Analysis of Theme of Naturalism in Theodore Dreiser's 'Siste Carrie' and Edith Wharton's 'The House of Mirth' Through The Portrayal of The Protagonist.
ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis tema naturalisme dari buku Sister
Carrie yang ditulis oleh Theodore Dreiser dan The House of Mirth yang ditulis
oleh Edith Wharton melalui penokohan dari kedua buku tersebut. Tokoh utama
dari Sister Carrie digambarkan berambisi tinggi (ambitious), tidak memiliki
moralitas yang baik (immoral), tidak puas (discontented), dan selalu
mementingkan diri sendiri (selfish) karena ia dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen
naturalisme yang berupa passion dan social environment. Tokoh utama dari buku
The House of Mirth digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang pintar
memanipulasi orang (manipulative), boros (extravagant), bertindak sesuai dengan
nilai moral dirinya sendiri (moral), dan selalu bergantung kepada orang lain
(dependent) karena ia dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen naturalisme yang berupa
social environment dan instinct. Dari penokohan tersebut didapatkan tema
naturalisme dalam buku Sister Carrie dan The House of Mirth yang merupakan:
karakter orang yang dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen naturalism dapat membuat
seseorang sulit mendapatkan kebahagiaan.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
ii
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statements of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study ...........................................................................
Method of Research ............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
5
5
5
5
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF NATURALISM IN
THEODORE DREISER’S SISTER CARRIE ..................................
7
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF NATURALISM IN
EDITH WHARTON’S THE HOUSE OF MIRTH ..........................
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CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ...........................................................
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BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
33
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Sister Carrie ....................................................................
Synopsis of The House of Mirth .........................................................
Biography of Theodore Dreiser ..........................................................
Biography of Edith Wharton ...............................................................
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APPENDICES
Synopsis of Sister Carrie
In August 1889, Caroline “Carrie” Meeber boards a train to Chicago. On
the train, she gets acquainted with Charles Drouet, a travelling salesman. In
Chicago, Carrie lives with her sister’s family, the Hansons. They allow Carrie to
stay with them but she has to pay a rent. Carrie gets a job in a shoe factory but in
winter, she becomes ill and loses her job. One day when Carrie is looking for a
new job, she meets Drouet. He persuades her to leave the Hansons. Soon Carrie
and Drouet live together. As time passes, Carrie perceives that Drouet is not going
to marry her. One evening, they are visited by G. W. Hurstwood, a friend of
Drouet's who is the manager of a saloon. Carrie and Hurstwood are fascinated by
each other and they meet frequently afterwards.
Later, Drouet enlists Carrie to be an actress in an amateur performance
and she becomes a success. The next day, Hurstwood confesses his love and
Carrie responds favourably. Eventually Drouet and Hurstwood's wife discover
their affairs. One night when Hurstwood stays late in his office, he discovers that
the safe has been left unlocked and he holds the money as the door of the safe
slams shut. He is frightened and decides to flee. He rushes to Carrie's flat and
makes her go with him. In Canada, Hurstwood is tracked down by a private
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detective and he returns most of the money. The couple are illegally married.
They move to New York. As Hurstwood's business venture fails and he finds
himself unable to find employment, their condition becomes so difficult that
Carrie decides to look for work. She gets a part as a chorus girl in a Broadway
opera. Her fortune rises steadily after that and she decides to leave Hurstwood. In
a few years, Carrie gains fame and fortune as Hurstwood continues to decline and
finally commits suicide.
Synopsis of The House of Mirth
Lily Bart is a beautiful socialite who wants to marry a wealthy man. She
lives with her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, who gives her occasional allowance. One day,
she meets Lawrence Selden, a friend whom she usually meets at house-party, at
the Grand Central Station. After exchanging greetings, Lily and Selden take a
walk and retire to Selden's apartment for tea. On leaving Selden’s apartment, Lily
meets Simon Rosedale, the owner of the building and a bachelor who wants to
have a higher position in society. Later, Lily attends a house-party at the Trenors,
where she attempts to be engaged to Percy Gryce, a wealthy bachelor. However,
when Selden arrives at the house-party, Lily turns her attention to him. Mrs.
Dorset, another guest at the house-party who adores Selden immensely, is bitter
with Lily’s attention to Selden and sabotages Lily’s plan to marry Gryce.
After attending the house-party at the Trenors, Lily decides to stay with
her aunt for the autumn. At Mrs. Peniston’s place, she is approached by Mrs
Haffen, a charwoman who works at Selden’s apartment, because the latter
believes that Lily is the writer of the love letters which Selden tries to destroy.
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Lily buys the letters although they are actually written by Mrs. Dorset. She buys
the letters because she thinks Selden would like her to buy them and help him to
destroy them. After various incidents with Rosedale, as well as with Mr. Trenor
and Selden, Lily receives an invitation to join the Dorsets on a Mediterranean
cruise. During the trip, when Mrs. Dorset is almost discovered to have an affair,
she accuses Lily of flirting with her husband. The European stories regarding
Lily's activities reach America and Mrs. Peniston. After hearing the stories, Mrs.
Peniston changes her will and when she dies, she only leaves Lily $10,000, not all
her wealth as Lily has expected.
Rejected by her friends for the perceived affair with Mr. Dorset, Lily
works as a private secretary and later works at a millinery shop. Her mounting
bills and increasing sleeplessness cause her to rely on chloral in order to rest. Lily
resumes her contact with Rosedale, who offers to marry her if she uses Mrs.
Dorset's letters to gain back her position in society. After some considerations, she
begins to take the letters to Mrs. Dorset but on the way to Mrs. Dorset’s house,
she visits Selden’s apartment and in Selden’s department, she is reminded of her
love for Selden. Therefore, in the end, Lily does not use the letters because she
loves Selden and does not want to hurt him. The following morning, she is found
dead of chloral overdose in her boarding-house.
Biography of Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 27th, 1871.
His father emigrated from Germany and became a proprietor of a wool mill in
Indiana. In 1869, the family’s fortunes changed for the worse when a fire
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destroyed the mill. Depressed over his family's poor social standing, at the age of
sixteen he decided to seek work in Chicago. There he had a number of
nondescript jobs until he was helped by his former teacher, Mildred Fielding, to
have education in Indiana University, where he studied for a year (1889 – 1890).
After that, he worked as a reporter, drama critic, special feature writer, editor, and
freelance writer.
Dreiser married Sara Osborne White in 1898. With her encouragement,
he began writing his first historic novel, Sister Carrie (1900). After five months of
writing his second novel, Jennie Gerhardt (1911), he began to have a severe
writer's block. His disability lasted almost three years and with the encouragement
of his friend, H. L. Mencken, Dreiser completed Jennie Gerhardt. He made up for
the lost time with the publication of fourteen books between 1911 and 1925.
Shortly after he had taken his first trip to Europe in 1912, he separated from his
wife. He is remembered primarily for his novels, but actually he has written
various genres: novels [Sister Carrie (1900), The Financier (1912), The Titan
(1914)], volumes of poetry [Moods, Cadenced and Disclaimed (1928)], short
stories [Free and Other Stories (1918)], plays, travel books, autobiographies
[Newspaper Days (1922), Dawn (1931)], philosophical essays, social criticism,
and character sketches.
In 1944, he married Helen Richardson and lived his final years in
California. Dreiser died of heart failure on December 28th, 1945, before
completing the last chapter of The Stoic (1947).
Source: Riggio
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Biography of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24th, 1862 to
George Frederic and Lucretia Jones. The family was wealthy from their shipping,
banking, and real estate businesses. Edith lived in Europe for six years and
returned to the United States when she was ten years old. She did not go to school
like her brothers. Instead, she received lessons from her governess and educated
herself by reading books from her father’s library.
In 1885, Edith married Edward Robbins Wharton, who was a banker
from Boston and came from a similar social background, but he was not interested
in artistic or intellectual issues like Edith. Consequently, their marriage lacked
something that Edith needed from life. In 1907, she discovered that her husband
had a mistress in Boston and had taken money from her to support his affair. This
revelation and her desire to pursue writing led to their divorce in 1912.
In 1905, The House of Mirth, the book that made her famous, was
published. The other popular books included Ethan Frome (1911), The Reef
(1912), The Custom of the Country (1913), Summer (1917), and The Age of
Innocence (1920). She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 for The Age of
Innocence. Edith was a volunteer in France during World War I. She wrote about
her wartime experiences in The Marne (1918) and A Son at the Front (1923). She
also wrote a collection of short stories, poems, articles, translations, and reviews.
Edith was at her best when she was portraying the manners of New England at the
end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Influenced to a great
degree by her friend Henry James, she depicted the contradictions of upper-class
society.
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In August 1937, Edith suffered a stroke and died in France. She was
buried in the American Cemetery at Versailles.
Source: Lombardi
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Naturalism had its origin in Europe and it became an important
movement in American literature from the 1890s until the 1920s (“1890s-1920s
NATURALISM”). The term naturalism was created by the French novelist, Emile
Zola (High 87). In naturalism, one’s actions and behaviours were not the result of
exercising free will for according to Emile Zola, human beings were “not really
free” (88).
Naturalism was the successor of realism movement in America; hence, it
is common for people to associate naturalism with realism because naturalism and
realism sought to represent human lives as they “actually lived” (Douglas).
However, naturalism is different from realism. Naturalism goes “further and is
more explanatory than realism by identifying the underlying causes for a person’s
actions or beliefs” (Rahn). In addition, naturalist authors believe that “the laws
behind the forces that govern human lives might be studied and understood
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through the objective study of human beings” (Scheidenhelm). It means that one
can discover and get the explanation why the main character in a naturalistic novel
acts in a certain way.
In a naturalistic novel, there is a dominant theme, which is that people are
“fated” (Rahn) in their lives and even their deaths are also “determined by fate”
(High 89). It implies that in a naturalistic novel fate determines the character’s life
and death; moreover, he or she cannot avoid and escape from it. Charles Darwin's
Theory of Evolution is “a basis” (Scheidenhelm) for the naturalist writers in
writing their novels. The survival of the fittest shows “the struggle against nature
as a hopeless fight” (Scheidenhelm). The character in a naturalistic novel surely
cannot win against the power of nature.
In naturalism, if a writer wishes to depict life as it really is, he or she
must be rigorously deterministic in the representation of the characters' thoughts
and actions in order to show forth the causal factors that have made the characters
inevitably who they are (Douglas). In addition, according to Scheidenhelm,
naturalist writers use a version of the scientific method to write their novels: they
studied human beings governed by their instincts and passions as well as the ways
in which the characters' lives were governed by forces of heredity and
environment. The next two paragraphs will deal with the four naturalistic forces in
detail.
In “Dr. doCarmo’s Notes on REALISM & NATURALISM”, Stephen N.
doCarmo states that human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces
that originate both within and outside them. These uncontrollable larger forces
might include some of our more “animal” drives – the need for food, sex, shelter,
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social dominance, etc. In “Animal Instincts in Human Interactions”, Zane says
that human beings are not exempted from animal instinct, which is the standard
behaviour of all animals in order to fulfil their own basic needs. Some of the basic
animal instincts indentified in human beings include safety, food, sleep, and the
emotions of love, pleasure, anger, and fear.
According to Campbell, passions are strong emotions, such as lust, greed
or the desire for dominance or pleasure. The definition of heredity is “the process
by which mental and physical characteristics are passed by parents to their
children; these characteristics in a particular person” (“Heredity”). The
environment refers to “the conditions that affect the behaviour and development
of somebody or something; the physical conditions that somebody or something
exists in (“Environment,” def. 1).
I am going to analyse two novels which deal with naturalism: Theodore
Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (1900) and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth (1905).
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) was an outstanding early America twentieth
century writer and “one of America’s greatest writers” (High 113). Among many
naturalist writers in America, he was considered America’s “greatest naturalist
writer” (113). As an excellent novelist, Theodore Dreiser received many literary
awards: in 1990, his name was “engraved on the frieze of the Illinois State
Library” (“Theodore Dreiser”) and in 2011, he was “inducted into the Chicago
Literary Hall of Fame” (“Theodore Dreiser”). Sister Carrie (1900), his first novel,
is considered “a masterpiece” (High 113) although it was suppressed until 1912
for the reason that the characters in the novel “did not attack the nation’s
puritanical code: the characters simply ignored it, which shocked the reading
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public” (113). Recognizing the excellence of the novel, William Wyler adapted it
into “a 1952 film which starred Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones” (“Theodore
Dreiser”).
Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937) was a significant naturalist writer of the
early twentieth century. Although she was frequently grouped together with
American realists, Edith Wharton wrote novels that just as rightly belong to the
category of naturalism (Rahn). She was highly regarded as one of the major
figures of American literature and “the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for
fiction” (Merriman). The House of Mirth (1905) was her first important novel and
when it was published, it became that “year’s best-seller” (Merriman). It was also
“an immensely important novel in her portfolio” (Davies). There was even a film
version of the novel which was “written and directed by Terence Davies” (Null).
In order to understand and discover more about Theodore Dreiser’s Sister
Carrie (1900) and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth (1905), I will analyse the
theme of these two novels. According to Perrine, theme is the “controlling idea or
its central insight” (105) of a literary work. By analysing the theme of the two
novels, I am sure I will be able to find out more about each writer’s idea and
perception about the world in each novel. I will analyse the theme through the
portrayal of the protagonists considering that the protagonist, which is defined as
“the central character” in a literary work (42), plays an important role in each
novel. Moreover, owing to the fact that both Theodore Dreiser and Edith Wharton
are naturalist writers and both novels were published in the years of naturalism
movement in America, I will use naturalism approach in analysing the themes. By
using naturalism approach, I believe I will be able to know how the characteristics
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of the protagonist in the novel are affected by naturalistic forces and how the
protagonist with those characteristics reveals the theme of naturalism.
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss in this thesis are:
1. What is the theme of naturalism of each novel?
2. How does the protagonist help to reveal the theme of naturalism of each novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the problems above, the purposes of this study are:
1. To find out the theme of naturalism of each novel
2. To show how the protagonist in each novel reveals the theme of naturalism of
each novel
Method of Research
The method of research that I use is library research. I begin my research
by reading Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Edith Wharton’s The House of
Mirth. After that, I analyse the primary texts by using some theories from some
references and materials from the Internet that can support the analysis. Finally, I
draw some conclusions of what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents
and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
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Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter Two, I
analyse the Theme of Naturalism in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie through the
Portrayal of the Protagonist. In Chapter Three, I analyse the Theme of Naturalism
in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth through the Portrayal of the Protagonist.
Chapter Four is the Conclusion. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and the
Appendices, consisting of the Synopses of the Novels and the Biographies of the
Authors.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having analysed Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Edith Wharton’s
The House of Mirth, I would like to draw some conclusions. I want to point out
that both novels deal with naturalism. In addition, the naturalism in both novels
does not give positive effects to the protagonists because it makes them unable to
gain their goal in life.
The protagonist of Sister Carrie, Caroline “Carrie” Meeber, is depicted
to have certain characteristics which are ambitious, immoral, discontented, and
selfish because the naturalistic forces that are the social environment and passion
affect her. The naturalistic forces also make Carrie lead an unhappy life. Hence,
the theme of naturalism of Sister Carrie is one’s characteristics that are
determined by passion and social environment can make one live an unhappy life.
The protagonist of The House of Mirth, Lily Bart, is portrayed to be
manipulative, extravagant, moral, and dependent. The naturalistic forces that are
the social environment and instinct influence her. In The House of Mirth, the
naturalistic forces make Lily end her life tragically. Thus, the theme of naturalism
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is one’s characteristics that are determined by social environment and instinct can
hinder one to gain happiness.
I find the two novels share some similarities. Carrie and Lily are both
female. They struggle to improve their condition in their society because they
want to live in luxury and do not want to worry about money. They are also poor
and it makes them regard wealth highly.
Both of them are controlled by naturalistic forces which are their social
environment and inner force so that they behave in certain ways and have certain
characteristics. They are both helpless against the naturalistic forces that govern
their lives. They do not have the power to fight against them. They cannot escape
from the naturalistic forces either and have to deal with them to the end.
Furthermore, they both experience an unhappy ending.
Above all, both Sister Carrie and The House of Mirth share a similar
theme of naturalism: one’s characteristics that are driven by inner forces (passion
or instinct) and outer forces can lead to an unhappy life. The theme is in
accordance with the background of the authors. Both Dreiser and Wharton are
naturalists who believe that naturalistic forces are inevitable for the powerless.
Besides similarities, I also found some differences. The protagonists
come from different classes of society. Carrie comes from the working-class
society while Lily is born in the upper-class society.
Although both are governed by the naturalistic force which is their inner
force, the inner force itself is different. The inner force that shapes Carrie is
passion whereas the inner force that shapes Lily is instinct. In addition, the inner
force works differently in causing the unhappy ending. The inner force makes
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Carrie always dissatisfied with her condition so she is far from being happy and it
makes Lily unable to marry the rich and to secure her position in the upper-class
society.
What both struggle for is also different. Carrie struggles to gain material
things while Lily struggles to stay in the upper-class society. Carrie is like a usual
naturalistic character because she comes from the working-class society whereas
Lily is unlike a usual naturalistic character for she comes from the upper-class
society. Yet, Wharton’s portrayal of her character, who comes from the upperclass society, is with a reason. She wants “to show the unforgiving nature of life at
the top of the class structure” (Rahn).
In my opinion, naturalism has a more negative influence on Lily, who is
poor but has to maintain her high social status than on Carrie, who is poor and has
no high social status. I agree that Lily seems to be trapped in the upper-class
society because of her high social standing. Her being poor is a tragic thing
because one must be rich if one has a high social status, or else one will find it
really hard to survive in the rich society. Carrie is not burdened with her social
status because her social standing does not demand and require her to be rich to be
accepted as a member. She is controlled by her passion to gain wealth to be happy
though as the story progresses, she is also driven by her social environment.
I argue that Dreiser’s portrayal of Carrie and Wharton’s portrayal of Lily
are both lifelike. However, Dreiser’s portrayal of Carrie is more helpful in
revealing the theme of naturalism. I argue that it is because Dreiser creates Carrie
as poor and has no high social standing. By doing so, the naturalistic aspect in the
novel is clearer.
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Lastly, I think the theme of naturalism in both novels is universal for it
can be related to any period and any place. It is possible for people to be
influenced by naturalistic forces in their daily life and to develop some
characteristics that lead them to a certain kind of life. It seems that by writing
naturalistic novels Dreiser and Wharton want to show that naturalistic forces
usually have negative effects on one’s life, especially one that is poor and has
lower status in the society.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions
Limited, 1997. Print.
References:
“1890s-1920s NATURALISM.” pbs.org. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Ambitious.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature. " Literary Movements.
Dept. of English, Washington State University. 07 May 2013. Web. 05
Dec. 2013
Davies, Richard. “The Talented Mrs. Edith Wharton.” AbeBooks.com. AbeBooks
Inc.. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Dependent.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Discontented.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
doCarmo, Stephen N. “Dr. doCarmo’s Notes on Realism & Naturalism.” dr.
Stephen n. docarmo. N.p. n.d. Web. 24 May. 2013.
Douglas, Christopher. “Glossary of Literary Theory.” University of Toronto
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English Library. University of Toronto. 31 Mar. 1997. Web. 22 Apr.
2013.
“Environment.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005.
Print.
“Extravagant.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Heredity.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
High, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. New York: Longman, Inc.,
1986. Print.
“Immoral.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Lombardi, Esther. “Edith Wharton.” About.com. About.com. n.d. Web. 17 Apr.
2013.
“Manipulative.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005.
Print.
Merriman, C. D.. “Edith Wharton.” The Literature Network. Jalic Inc.. 2007.
Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Moral.” Def. 2. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Null, Christopher. “The House of Mirth.” AMC. AMC Network Entertainment
LLC. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. 6th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc., 1983. Print.
Rahn, Josh. “Naturalism.” The Literature Network. Jalic Inc. 2011. n.d. Web. 22
Apr. 2013.
Riggio, Thomas P.. “Biography of Theodore Dreiser.” Penn Libraries. University
of Pennsylvania. 03 Jan. 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
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Scheidenhelm, Carol. “Naturalism.” American Literary History: Romanticism,
Realism and Naturalism. Loyola University Chicago. 14 Aug. 2007.
Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Selfish.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Theodore Dreiser.” Illinois Center for the Book. N.p. 17 May 2012. Web. 22
Apr. 2013.
Wade, Lisa. “Before Love: Puritan Beliefs about Sex and Marriage.” Sociological
Images. Sociological Images. 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2013
Zane, Jacob. “Animal Instincts in Human Interactions.” HubPages. N.p. 12 Feb.
2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
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Dalam Tugas Akhir ini saya menganalisis tema naturalisme dari buku Sister
Carrie yang ditulis oleh Theodore Dreiser dan The House of Mirth yang ditulis
oleh Edith Wharton melalui penokohan dari kedua buku tersebut. Tokoh utama
dari Sister Carrie digambarkan berambisi tinggi (ambitious), tidak memiliki
moralitas yang baik (immoral), tidak puas (discontented), dan selalu
mementingkan diri sendiri (selfish) karena ia dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen
naturalisme yang berupa passion dan social environment. Tokoh utama dari buku
The House of Mirth digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita yang pintar
memanipulasi orang (manipulative), boros (extravagant), bertindak sesuai dengan
nilai moral dirinya sendiri (moral), dan selalu bergantung kepada orang lain
(dependent) karena ia dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen naturalisme yang berupa
social environment dan instinct. Dari penokohan tersebut didapatkan tema
naturalisme dalam buku Sister Carrie dan The House of Mirth yang merupakan:
karakter orang yang dipengaruhi oleh elemen-elemen naturalism dapat membuat
seseorang sulit mendapatkan kebahagiaan.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................
i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................
ii
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................
iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study .....................................................................
Statements of the Problem ..................................................................
Purpose of the Study ...........................................................................
Method of Research ............................................................................
Organization of the Thesis ..................................................................
1
5
5
5
5
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF NATURALISM IN
THEODORE DREISER’S SISTER CARRIE ..................................
7
CHAPTER THREE: ANALYSIS OF THE THEME OF NATURALISM IN
EDITH WHARTON’S THE HOUSE OF MIRTH ..........................
19
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION ...........................................................
29
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................
33
APPENDICES
Synopsis of Sister Carrie ....................................................................
Synopsis of The House of Mirth .........................................................
Biography of Theodore Dreiser ..........................................................
Biography of Edith Wharton ...............................................................
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APPENDICES
Synopsis of Sister Carrie
In August 1889, Caroline “Carrie” Meeber boards a train to Chicago. On
the train, she gets acquainted with Charles Drouet, a travelling salesman. In
Chicago, Carrie lives with her sister’s family, the Hansons. They allow Carrie to
stay with them but she has to pay a rent. Carrie gets a job in a shoe factory but in
winter, she becomes ill and loses her job. One day when Carrie is looking for a
new job, she meets Drouet. He persuades her to leave the Hansons. Soon Carrie
and Drouet live together. As time passes, Carrie perceives that Drouet is not going
to marry her. One evening, they are visited by G. W. Hurstwood, a friend of
Drouet's who is the manager of a saloon. Carrie and Hurstwood are fascinated by
each other and they meet frequently afterwards.
Later, Drouet enlists Carrie to be an actress in an amateur performance
and she becomes a success. The next day, Hurstwood confesses his love and
Carrie responds favourably. Eventually Drouet and Hurstwood's wife discover
their affairs. One night when Hurstwood stays late in his office, he discovers that
the safe has been left unlocked and he holds the money as the door of the safe
slams shut. He is frightened and decides to flee. He rushes to Carrie's flat and
makes her go with him. In Canada, Hurstwood is tracked down by a private
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detective and he returns most of the money. The couple are illegally married.
They move to New York. As Hurstwood's business venture fails and he finds
himself unable to find employment, their condition becomes so difficult that
Carrie decides to look for work. She gets a part as a chorus girl in a Broadway
opera. Her fortune rises steadily after that and she decides to leave Hurstwood. In
a few years, Carrie gains fame and fortune as Hurstwood continues to decline and
finally commits suicide.
Synopsis of The House of Mirth
Lily Bart is a beautiful socialite who wants to marry a wealthy man. She
lives with her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, who gives her occasional allowance. One day,
she meets Lawrence Selden, a friend whom she usually meets at house-party, at
the Grand Central Station. After exchanging greetings, Lily and Selden take a
walk and retire to Selden's apartment for tea. On leaving Selden’s apartment, Lily
meets Simon Rosedale, the owner of the building and a bachelor who wants to
have a higher position in society. Later, Lily attends a house-party at the Trenors,
where she attempts to be engaged to Percy Gryce, a wealthy bachelor. However,
when Selden arrives at the house-party, Lily turns her attention to him. Mrs.
Dorset, another guest at the house-party who adores Selden immensely, is bitter
with Lily’s attention to Selden and sabotages Lily’s plan to marry Gryce.
After attending the house-party at the Trenors, Lily decides to stay with
her aunt for the autumn. At Mrs. Peniston’s place, she is approached by Mrs
Haffen, a charwoman who works at Selden’s apartment, because the latter
believes that Lily is the writer of the love letters which Selden tries to destroy.
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Lily buys the letters although they are actually written by Mrs. Dorset. She buys
the letters because she thinks Selden would like her to buy them and help him to
destroy them. After various incidents with Rosedale, as well as with Mr. Trenor
and Selden, Lily receives an invitation to join the Dorsets on a Mediterranean
cruise. During the trip, when Mrs. Dorset is almost discovered to have an affair,
she accuses Lily of flirting with her husband. The European stories regarding
Lily's activities reach America and Mrs. Peniston. After hearing the stories, Mrs.
Peniston changes her will and when she dies, she only leaves Lily $10,000, not all
her wealth as Lily has expected.
Rejected by her friends for the perceived affair with Mr. Dorset, Lily
works as a private secretary and later works at a millinery shop. Her mounting
bills and increasing sleeplessness cause her to rely on chloral in order to rest. Lily
resumes her contact with Rosedale, who offers to marry her if she uses Mrs.
Dorset's letters to gain back her position in society. After some considerations, she
begins to take the letters to Mrs. Dorset but on the way to Mrs. Dorset’s house,
she visits Selden’s apartment and in Selden’s department, she is reminded of her
love for Selden. Therefore, in the end, Lily does not use the letters because she
loves Selden and does not want to hurt him. The following morning, she is found
dead of chloral overdose in her boarding-house.
Biography of Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 27th, 1871.
His father emigrated from Germany and became a proprietor of a wool mill in
Indiana. In 1869, the family’s fortunes changed for the worse when a fire
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destroyed the mill. Depressed over his family's poor social standing, at the age of
sixteen he decided to seek work in Chicago. There he had a number of
nondescript jobs until he was helped by his former teacher, Mildred Fielding, to
have education in Indiana University, where he studied for a year (1889 – 1890).
After that, he worked as a reporter, drama critic, special feature writer, editor, and
freelance writer.
Dreiser married Sara Osborne White in 1898. With her encouragement,
he began writing his first historic novel, Sister Carrie (1900). After five months of
writing his second novel, Jennie Gerhardt (1911), he began to have a severe
writer's block. His disability lasted almost three years and with the encouragement
of his friend, H. L. Mencken, Dreiser completed Jennie Gerhardt. He made up for
the lost time with the publication of fourteen books between 1911 and 1925.
Shortly after he had taken his first trip to Europe in 1912, he separated from his
wife. He is remembered primarily for his novels, but actually he has written
various genres: novels [Sister Carrie (1900), The Financier (1912), The Titan
(1914)], volumes of poetry [Moods, Cadenced and Disclaimed (1928)], short
stories [Free and Other Stories (1918)], plays, travel books, autobiographies
[Newspaper Days (1922), Dawn (1931)], philosophical essays, social criticism,
and character sketches.
In 1944, he married Helen Richardson and lived his final years in
California. Dreiser died of heart failure on December 28th, 1945, before
completing the last chapter of The Stoic (1947).
Source: Riggio
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Biography of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones on January 24th, 1862 to
George Frederic and Lucretia Jones. The family was wealthy from their shipping,
banking, and real estate businesses. Edith lived in Europe for six years and
returned to the United States when she was ten years old. She did not go to school
like her brothers. Instead, she received lessons from her governess and educated
herself by reading books from her father’s library.
In 1885, Edith married Edward Robbins Wharton, who was a banker
from Boston and came from a similar social background, but he was not interested
in artistic or intellectual issues like Edith. Consequently, their marriage lacked
something that Edith needed from life. In 1907, she discovered that her husband
had a mistress in Boston and had taken money from her to support his affair. This
revelation and her desire to pursue writing led to their divorce in 1912.
In 1905, The House of Mirth, the book that made her famous, was
published. The other popular books included Ethan Frome (1911), The Reef
(1912), The Custom of the Country (1913), Summer (1917), and The Age of
Innocence (1920). She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921 for The Age of
Innocence. Edith was a volunteer in France during World War I. She wrote about
her wartime experiences in The Marne (1918) and A Son at the Front (1923). She
also wrote a collection of short stories, poems, articles, translations, and reviews.
Edith was at her best when she was portraying the manners of New England at the
end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century. Influenced to a great
degree by her friend Henry James, she depicted the contradictions of upper-class
society.
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In August 1937, Edith suffered a stroke and died in France. She was
buried in the American Cemetery at Versailles.
Source: Lombardi
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Naturalism had its origin in Europe and it became an important
movement in American literature from the 1890s until the 1920s (“1890s-1920s
NATURALISM”). The term naturalism was created by the French novelist, Emile
Zola (High 87). In naturalism, one’s actions and behaviours were not the result of
exercising free will for according to Emile Zola, human beings were “not really
free” (88).
Naturalism was the successor of realism movement in America; hence, it
is common for people to associate naturalism with realism because naturalism and
realism sought to represent human lives as they “actually lived” (Douglas).
However, naturalism is different from realism. Naturalism goes “further and is
more explanatory than realism by identifying the underlying causes for a person’s
actions or beliefs” (Rahn). In addition, naturalist authors believe that “the laws
behind the forces that govern human lives might be studied and understood
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through the objective study of human beings” (Scheidenhelm). It means that one
can discover and get the explanation why the main character in a naturalistic novel
acts in a certain way.
In a naturalistic novel, there is a dominant theme, which is that people are
“fated” (Rahn) in their lives and even their deaths are also “determined by fate”
(High 89). It implies that in a naturalistic novel fate determines the character’s life
and death; moreover, he or she cannot avoid and escape from it. Charles Darwin's
Theory of Evolution is “a basis” (Scheidenhelm) for the naturalist writers in
writing their novels. The survival of the fittest shows “the struggle against nature
as a hopeless fight” (Scheidenhelm). The character in a naturalistic novel surely
cannot win against the power of nature.
In naturalism, if a writer wishes to depict life as it really is, he or she
must be rigorously deterministic in the representation of the characters' thoughts
and actions in order to show forth the causal factors that have made the characters
inevitably who they are (Douglas). In addition, according to Scheidenhelm,
naturalist writers use a version of the scientific method to write their novels: they
studied human beings governed by their instincts and passions as well as the ways
in which the characters' lives were governed by forces of heredity and
environment. The next two paragraphs will deal with the four naturalistic forces in
detail.
In “Dr. doCarmo’s Notes on REALISM & NATURALISM”, Stephen N.
doCarmo states that human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces
that originate both within and outside them. These uncontrollable larger forces
might include some of our more “animal” drives – the need for food, sex, shelter,
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social dominance, etc. In “Animal Instincts in Human Interactions”, Zane says
that human beings are not exempted from animal instinct, which is the standard
behaviour of all animals in order to fulfil their own basic needs. Some of the basic
animal instincts indentified in human beings include safety, food, sleep, and the
emotions of love, pleasure, anger, and fear.
According to Campbell, passions are strong emotions, such as lust, greed
or the desire for dominance or pleasure. The definition of heredity is “the process
by which mental and physical characteristics are passed by parents to their
children; these characteristics in a particular person” (“Heredity”). The
environment refers to “the conditions that affect the behaviour and development
of somebody or something; the physical conditions that somebody or something
exists in (“Environment,” def. 1).
I am going to analyse two novels which deal with naturalism: Theodore
Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (1900) and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth (1905).
Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) was an outstanding early America twentieth
century writer and “one of America’s greatest writers” (High 113). Among many
naturalist writers in America, he was considered America’s “greatest naturalist
writer” (113). As an excellent novelist, Theodore Dreiser received many literary
awards: in 1990, his name was “engraved on the frieze of the Illinois State
Library” (“Theodore Dreiser”) and in 2011, he was “inducted into the Chicago
Literary Hall of Fame” (“Theodore Dreiser”). Sister Carrie (1900), his first novel,
is considered “a masterpiece” (High 113) although it was suppressed until 1912
for the reason that the characters in the novel “did not attack the nation’s
puritanical code: the characters simply ignored it, which shocked the reading
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public” (113). Recognizing the excellence of the novel, William Wyler adapted it
into “a 1952 film which starred Laurence Olivier and Jennifer Jones” (“Theodore
Dreiser”).
Edith Wharton (1862 – 1937) was a significant naturalist writer of the
early twentieth century. Although she was frequently grouped together with
American realists, Edith Wharton wrote novels that just as rightly belong to the
category of naturalism (Rahn). She was highly regarded as one of the major
figures of American literature and “the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for
fiction” (Merriman). The House of Mirth (1905) was her first important novel and
when it was published, it became that “year’s best-seller” (Merriman). It was also
“an immensely important novel in her portfolio” (Davies). There was even a film
version of the novel which was “written and directed by Terence Davies” (Null).
In order to understand and discover more about Theodore Dreiser’s Sister
Carrie (1900) and Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth (1905), I will analyse the
theme of these two novels. According to Perrine, theme is the “controlling idea or
its central insight” (105) of a literary work. By analysing the theme of the two
novels, I am sure I will be able to find out more about each writer’s idea and
perception about the world in each novel. I will analyse the theme through the
portrayal of the protagonists considering that the protagonist, which is defined as
“the central character” in a literary work (42), plays an important role in each
novel. Moreover, owing to the fact that both Theodore Dreiser and Edith Wharton
are naturalist writers and both novels were published in the years of naturalism
movement in America, I will use naturalism approach in analysing the themes. By
using naturalism approach, I believe I will be able to know how the characteristics
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of the protagonist in the novel are affected by naturalistic forces and how the
protagonist with those characteristics reveals the theme of naturalism.
Statement of the Problem
The problems I am going to discuss in this thesis are:
1. What is the theme of naturalism of each novel?
2. How does the protagonist help to reveal the theme of naturalism of each novel?
Purpose of the Study
Based on the problems above, the purposes of this study are:
1. To find out the theme of naturalism of each novel
2. To show how the protagonist in each novel reveals the theme of naturalism of
each novel
Method of Research
The method of research that I use is library research. I begin my research
by reading Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Edith Wharton’s The House of
Mirth. After that, I analyse the primary texts by using some theories from some
references and materials from the Internet that can support the analysis. Finally, I
draw some conclusions of what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
This thesis consists of four chapters, preceded by the Table of Contents
and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which consists of the
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Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose of the Study,
the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. In Chapter Two, I
analyse the Theme of Naturalism in Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie through the
Portrayal of the Protagonist. In Chapter Three, I analyse the Theme of Naturalism
in Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth through the Portrayal of the Protagonist.
Chapter Four is the Conclusion. This thesis ends with the Bibliography and the
Appendices, consisting of the Synopses of the Novels and the Biographies of the
Authors.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
Having analysed Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie and Edith Wharton’s
The House of Mirth, I would like to draw some conclusions. I want to point out
that both novels deal with naturalism. In addition, the naturalism in both novels
does not give positive effects to the protagonists because it makes them unable to
gain their goal in life.
The protagonist of Sister Carrie, Caroline “Carrie” Meeber, is depicted
to have certain characteristics which are ambitious, immoral, discontented, and
selfish because the naturalistic forces that are the social environment and passion
affect her. The naturalistic forces also make Carrie lead an unhappy life. Hence,
the theme of naturalism of Sister Carrie is one’s characteristics that are
determined by passion and social environment can make one live an unhappy life.
The protagonist of The House of Mirth, Lily Bart, is portrayed to be
manipulative, extravagant, moral, and dependent. The naturalistic forces that are
the social environment and instinct influence her. In The House of Mirth, the
naturalistic forces make Lily end her life tragically. Thus, the theme of naturalism
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is one’s characteristics that are determined by social environment and instinct can
hinder one to gain happiness.
I find the two novels share some similarities. Carrie and Lily are both
female. They struggle to improve their condition in their society because they
want to live in luxury and do not want to worry about money. They are also poor
and it makes them regard wealth highly.
Both of them are controlled by naturalistic forces which are their social
environment and inner force so that they behave in certain ways and have certain
characteristics. They are both helpless against the naturalistic forces that govern
their lives. They do not have the power to fight against them. They cannot escape
from the naturalistic forces either and have to deal with them to the end.
Furthermore, they both experience an unhappy ending.
Above all, both Sister Carrie and The House of Mirth share a similar
theme of naturalism: one’s characteristics that are driven by inner forces (passion
or instinct) and outer forces can lead to an unhappy life. The theme is in
accordance with the background of the authors. Both Dreiser and Wharton are
naturalists who believe that naturalistic forces are inevitable for the powerless.
Besides similarities, I also found some differences. The protagonists
come from different classes of society. Carrie comes from the working-class
society while Lily is born in the upper-class society.
Although both are governed by the naturalistic force which is their inner
force, the inner force itself is different. The inner force that shapes Carrie is
passion whereas the inner force that shapes Lily is instinct. In addition, the inner
force works differently in causing the unhappy ending. The inner force makes
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Carrie always dissatisfied with her condition so she is far from being happy and it
makes Lily unable to marry the rich and to secure her position in the upper-class
society.
What both struggle for is also different. Carrie struggles to gain material
things while Lily struggles to stay in the upper-class society. Carrie is like a usual
naturalistic character because she comes from the working-class society whereas
Lily is unlike a usual naturalistic character for she comes from the upper-class
society. Yet, Wharton’s portrayal of her character, who comes from the upperclass society, is with a reason. She wants “to show the unforgiving nature of life at
the top of the class structure” (Rahn).
In my opinion, naturalism has a more negative influence on Lily, who is
poor but has to maintain her high social status than on Carrie, who is poor and has
no high social status. I agree that Lily seems to be trapped in the upper-class
society because of her high social standing. Her being poor is a tragic thing
because one must be rich if one has a high social status, or else one will find it
really hard to survive in the rich society. Carrie is not burdened with her social
status because her social standing does not demand and require her to be rich to be
accepted as a member. She is controlled by her passion to gain wealth to be happy
though as the story progresses, she is also driven by her social environment.
I argue that Dreiser’s portrayal of Carrie and Wharton’s portrayal of Lily
are both lifelike. However, Dreiser’s portrayal of Carrie is more helpful in
revealing the theme of naturalism. I argue that it is because Dreiser creates Carrie
as poor and has no high social standing. By doing so, the naturalistic aspect in the
novel is clearer.
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Lastly, I think the theme of naturalism in both novels is universal for it
can be related to any period and any place. It is possible for people to be
influenced by naturalistic forces in their daily life and to develop some
characteristics that lead them to a certain kind of life. It seems that by writing
naturalistic novels Dreiser and Wharton want to show that naturalistic forces
usually have negative effects on one’s life, especially one that is poor and has
lower status in the society.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Dreiser, Theodore. Sister Carrie. New York: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions
Limited, 1997. Print.
References:
“1890s-1920s NATURALISM.” pbs.org. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Ambitious.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature. " Literary Movements.
Dept. of English, Washington State University. 07 May 2013. Web. 05
Dec. 2013
Davies, Richard. “The Talented Mrs. Edith Wharton.” AbeBooks.com. AbeBooks
Inc.. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Dependent.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Discontented.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
doCarmo, Stephen N. “Dr. doCarmo’s Notes on Realism & Naturalism.” dr.
Stephen n. docarmo. N.p. n.d. Web. 24 May. 2013.
Douglas, Christopher. “Glossary of Literary Theory.” University of Toronto
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English Library. University of Toronto. 31 Mar. 1997. Web. 22 Apr.
2013.
“Environment.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005.
Print.
“Extravagant.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Heredity.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
High, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. New York: Longman, Inc.,
1986. Print.
“Immoral.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Lombardi, Esther. “Edith Wharton.” About.com. About.com. n.d. Web. 17 Apr.
2013.
“Manipulative.” Def. 1. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005.
Print.
Merriman, C. D.. “Edith Wharton.” The Literature Network. Jalic Inc.. 2007.
Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Moral.” Def. 2. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
Null, Christopher. “The House of Mirth.” AMC. AMC Network Entertainment
LLC. n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
Perrine, Laurence. Story and Structure. 6th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc., 1983. Print.
Rahn, Josh. “Naturalism.” The Literature Network. Jalic Inc. 2011. n.d. Web. 22
Apr. 2013.
Riggio, Thomas P.. “Biography of Theodore Dreiser.” Penn Libraries. University
of Pennsylvania. 03 Jan. 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
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Scheidenhelm, Carol. “Naturalism.” American Literary History: Romanticism,
Realism and Naturalism. Loyola University Chicago. 14 Aug. 2007.
Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
“Selfish.” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 7th ed. 2005. Print.
“Theodore Dreiser.” Illinois Center for the Book. N.p. 17 May 2012. Web. 22
Apr. 2013.
Wade, Lisa. “Before Love: Puritan Beliefs about Sex and Marriage.” Sociological
Images. Sociological Images. 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2013
Zane, Jacob. “Animal Instincts in Human Interactions.” HubPages. N.p. 12 Feb.
2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
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