Independent The Characteristics of Firdaus in “Woman at Point Zero”

unforgettable. Emma dreamed of her wedding day;she could see herself down there;in the middle of the cornfields, on the tiny path, as they walked toward the church. Flaubert, 1964:217 Emma has a high fantasy of love and marriage. She expects that her marriage as romantic as the novel. After she married with Charles, the reality does not like what she has imagined before. “Before she had married she thought she was in love. But the happiness that should have resulted from this love had not come; she must have deceived herself, she thought. Emma sought to learn what was really meant in life by the words “happiness,” “passions,” and “intoxication” words that had seemed so beautiful to her in books.” Flaubert, 1964:55 Another proof can be seen when she wants to feel how her honeymoon with Charles will be. She has a high fantasy of it. She dreams that it will be so nice and beautiful. “Behind the blue silk shades of the mail coachesthey would slowly climb up steep roads, listening to the song of postilion being echoed through the mountain together, with the sound of goat bells and the muffled roar of a waterfall. At the sunset they would inhale the scent of lemon trees by the shores of the gulfs;then, in the evening, on the terraces of the villas, alone, fingers intertwined, they would gaze at the stars and dream.” Flaubert, 1964:60 From the four evidences above, it can be noticed that Emma is a dreamer. She has an idea or plans that are not practical or realistic.

B. The Contrast between Firdaus and Emma as Viewed from Feminist Perspective

In this section, the writer discusses the second question in the problem formulation. The analysis will more focus on the main character as seen from the feminist perspective.The study of literature as viewed from feminist perspective is an effort to understand women’s position and role as reflected in literary work. Sugihastuti and Suharto, 2002:15.The discussion that convey the idea of feminism are done through the supporter character, in this case they are all men. In Woman at Point Zero the supporter character are Mohammadain, Uncle, Syekh Mahmoud, Bayoumi, Ibrahim, and Marzouk. While in Madame Bovary the supporter characters are Rodolphe, and Leon. In this case Firdaus and Emma is being oppressed by them. 1.Revealing the Contrast between Firdaus and Emma through Abuses They Receive

a. Abuses Toward Firdaus i. Uncle

After her parents died, Firdaus is in the care of her uncle. He takes Firdaus to Cairo. Her uncle is not young. He is much older than she is. He studies at El-Azhar. He is not a good uncle for Firdaus. There are so many bad treatments which he does toward her, like sexual abuse. My galabeya often slipped up my thighs, but I paid no attention until the moment when I glimpse my uncle’s hand moving slowly from behind the book he was reading to touch my leg.The next moment I could feel it travelling up my thigh with a cautious, stealthy, trembling movement. Every time there was the sound of a footstep at the entrance to our house, his hand would withdraw quickly. Saadawi, 1983:13 Her uncle does this action not only once, but many times. It happens several times because no one knows this thing. He starts doing abuse toward