Background of the Study

2 Women have become an interesting subject to discuss, woman is one of the issues that become the most popular topic in this world. The issues of sexual harassment, women’s role in politics and economy, female workers, and many others are now becoming one of the main concerns for most countries in this world. Indonesia is also one of the countries which have the same issues. Women are used to be seen as someone who always stays behind men. Javanese might say “konco wingking”, which may give the impression that women seem to have a lower status than men. Up to now, this still occurs in our surrounding. While Montagu 23 proposed that women have been conditioned to believe that they are inferior to men, and they have assumed that what everyone believes is a fact of nature, therefore she states that “Women’s place is in the home”. She also mentioned that in most of the cultures of which we have any knowledge, women are considered to be a sort of lower being, a creature human enough, but not quite so human as the male; certainly not as wise, nor as intelligent, and lacking in most of the capacities and abilities with which the male is so plentifully endowed 27. This statement really shows that women have lower status than men. Some women have tried to raise women’s status by struggling to raise women’s status. Related to these issues, one of the novels written by Yasmin Crowther also mainly discussed about women. The major character, Maryam, is an Iranian who tried to get her freedom by revealing her past, which has gone in Iran. She is an Anglo-Iranian mother who used to live in Iran. However, since Maryam has done something wrong, she decided to go back to Iran and tried to find out her lost memories. From her journey back to Iran, she found that her 3 wound was healed in her hometown. She felt the atmosphere of Iran which reminded her about the past, where she could feel the freedom of living. This novel was written by an Iranian writer, Yasmin Crowther, who lives in England. Moreover, she also has an Iranian mother. Consequently, the situation and condition of the story really reflected the real condition of Iran. After reading her novel, I realized that there are differences in seeing men and women, especially in Iran. By analyzing the novel I would like to know women’s position in Iran, especially in the latest 20 th century, when the story took place. According to Hughes 22, in this period of time, Iranian women have organized and fought for human and political rights. Women in Iran want equality, respect and the right to participate in all social, political and economic activities. They want to live their lives productively and with dignity. Therefore, this study mainly analyzes how Iranian society perceives women in their society, which includes women’s positions in the family and in the society that is reflected through the major character of the novel, Maryam.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

This study is conducted in order to achieve several objectives. First, this study is conducted to portray the major character, Maryam. Besides, this study is also conducted to find out the women’s position in Iran as reflected by the major character. 4

1.3 Problem Formulation

Based on the discussion above, I will formulate two problems that will be discussed in this study. 1. How is the major character, Maryam, portrayed in Yasmin Crowther’s The Saffron Kitchen? 2. How are women’s positions in Iranian society reflected through Maryam, the major character of The Saffron Kitchen?

1.4 Benefits of the Study

In general, this study aims to enrich the knowledge of literary study and give more references about the position of women in this world, especially in Iran. I expect that this study can give useful contribution to other researchers who conduct a study on women’s position in other countries. I hope this study can provide new perspective on the women’s position in this world and can add new perspective on how to treat women. By reading the novel itself, we can get pleasure and also understanding of human life that later can enrich our knowledge. This study may also provide the information on Yasmin Crowther and her novel The Saffron Kitchen, and offer some information about the position of women in Iran and its relation with women’s role.