28 Durham University to read English and the History of Art in the Western
World ”p. 175.
Suwen often tells some brilliant ideas about her painting to Nica and she has a good knowledge about art. Furthermore, her knowledge about history is
good since she mixes art and history in her big project. As one of Suwen’s best
friend, Nica often talks and discusses art with her. Nica sometimes forgets that Suwen gets her education abroad when they are talking about history. The reason
is because the history what Suwen explains to Nica is a little different from the fact that happens in Singapore years ago. It is because the history that Suwen
knows is explained by her lecturer in the university. According to Murphy 1972, an individual’s characters can be seen from other characters’ thought in the novel.
By using Murphy’s theory, the researcher has found a part which contains Nica’s
thought about Suwen and it tells Suwen’s character, “Nica was peeved. Suwen had studied abroad” p. 250.
Due to the fact that Suwen is a well-educated woman, she tries to control her emotion and anger in giving her reaction towards something. In the novel,
Suwen is described as a woman who never gives negative reactions towards her friends’ anger and negative arguments. She keeps calm and controls her emotion
in some situations. Her attitude as a well-educated woman is shown in her reaction towards
the betrayal of Nica and Mark. When Nica insults and mocks her, Suwen keeps calm and she does not say anything. F
urthermore, Suwen does not respond Nica’s
29 anger when Nica challenges her to argue her. She chooses to keep her anger in her
mind and she does not express her anger towards Nica. She would never stoop to fight with another woman over a man. It’s
degrading. If a woman has to fight with another woman over a man, then her relationship with the man is worthless There is something innately
wrong in two women reducing a man to the level of a prize to be fought
for Aren’t we regressing? p. 296 A woman who fights with another woman over a man will decrease her
pride. It is the way Suwen thinks about how a well-educated woman should do. Due to the fact that she does not want to decrease her pride as a well-educated
woman, Suwen chooses to leave Singapore after knowing Nica and Mark have betrayed her. Although Mark tries to call her several times, she rejects his call and
avoids meeting him. Furthermore, she does not want to come to Mark for reconciliation because it will decrease her pride as a well-educated woman p.
303. This character is shown by her own thought in a part of the novel, “She
would rather choose pain and loneliness than a cheap reconciliation with Mark simply because she feared being alone and single
” p. 303.
4. Obedient
Suwen really wants to leave her mother and the Ong mansion to get a freedom. She feels so disturbed because her mother often asks her stepfather not
to sell the Ong mansion. Unfortunately, she cannot leave her mother alone with her stepfather because she still stands on the principle that a child should obey and
follow what her mother says . “She was her mother’s daughter. Still Asian enough
to believe that children should respect, not strip off, their parents’ illusions” p. 257. In addition, she does not want to break the rule so that she follows the rule.
30 When her mother asks Suwen to be close with her stepfather, she follows
what her mother wants. Her obedience is shown by her attitude in doing what her mother
wants, “She had thought her mother had wanted her to be close to the stepfather. To be his daughter” p. 173. She tries to play her role as a good
daughter for her stepfather and regard him as her own father. Furthermore, her mother also asks her to accompany him and stay on her stepfather
’s side so that he will not meet his mistresses outside.
B. Suwen’s Motivation in Keeping Her Virginity
Motivation is a concept that an individual uses to describe his strong action in doing something to reach his goal Petri, 1981.
In Suchen Christine Lim’s Fistful of Colours, Suwen shows her strong action to keep her virginity by
avoiding talking about sex, love, and men. It makes her become a woman who is unmarried and she also does not have any special relationship with any men.
1. Suwen’s Defense Mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are defined as the psychological defenses that protect an individual from his unpleasant or bad experience Weiner, 1980. In this case,
Suwen’s decision in keeping her virginity is caused by her unpleasant or bad experience. In other words, she tries to protect herself from pain so that her bad
experience will not happen anymore. Her bad experience is when her drunken stepfather tries to rape her in her
bedroom before she goes abroad. She feels angry, anxious, and also disappointed because she regards him as her own father. She has lost the figure of a father from
31 her life whereas she successfully gets and feels it from her stepfather. After that
incident, Suwen hates her stepfather very much and she does not love him anymore. It is shown by her action in avoiding talking with her stepfather.
He grabbed her breasts, squeesing them as he tried to plant his foul kisses on her lips. She scratched his face like a wild cat, and pushed him onto the
bed. Then she ran into the bathroom and locked the door, her heart pounding with pain. She had tried to scream but no sound came out of her
throat. It had been strangled by fear. He was bestial A beast The air was full of his immoral snorts and hisses. She shoved a clenched fist into her
mouth and bit hard. She would not cry. She refused to cry. p. 16
By using Freud’s theories of defense mechanisms, the researcher found that
Suwen’s bad experience makes her avoid talking about men and sex to others deeper. The reason is that she tries to repress and eliminate her bad experience in
her mind by avoiding those topics. In the novel, she often gives a short comment when Nica talks about sex with her. Sex becomes a taboo thing to be discusses
with others, sex was perceived as a threat and the road to damnation p. 76. Sex becomes a word which brings her to the bad experience so that she avoids talking
about this topic. “You’re acting silly, avoiding Mark like this,” Nica was saying. “You do
like him. But you don’t want to admit it. Not even to yourself. D’youwant to remain virgin forever or what?”
“Oh, Nica Must you always bring things down to that level?” “What level? You talk as if sex is real-down. We all have feelings and
urges. Nothing to be ashamed of” Silence. p. 255
Not only avoiding talking about sex and men, but Suwen also avoids
talking about her family. She never talks about her family to others because she has a bad experience in the past. She feels afraid that she will recall the past
