not created in a vacuum and represents ideas significant of culture that produced that literature 1971:9.
Sociocultural- historical approach tries to observe attitude and actions of society so closely that description of society where a work was created can be
obtained. Critics whose major interest is the sociocultural-historical
approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it. They define
civilization, as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and point out that literature takes these attitudes and
actions as its subject matter….that it is necessary that the critic investigates the social milieu in which a work was created and
which it necessarily reflects 1971: 9.
Sociocultural- historical is chosen in conducting the analysis since the writer deals with social condition in Pakistan in the 20
th
century. In addition, in this thesis the writer also analyses the novel by looking at the relation of society
and characters in this novel. Thus, the writer focuses on the actions of characters in this novel and tries to relate it to social condition of Pakistan so that the writer
can obtain the social criticism those characters convey.
C. Method of the Study
In doing the analysis the writer uses written or documentation material. It means that this study is included in a library research. In doing the thesis, there are
two kinds of sources that the writer uses. Both are main source and some supporting sources.
The main source is the novel, The Holy Woman by Qaisra Shahraz. The writer uses some supporting sources like the Theory of Literature by Wellek and
Warren, Robert and Jacobs, An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 2
nd
ed., Understanding Unseeing: an Introduction to English poetry and the English
Novel for overseas Students, by Murphy and Society in the Novel by Langland Elizabeth. Those books are chosen because they provide some theories of
literature, especially on character and characterisation related to criticism of a society, which are going to help the writer in analysing characters and
characterisation. The writer also employs book of, Reading and Writing About Literature, by Rohrberger in order to help the writer in using approach of this
study. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka by Robinson is employed to give information about Pakistani society in the 20
th
century. Some journals and magazines’ articles are also used to gain description of Pakistani society in the 20
th
century. In analysing this novel, first step writer do is read the novel and focus on
what the characters say about themselves and others, and also what the author says about characters she or he made. The writer also focuses on mannerism and
reactions of characters in order to acquire clear characteristic of characters. Hence, the writer can gain the answer for the first question.
The second step is to analyse the characters, setting society and conflict in the novel and relate them to the information of Pakistani society religion, caste,
belief, tradition, women condition and others in order to find out the social condition of Pakistan in the 20
th
century represented by major characters in The Holy Woman.
