many men who had been attracted to Inge, it could be concluded that Inge was a truly beautiful woman. As a beautiful, young and attractive woman, Inge realizes
that she could easily get a man, but actually what she needs is love, not like what men pursue, sex.
6. Inge is a Strong Woman.
In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 1995: 1185 strong means feelings, thoughts or opinion felt, held or expressed with intensity. Inge is said to
be a strong woman since all of her decisions in her life are taken consciously without the help of anyone. Her past becomes the evidence that she is a strong
woman. Although she was lack of love that she needed, she still could live her life strongly. Moreover, she had a hard time in her adolescent years, but she could face
it and decided to run away from it. She prefers to live her own life without any interruption from her past, from her step father who always took advantages to
rape her. Then, she strongly commits to herself to forget the past and face the new life.
“His name, his touch, the crime of my people are stain on my flesh. The birds are no more tears to cry I take off my clothes and ease my self into
the fast flowing river to begin the baptism. I wash myself clean of the past. I wash myself clean of hi9s name. I wash myself clean of his hands. I
wash myself clean of the crime I haven’t committed.”p.43
Inge is trying so hard to get out from her past. More or less, her past influences her present life. Finally she decides to be free from her past, forgets
what Karl had done to her, and forgets the revenge that she has to Karl and also the burden that she holds for a long time, she releases these strongly.
Being David’s wife, she is supposed to be loved and cared, but, unfortunately she does not get that. Since what David does to Inge it seems only to
take revenge, he treats her only as his property, as a means to release his passion and a means to produce baby. Inge knows about it and as a mother and wife she is
struggling for her own rights as a woman. She is strong in living her life, she never regrets to what happened in her life. As a married woman she does not merely
depend on her husband for the financial support. She could work as well as her husband. After they got divorce, she still works to live her live and her daughter.
She never gives up in searching the vacancies until she gets it. “Once Ive finished my training. Im left alone to check and double check
the accuracy of a variety of thermometers and pressures gauges. I am instructed to call the manager at any hour if the readings are abnormal.”
p.161
Her job as a labor in a glass factory is a hard job. In general, usually, only men can do that job, but she takes it and she has the ability to do the job. Being a
woman does not make limitation to what she wants to do, in this case she chooses to have a hard work and she also shows her ability to do the work. She has shown
to everyone that although she is a woman, but she can do men’s job. She is as strong as men, as tough as men.
B. The Patriarchal Society as Depicted in the Novel.
