Background of The Study

relationship. This universal concept may exist between human beings and God, parents and children, brothers, sister, friends and even between people and other creatures, such as in a child’s affection for a pet. Many people would put love as their most important need. In order to satisfy the needs, a person needs to build an interaction with others. It is because humans are known as social being. They cannot survive without other’s help. Since it is not easy in making the relationship, sometimes problems may occur in human’s relationship. Furthermore, if an individual perceives if she or he is powerless and live in disharmony with his or her surrounding, it will result in alienation. In addition, according to Maslow the failure to satisfy the human basic needs can have an impact on an individual’s psychological life. The failure to satisfy their needs can be one of the motivations which can cause some reaction which sometimes cannot be easily known. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is written by Thornton Wilder, an American novelist who was born in Madison, Wisconsin on April 17, 1897. He is the son of the editor of the Winsconsin State Journal. Thornton Wilder wrote The Bridge of San Luis Rey, in 1926 and being published in 1927. Different from his first novel Cabala, The Bridge of San Luis Rey has the charm and quality that causes a feeling of pity or sadness. Marquesa De Montemayor Dona Maria is one of the major characters in the story beside Pepita, Uncle Pio, Esteban, Don Jaime. Dona Maria is the daughter of a cloth merchant. She has an introvert character. We can see quite clearly in her relationship with others but she is also a kind and good- hearted woman. Through the novel Thornton tries to bring a moralistic view for the readers. A moralistic work when we can get from our real life that is a lesson about giving love and being loved. The story is about the collapse of the finest bridge in Peru which precipitated the five travelers into the gulf below. All the victims, Dona Maria, Pepita, Esteban, Uncle Pio, Don Jaime have the same bad experience since in their whole life they are lacking of love and feel lonely. A Franciscan monk who witnesses the accident tries to investigate whether the accident is an Intention or not. He makes a research on the five victims and tries to prove it mathematically and historically. His research results in an enormous book. His book, however, is considered as heretical. His theories are unaccepted and he is burnt along with his book. The Bridge of San Luis Rey is divided into five chapters. In chapter 2 of the novel, Dona Maria is described. She is one of the characters in the novel. This study is focused on the character of Dona Maria and her relationship with her daughter, Dona Clara. Dona Maria is one of the victims of the accident. The discussion covers how she is described in the novel and how the absence of love controls her life. The reason for choosing the topic is because love is the most important need for all human beings. Sometimes a person will do anything to obtain love from someone special in his or her life. In order to avoid misconception of love, it is important for us to understand the true love. The writer chooses Dona Maria as the character to be analyzed because her character introduces the other key characters in the novel. However, she is not the main character in the novel. She is a rich woman but she feels lonely and lacks love even from her daughter. She gives her daughter an idolatrous love. In her opinion, she has given the best for her daughter but her daughter does not pay it back. Finally, she realizes that she loves her daughter in the wrong way. She is thinking about her own hopes not her daughter’s hopes, and all those mistakes happen because of Dona Maria’s childhood. Love is closely related to the psychological aspect of human life. Hence, the approach the writer used in this study was psychological approach. B . Aim of the Study The aim of the study is to find out how Dona Maria is described in The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Besides, this study also has the aim to find out how the absence of love affects somebody’s life as seen in Dona Maria, the main character of Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey.

C. Problem Formulation

This study focuses on the influence of the absence of love on Dona Maria as the central character in the story. The problems of the study can be formulated as follows: 1. How is Dona Maria described in the Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey? 2. How does the absence of love influence Dona Maria’s behavior?

D. Benefits of the Study

There are at least two groups of people who will gain benefits from this study. They are the readers in general and the students. Hopefully, by reading this study the readers will be able to enrich their knowledge about literary works especially American literature and Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey For the students of English Language Education Study Program, this study hopefully may give them knowledge about American Literature and give them understanding of Thornton Wilder’s The Bridge of San Luis Rey. For the teachers of English Language Education Study Program, this study could be used as one of the teaching references. The novel can be used as teaching material for teaching literature classes. This study is also beneficial, especially for me because I have had experiences of how to analyze a novel and have had an understanding about the value of love from books of references for the study.

E. Definition of Terms

In analyzing this novel, the writer needs to know first about the meaning of influence, absence of love and behavior.

1. Influence

According to Drever, the terms influence is defined as any past or present condition experienced as or actually playing a part in determining ones behavior, or course of thought, in the present: a common type of delusion”134. In this study, influence is bad effects as a result of bitter past experience on Dona Maria’s character.