Background of the Study
There are two main factors that cause a character’s personality development, namely the internal and external factors. The internal factors are the
factors which come from the person himself, such as the individual’s physique and the individual’s mental or psychology. The individual’s physique may be the
person’s age and health condition. Whereas the individual’s psychology is the situation in which a person deals with the reality. They can be hopelessness,
failure, desolation, loneliness, etc. The external factors are the factors coming from outside the person, such
as other characters, social rules, and the society. The influence from other characters encompasses their treatment and behaviour toward the character.
Whereas the social rules encompasses social habits and traditions, and the society factors encompasses the status of the character in the society and how the society
behaves toward the characters. Novel as a form of literary art is able to show someone’s personality
development because a novel reflects ideals that readers see in people’s daily lives. According to Laar and Schoonderwoerd 1963:163, a novel is a work of art
in some respects resembling the world we live in, but with an individuality of its own. Based on www.nvcc.eduhomeataorminanovelshistorydefine.htm, a novel
is also an imaginary work in prose of a considerable length, which presents as real certain characters living in a given environment and describes their attitudes, fate,
and adventures Lubbock, 2006. Based on the explanation above, the study focuses on personality
development and entitled: The Influence of a Western Catholic Priest to a 2
Traditional Chinese Woman’s Personality Development as seen in Pearl S. Buck’s
Pavilion of Women.
The writer chooses to analyze the influence of Priest Andre to Madame Wu’s personality development as seen in Pearl S. Buck’s Pavilion of Women
1946 because the writer wants to show the readers how a Western Catholic Priest can change the personality of a traditional Chinese woman who has many
traditions and customs to follow. Considering Christianity in China in the 1940s was considered as a sign of westernization as stated by Enoch Wan 1991 in his
article, Christianity in the Eye of Traditional Chinese, and westerners were considered as strangers, it is interesting to see how a Western Catholic priest
influences a traditional Chinese woman’s personality development in such a unique way, opening her mind, heart, and changing the way she thinks and
behaves. The writer chooses Madame Wu as the object of the study because she is the main character in the novel having a unique characteristic, which is truly
different from other characters in the novel, and her personality changes extremely from the beginning of the story to the end of the story.