second quotation, Christian hides Anastasia‟s underwear. He wants Anastasia to beg him for her underwear, but Anastasia refuses it. She chooses not to use any underwear when she meets Christian‟s parents to make Christian‟s “game”
become more interesting.
Not only that, even though it looks like that Anastasia does the masochism for Christian‟s sexual gratification, but in fact she enjoys the pain. She also gets sexual gratification while she does sexual masochism. It can be seen by Christian‟s and Anastasia‟s conversation while Christian first spanks Anastasia:
“And you still haven‟t answered my question- how did you feel afterward?” “Confused.”
Anastasia feels confused as she never felt that way before. It strengthens by the fact that she has never had her “orgasm” (James, 2011: 114) before. Christian explains to Anastasia that actually she aroused by the spanks. Those evidences support the fact that Anastasia is a masochist.
B. The Reflection of Feminine Oedipus Complex in Fifty Shades of Grey
From the previous depiction of Anastasia Steele in part A, we may see that there is a contradiction between her personality and her decision to become a masochist. Anastasia is previously depicted as an innocent virgin student who spends her time only reading books and working. Hardly has she ever been fascinated by men. However, her decision to start a relationship with Christian Grey who turns her to a masochist raises a big confusion about her personality. This contradiction is what this thesis is going to focus on in this part. This part will discuss on how feminine Oedipus complex causes masochism in Anastasia Steele.
Psychoanalytic approach is used in this part. Psychoanalytic approach is “a form of literary criticism which uses of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature” (Barry, 2009:92). Psychoanalysis itself is “a form of
therapy which aims to cure mental disorders „by investigating the interaction of
conscious and unconscious element in the mind” (Barry, 2009:92).
talks about the way researchers can apply this approach in simple way. He summarizes the application of psychoanalytic approach into four simplified concepts which this thesis uses in this part.
The first concept of Bressler is a distressing event or situation occurring in youth that is buried into unconscious mind. “The clearest sign that an emotional problem is being repressedis the repetition of a self-destructive behavior, such as choosing unhealthy friends or romantic partners, displaying inappropriate social behavior, engaging unwarranted violent behavior, engaging in substance abuse, and the like” (Bressler, 1999:83). We can see clearly that Anastasia‟s self-destructive behavior in this novel is her masochism since she chooses a sadist to become her romantic partner.
To understand the reason behind Anastasia‟s destructive behavior, we should first
know about Anastasia‟s emotional problem or her buried experience. Since, “family
is the most important source of our early emotional experiences” (Bressler, 1999:83), this thesis will depict Anastasia‟s family. Anastasia lives in a broken home family. Her mother has married for four times in her lifetime. The first marriage doesn‟t last
since Anastasia‟s biological father dies when Anastasia “was a baby” (James, 2011:
45). Carla‟s second marriage is with Ray Steele. This marriage also doesn‟t work
well. Carla meets husband number three when Anastasia “was fifteen” (James,
2011:46). Although Carla and Ray are divorced, it does not affect Anastasia‟s relation with Ray. Anastasia mentions Ray as “the only father I know.” (James, 2011:45). She
From the description of Anastasia Steele‟s family background, it can be see that Anastasia has an abnormal infantile sexuality due to the inexistence of her biological father and her mother‟s four marriages. Infantile sexuality is “the notion that sexuality
begins not at puberty, with physical maturing, but in infancy, especially through the infant‟s relationship with the mother” (Barry, 1999:93). Infantile sexuality stresses on the relation between infant and its parent as the very first step of infant‟s sexual
development. There are three steps of infantile sexuality which are the oral, the anal, and the phallic. In oral and anal stage, children “experience no distinction between itself and the world” (Madsen, 2000:94). The phallic stage is when children experience the distinction between itself and the world. Starting from the phallic stage, female and male develop differently. “The sexual life of the woman is regularly split up into two phases, the first of which is of a masculine character, whilst only the second is specifically feminine. Thus in female, there is process of transition from the one phase to the other, to which there is nothing analogues in males” (Freud, 1928:2).
Using Freud‟s theory, this thesis wants to analyze Anastasia‟s stage of sexual
The depiction of a father with penis in female‟s phallic stage (when females are in four or five) makes her realize the difference between her and her father. When she realizes that she has no penis, she will also realize that she is being castrated. Not only “she acknowledges the fact of her castration, the consequent of superiority of the
male and her own inferiority, but she also rebels against these unpleasant facts” (Freud, 1928: 3).
Looking back to the novel, Anastasia‟s father has already passed away when she
was an infant. She says that she can not even remember about him at all. The fact that her father has gone makes Anastasia loses the figure of father to reach the second stage of her sexual development. It also means that she is probably stuck in her first sexual development: the masculine stage where the center of her genital is clitoris.
However, the existence of her mother‟s husbands in her phallic ages makes
Anastasia survives passing the first stage. Anastasia‟s mother marries Ray after her first husband dies. This marriage lasts until Anastasia reaches her fifteen. Anastasia then stay with Ray after Ray and Carla are “divorced” (James, 2011:46). The existence of Ray Steele in her phallic ages, make her realizes that she is castrated. She does not have penis like her mother‟s husband.
proclivity in other fields. The second possibility is she “clings in obstinate self
-assertion to her threatened masculinity” (Freud, 1931:3) which lead to a homosexual relation. The third is the occurrence of “normal Oedipus Complex in its feminine form” (Freud, 1931:3).
This thesis tries to see these possibilities one by one in Anastasia Steele, starting from the first. It is stated that “it can lead to a suspension in her whole sexual life”.
This possibility may be true since Anastasia has never been fascinated by men. She also shows her masculinity in other fields. We may see it from the way Anastasia dresses up. She dresses up like men, she does not feel comfortable without jeans (James, 2011:65). However, we cannot judge her masculinity by only looking at her preferred way of dressing up. Besides, Anastasia says she wants “boyfriend things”
(James, 2011:28). Because of that, the first possibility is not the possibility that Anastasia has taken.
The second possibility also seems true. It is stated that a female “clings to obstinate self-assertion to her threatened masculinity” (Freud, 1931:3) which sometimes leads to a homosexual relation. Looking back at the novel, Anastasia says that she never wants to go to bed with men. She mentions it as “men” not “man” as
Cixious‟s utterance, she says “that men and women are essentially bisexual but
monosexuality (heterosexuality) is demanded of us as the part of the process of socialization” (Madsen, 2000:97).
The third possibility is normal Oedipus complex in its feminine form. It occurs when a female successfully changes her love‟s object from her mother to her father. Although losing her biological father, the existence of Ray Steele does help Anastasia passes the first stage of her sexual development. Ray Steele, the only one she recognizes as her father, successfully makes Anastasia changes her love‟s object from
female figure to male figure. It is proven by the fact that Anastasia prefers to live with Ray in Montesano despite living with her mother after her mother‟s third marriage.
