“But it’s important to me. I don’t know anything about your life; I’m even surprised t
o see so many people here.” He just laughe
d, and then he started to turn away to answer other people’s questions.
“Wait,” I said, grabbing his arm. “You didn’t answer me.” “I don’t think it would interest you, Pilar.”
“I want to know anyway” Coelho, 1994:10. Based on the quotation above, it can be noticed that Pilar is a nurturing woman;
she has a willingness to ask her lover the meaning of her conversation with two women that she meets. Pilar shows her caring to her lover by asking the life of her
lover during they are separated. Pilar wants to know his life and Pilar tries to understand the life of his lover.
The writer finds that Pilar is a nurturing woman, it can be analyzed from her speech and her reaction
. Pilar’s speech shows that she needs a clear explanation from the man, she asks the ba
ckground of the woman’s statement. Then, Pilar asks to her lover although the man tries to avoid to answer Pilar’s
question but she still asks to her lover until he answer it. That Pilar is a nurturing woman can be seen from her thought. It is stated
as follows.
I spend day after day with my texts and notebooks, making the superhuman effort just to purchase my own servitude
, I thought.
Why do I want that job? What does it offer to me as a human being, a woman?
Nothing I wasn’t born to spend my life behind a desk, helping judges dispose of their cases Coelho, 1994: 25.
From the above quotation, Pilar shows her thought that she has her own definition of a caring woman who always has a willingness to help each other. Pilar realizes
that to work behind a desk does not represent herself because she thought that she was born to help other people and take care of people.
b. Compassionate
Pilar is also analyzed as a compassionate woman. Pilar has sympathy to the case that she meets. The quotation below shows that P
ilar’s speech represents her as a compassionate woman.
“It was he. Come in, please.” I recalled the previous night. When we arrived at the cathedral, a man had told me I was with a man who
performed miracles. “We’re in a hurry,” the padre said. “No No, we’re not,” I said, in my halting French. “I’m cold and I’d like some coffee.”
The woman took me by the hand, and entered the house Coelho, 1994: 121.
The situation in the quotation above describes when Pilar meets the superior of the monastery. They are
on the way to look for Pilar’s lover but suddenly a woman comes to their direction. The woman asks Padre and Pilar to stay for a
while in her house but Padre refuses her request. Knowing the woman’s expression little bit sad, Pilar agrees to come to the w
oman’s house. Here, Pilar shows her compassion by giving her sympathy to the woman and Pilar does not
want to hurt the woman’s feeling. Pilar’s speech shows that she is a compassionate woman. The way Pilar
speaks and accepts the woman’s request represents Pilar’s characterization as a compassionate woman.
That Pilar is a compassionate woman can be seen from the quotation below when she has a conversation with the superior of the monastery. The
quotation below also a proof that Pilar is a compassionate woman; it can be seen from her speech.
“I don’t want a lesson in religion, Padre. I’m in love with a man, and I want to know more about him
understand him, help him. I don’t care what everyone else can do or can’t do”
The padre took a deep breath. He hesitate d for a moment and then said “A
scientist who studied…” Coelho, 1994: 128. The above quotation shows the conversation between Pilar and Padre. They are
talking about Pilar’s lover. In the beginning Padre gives a long story about the life of Pilar’s lover in the monastery and their conversation comes to the Pilar’s
statement. Pilar says that she falls in love with a special man; therefore she needs to know more about him. Pilar has compassion to help the man she loves and Pilar
has strong feeling of sympathy to the man that she loves. From Pilar’s speech about her willingness to understand and help her
lover, the writer classifies Pilar as a compassionate woman.
1. The Characterization of
Pilar’s lover
The second character that the writer analyzes is Pilar’s lover. This second
character is an anonymous male character, therefore the writer mentions him as Pilar’s lover or the man. The writer descibes Pilar’s lover as a religious man,
intellectual man and talented man. Based Murphy’s theory on characterization
1972: 161-173 that is mentioned in the previous chapter, the writer analyzes the characterization of Pilar’s lover through the speech, the personal description, the
direct comment, the character as seen by another, and the conversation of others. Further
analysis on characterization of Pilar’s lover is descried as follows.
a. Religious
Pilar’s lover is a missionaire and he is taught to be a religious man. He learns Catholic teaching from the monastry that he enters. The writer classifies
Pilar’s lover as a religious man because of his speech shows the veneration to God. It is seen from his speech when he says
“may the Virgin protect us from here
