imagined before. She finds out that her husband lies about his relatives, his saving on separated account and his having other family in Ireland. She finds out that she
is betrayed eventhough she has done the roles society gives for women as wife. In the story, Kathryn finds out that Jack has another wife whose name is
Muire. Kathryn and Muire have the same status as Jack’s wife. As Jack’s wife, Muire also lives under Jack’s authority eventhough she knows everything about
him compared to Kathryn. Facing the painful betrayal, Kathryn realizes that she has no power to defend herself or change everything that society has constructed.
She ends up in an action that shows she wants to end her pain and to forget Jack by forgiving him. Her forgiveness is externally taken as her lack of power as she
does not have other option. The lack of power is the idea of social castration. The wives do not have power, that is symbolized by penis, that Jack has.
The wives’ lack of power is the idea of social castration.
B. Approach of the Study
Since this study focuses on social castration that happens to the main female character, the approach used in this study is psychoanalytic feminism
approach from where the term social castration was born. Feminism questions society’s understanding about gender equality. Feminism is about men and
women and the social structures which maintain their differences Humm, 1992: xi. Feminism is likely to occur as a social force in this world which holds
patriarchal system Humm, 1992: 1. Feminism and psychoanalysis have relation. Psych
oanalytic feminism tells about psychology’s contibution on feminism.
Psychoanalytic feminism addresses idea about developing feminist principles. Sarah Gamble mentions Julia Mitchell
‘s thought that psychoanalysis on feminism is seen as social justification on status quo, borjuis and patriarchy, yet she
reevaluates that psychoanalysis gives the concept about how woman comes into being Gamble, 2004, 219-220. It is not only feminists that believe that
patriarchal culture is followed by our society, unconsciously all people also follow and accept patriarchal system, meaning that everything is seen through men’s
point of view. Feminist focuses on the marginalization of all women: that is, one organized in favor of the interest of men. Feminist literary critics try to explain
how power imbalance due to gender in a given culture is reflected in or challenged the literary texts Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, Willingham,
1999: 196. Despite their diversity, feminist critics generally agree that their goals
are to expose patriarchal premises and resulting prejudices, to promote discovery and revaluation of literature by women, and to examine
social, cultural, and psychosexual contexts of literature and literary criticism Guerin, Labor, Morgan, Reesman, Willingham, 1999: 197.
From the statement above, it is concluded that feminists try to expose the concept of patriarchal system, to promote discovery and evaluate the literature
done by women and to discuss social, cultural, and psychosexual context of literature
and literary criticism. The object of this study, Anita Shreve’s The Pilot’s Wife, is one of a feminist literary work representing social, cultural and
psychosexual aspects. Therefore, psychoanalytic feminism approach is used in this study to analyze wome
n’s position and roles in society that is oppressed by and marginalized by patriarchal culture.
C. Method of the Study
