The depiction of Francesca Dietrich

Francesca turned from the girl’s image to her own. Her thighs were grotesque bulges under the leg warmers. Above them her buttocks protruded offensively. Her torso seemed to be all flab. Her breasts hung uselessly, obscuring the straight line that should have risen above her ribs. She was fat. Worse than that, she was a monster. A five-foot-four, ninety- eight-pound monster Levenkron, 1978: 10. “You are so thin” Levenkron, 1978: 23. From the quotation, Francesca often compares herself towards her friends; she compares her friends’ image to her own. She feels that she is fat even though her friend tells her that she is so thin. She also describes herself ugly and looks like a monster. From the way Francesca describes herself previously, we may see her low self-esteem. For example, she feels that she is fat although her friend tells her that “you are so thin” Levenkron, 1978: 23. She does not feels confident with herself and always consider herself as an ugly figure. Her low self-esteem can also be seen from her thought about her friends in the school. Francesca thinks that her friends in the school are considered as perfect school girls and they are famous among the others student. Her friends’ appearances are different from hers. Francesca sees them as girls with perfect figure, slim and straight. In the mirror a black leotard, taut and slim and straight, caught Francesca’s attention. She was perfect. Not an awkward gesture. Not an extra ounce flesh. The figure was pure movement, all energy and strength Levenkron, 1978: 9. Her friends are the type of person that put attention to their appearance. Those things make Francesca lacks of confidence. She thinks that she is far for being perfect like them. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Besides from her low self-esteem, Francesca is also described as an obedient girl. The first reason that makes her classified as an obedient girl is because she always obeys her ballet teacher’s words. Francesca is so obsessed to her teacher that she considers her as her role model. She portrays her as a perfect figure that she has to obey to every word that she has said to her. Madame Seuart is the person who introduces Francesca to ballet dance. She is also the first person who tells her that to be a professional dancer at least Francesca has to be thin. Those words always linger in Francesca’s mind and become her reminder when she wants to eat all of her meals. “A good class, Francesca. You’re showing progress.” “Now stay slim-perhaps even a pound less here.” She touched Francesca’s real lightly. “And firm up.” She patted the girl’s stomach. “Slim and firm. It isn’t enough to make you a dancer, but without it you’ll never be a dancer.” The words echoed in Francesca’s head as she stared into the mirror at the woman’s receding reflection. Slim, firm, slim, firm. They made a rhythm of their own. Like the well done, well done the teacher had thrown out during class Levenkron, 1978: 11. Since then, her teacher’s words always be her consideration in every action that she does. She even begins to change her name. Her idea is to replace the old Francesca with the new Francesca, which named is Kessa. “Fat Francesca was dead had died giving birth to perfect Kessa” Levenkron, 1978: 13-12. Francesca ’s obedient can also be seen toward her parents. She always obeys her parents’ instruction even though sometimes she does not want to do it. For example, when her father forces her to eat her dinner, she eats it even though she does not want to. “If your mother went to all the trouble of making it, you can do her the honor, your ladyship, of eating it. Eat your dinner, Francesca.” PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI She began to eat quickly now Levenkron, 1978: 47. The quotation shows that Francesca is an obedient child. She does her father words immediately when he asks her to do something. The next example can be shown from the quotation below: “I warned you, Francesca, as of tomorrow there will be no more dance class.” Levenkron, 1978: 111. “Francesca is no longer be attending class.” It shows that Francesca’s father wants her to quit from the ballet class. It is because he does not want Francesca to lose more weight if she is still doing ballet dance. Therefore, Francesca obeys her father’s word and quits from the ballet class. Frances ca’s description can also be seen by another character’s point of view. The followings are several speeches stated by Francesca’s mother, which can be used to depict Francesca’s personality. Francesca depicts as the good child in the family. “She’s always been the sensible child, the good one in the family” Levenkron, 1978: 67. As her mother says, she is a sensible child; she never makes a trouble for the family. Francesca’s mother describes her as a daughter that can take care of herself well even though she is the youngest in the family. The next quotation is when her mother says “Francesca’s too good to be true. I never even have to remind her to do her homework. She’s so independent I don’t even know she’s there sometimes” Levenkron, 1978: 14. It shows that Francesca is an independent child, she always does what she has to do even without someone asking her to do so. She is a diligent child, she does her homework very well. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Francesca’s depiction can also be seen from the quotations below which are stated by Francesca’s teacher in the school. “French was one of Francesca’s best subjects, though she did well in all of them” Levenkron, 1978: 24. Francesca depicts as a smart student in the school, as her teacher says she is good in all of the subjects that she learns in school especially French. “Francesca has always been such a good student”, she is one of the best students in her class and always has good marks. Francesca’s teacher calls her as “Her straight-A student”. She always listens to what her teacher says in the class and volunteered in the class. Her teacher used to compliments about her being an active and diligent student. Francesca’s depiction however changes in the middle story of the novel. She becomes a troublemaker in her family and also has problems in her school. Once she was a good girl however her behavior change into a bad girl. The followings are several evidences that show Francesca’s behavioral change. In the description above, Francesca is an obedient child. In the middle of the story Francesca changes into a disobedient child and often makes problem for her family. It can be seen from the quotation below: “Are you going to eat or are you just going to sit there in a daze all through dinner? You may be moving the food around but you are definitely not eating.” “I don’t like lamb chops.” “What do you mean, you don’t like lamb chops? You used to love lamb chops.” “Well I don’t care whether you like lamb chops or not. Your mother made lamb chops for dinner and you’ll eat lamb chops for dinner.” Levenkron, 1978: 18. Francesca is told by her father to eat her dinner however she rejects it. Francesca does not what to eat her dinner and she is just moving the food around. Her father PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI finds it very strange that suddenly Francesca does not want to eat her favorite food and it surprises him that she does not want to listen to his words. The quotation shows that there is a change in Francesca’s depiction. In the previous part she is an obedient child towards her parents however she changes to become a child who dares to reject her parents’ words. The next change in Francesca’s behavior is she becomes so picky toward foods. She used to eat whatever foods that she wants or her parents offer to her. However she has to act strange in front of her parents as if she has eaten all of her dinner. “She’d have to put up a better front at dinner, make it seem as if she were eating more than she was” Levenkron, 1978: 34. Besides being picky toward foods, Francesca also starts to lie in front of her parents especially when it comes about food. She lies that she is not in diet and eat properly. “I told you, I have been eating properly.” Kessa’s mouth felt sour with the lie and taste of bile. Levenkron, 1978: 35. She turns to be a liar towards her parents. She tells them that she is not in diet, in fact she is in a very thight diet that even endanger her. Francesca also turns to be a stubborn child. She does not want to listen to her parents. She talks back to them when they want to do something for Francesca’s own good. It can be seen from this quotation: “There must be something wrong with you. I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Gordon for a checkup.” “But I just went to Dr. Gordon two months ago. I don’t wanna go.” Levenkron, 1978: 35. From the quotation, it tells that Francesca’s mother wants her to go to the doctor to check her health, however Francesca rejects it and try to find any reasons so that she does not have to go. Actually, her mother is concerned about her. She PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI finds that there is something wrong happens to her daughter. Therefore, she does not want it to get worse or endanger her daughter. It is not only once Francesca talks back to her parents and argue with them, below is the next evidence: “What would you like for dinner, Francesca?” Grace was thinking that one way to keep her daughter from losing more weight was to tailor all meals to her taste. “An egg?” “An egg?Dr. Gordon said you’re not to lose any more weight. And she suggested you eat more to compensate for all those calories you burn up dancing and exercising.” “Well, I didn’t go to dance class today, I went to Dr. Gordon. So I don’t have to compensate for anything.” “All the same, an egg doesn’t sound like much of a dinner.” Grace’s voice was defensive, a direct response to her daughter’s accusation: you made me go to the doctor, you made me miss dance class, so don’t go nagging me now about eating. Levenkron, 1978: 43. The quotation shows that Francesca does not want to hear her mother’s words. Her mother wants her to eat more food not just an egg. She notices that Francesca is quite weird lately. She does not want to eat her foods and always lies when her mother asks her if she is in a diet. Fr ancesca’s mother just wants her to not lose any more weight and obey the doctor’s advice that she has to eat more foods. However, Francesca does not want to obey them. She thinks that she already does what her mother wants her to do and her mother does not have right to force her to do anything else again. She even dares to talk back to her mother when her mother says she has to eat more to compensate the burned up calories by saying that she does not have to compensate for anything. The next change is Fran cesca’s behavior in the class. Francesca is known as a very diligent and smart student in her class. She used to get the best marks and so active among the other students. However, she turns to be lazy and becomes very different in the class. It can be seen from the report that her parents get from her teacher. The report was shocking. Grace looked at it in disbelief. Her straight-A daughter had gotten two C’s and two failures. The note from the headmaster said he feared something was wrong with Francesca Levenkron, 1978: 95. The report shows that Francesca does not do well in her examination. She used to get A in all of her examinations, however she even gets two failures in her test now. It is very strange that Francesca suddenly becomes incompetent in almost all of the subjects which she is very good before. The headmaster finds that there is something wrong with Francesca. He even writes a note for her parents about this change of Francesca. The statement above is also strengthened by Francesca’s mother. It can be seen from this quotation, “She’s always been such a good kid, I can’t believe all of a sudden there’s something screwed up about her.” Levenkron, 1978: 75. Francesca’s mother is confused because of the change in her daughter’s behavior. She cannot believe that her smart and diligent daughter suddenly turns into an incompetent student. “Kessa is not only not logical now, she isn’t even competent” Levenkron, 1978: 155. Francesca’s mother feels that her daughter turns to be a person that does not think about things in a reasonable way, she becomes illogical. She thinks that Francesca is out of her mind because she often does something without think about the consequences or the impacts for her. There is other evidence that shows Francesca turns to be a lazy student. It is when Francesca decides that she does not want to do her homework. Kessa thought of the English paper due tomorrow. She hadn’t even read the play. Well, it was too late to do anything about it now. She’d just tell the teacher s he hadn’t finished the assignment. She’d always gotten away with that excuse in history. The teacher hadn’t dreamed that Francesca, straight-A-always-has-the- answer Francesca, couldn’t be bothered to do her homework. Levenkron, 1978: 53. The quotation above tells that Francesca actually has an assignment to do. She has an English paper to be accomplished due the date. However, she does not feel to work on it. She is even too lazy to read the material for the paper. Francesca thinks that she will just look for reason instead of work on it. She will tell the teacher that she has not finished the paper and that she will be safe with the excuse. It is not only once that Francesca messes up with her school’s life. She even has two failures in her examinations before. It is not only her behavior but also there is a change in her physical appearance. She becomes skinnier than her normal weight before. “I’m not happy about the picture, Mrs. Dietrich,” Dr. Gordon said when Grace was sitting across the desk from h er. “Francesca’s lost more weight. About seven pounds in two weeks.”Levenkron, 1978: 67. Francesca loses more weight and it makes her looks so skinny than before. She is a healthy girl with a nice body before, however she turns to be underweight. This change of Francesca is also strengthened by the quotation below: Grace was startled by the anger in her daughter’s tone, but more than that she was shocked by her appearance. In her jeans she had looked thin. Now, in her cotton underpants and the small bra she had never really needed, she looked dangerously underweight. Grace spoke more abruptly than she meant to. Levenkron, 1978: 35. The quotation above is stated by Francesca’s mother. She also emphasizes that there is a change in her daughter’s appearance. She is surprise that Francesca becomes so thin and looks dangerously underweight. It is such an uncommon thing for her to see that her daughter is losing much weight. She finds it ridiculous because she is always feeding and treating her well. Francesca’s change in appearance is also marked from the development of her body. Normally, a girl in her age will start to grow breasts and get her period every month. However, it is different in Francesca’s case. Actually, Francesca is a normal girl who is in her puberty stage; her body develops well even though she feels that she does not like it. It can be seen from this quotation: Her thighs were grotesque bulges under the leg warmers. Above them her buttocks protruded offensively. Her torso seemed to be all flab. Her breasts hung uselessly, obscuring the straight line that should have risen above her ribs. Levenkron, 1978: 10. That quotation from Francesca’s point of view actually describes that her body grows well. She has nice butts and curvy body. However in the middle of the story, her body development becomes stunted. Instead of build up fat in the breasts, Francesca’s breasts are flat and floppy. “Kessa picked up her head and looked down at her breasts. Flatter, but still not flat enough. She lifted her left breast by the nipple and swayed it back and forth.” Levenkron, 1978: 52-53. The quotation tells that Francesca’s body development develops quite not well. She gets her breasts become flatter. The change in Francesca’s body development also can be seen from her period cycle. Dr. Gordon began to take her blood pressure. “When was your last period?” “Six weeks ago. I guess I’m a little late.” Kessa saw the look on Dr. Gordon’s face. “Oh, I’m not pregnant. I couldn’t be.” Levenkron, 1978: 39. The quotation above shows that Francesca likely to have her period late. Since two years ago, Francesca already gets her period. “She hated her period, had hated it since it had appeared a little less than two years ago.” Levenkron, 1978: 39. Even though she does not like it and the fact that she hits her puberty stage, previously her period always comes right in time, every month. Somehow, this late period tells that there is something wrong with Francesca’s body than the fact that she may be pregnant.

B. The Regression in Francesca’s anorexia nervosa as her defence

mechanism From the explanation of the first problem formulation above, at first Francesca described as a normal girl before; a girl who develops well in her life. She is a smart student and so obedient towards her parents. However, her depiction changes in the middle of the story. It shows that there is something wrong about her. From the changes that happen to her, it is known that Francesca is diagnosed with eating disorder. “There is a good possibility that she has anorexia nervosa.” Levenkron, 1978: 67. According to National Institute of Mental Health NIMH eating disorders are actually “serious and often fatal illnesses that cause severe disturbances to a persons eating behaviors ”. There are three major types of eating disorders. The first one is anorexia nervosa, it is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. The second one is bulimia nervosa, it centers on the bingeing and purging of food. The third one is binge eating disorder, it is characterized primarily by periods of compulsive, uncontrolled, continuous eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full. From several types of eating disorder above, it is known that Francesca suffers only in one type of eating disorder. She suffers from anorexia nervosa. People that suffer from anorexia nervosa usually see themselves as overweight person, even though they are dangerously underweight. They think that they are so fat. Typically they weigh themselves repeatedly and restrict the amount of food they eat, and eat very small quantities of only certain foods. http:www.nimh.nih.gov, 14 November 2016. In this case, to know more about why Francesca suffers from anorexia, the writer usespsychoanalytic approach. Psychoanalytic approach is “a form of literary criticism which uses of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature” Barry, 2009: 92. While psychoanalysis is “a form of therapy which aims to cure mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious element in the mind” Barry, 2009: 92. In applying psychoanalytic approach, this thesis uses the theory from Bresslerin Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Bressler summarizes the application of psychoanalytic approach into four simplified concepts which are going to be used in this part. a. A distressing event or situation occurring in youth that are buried into the unconscious mind. In this first concept, the writer identifies the distressing events that are buried in Francesca’s mind.