Inge also has different characteristic with David who seems to see something only from its usage and advantages. For David, work and family are
important, but he never make the real decision in his life, including the matter of having a baby, and being a father.
From the explanation above, it is clearly seen that as a woman Inge could be responsible to her life and also to her families. She is also responsible to what
she has chosen in her life, she follows the pattern in her life with responsibility. Living in male-dominated world and being David’s wife does not make Inge feels
inferior, but in fact she could prove that she is strong and she will be responsible to what she chooses in her life.
5. Inge is an Attractive Woman.
In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 1995: 66 attractive means having the power to attract; pleasing or interesting. In the novel, Inge is depicted
as a young, beautiful woman in her twenties. Besides her inner beauty, her outer beauty and sex appeal that she has are attractive as well. It is shown from many
men who fall knees on her. In her adolescent time, when the first time her family moved to Australia, she had to adapt in the new environment. She did it well. She
could get along with the boys, play boxing matches and soccer with them. However, when she got her first period and grew her breasts, the way the boys
treated her changed. They seemed to underestimate Inge for her sex, and the worst was they seemed to take advantages from her. As a young girl Inge also attracted
many boys, so that her mother and grand mother always tries to make her look PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
ugly, in order to protect Inge from the boys. It is true that what she has outside attracts many boys, but, unfortunately all they want only to seduce her. Inge’s first
love, as she thought, a boy named Tony was fourteen and he wanted to take advantages from young Inge.
“Tony and I did get each other in the end, but it wasn’t at all like I dreamed. We sat on a log in the dark of a shed tighter. I wanted tender kiss
with his hands gently exploring my nipples. I wanted him to say sweet and beautiful things to me in English. I would know what it meant by his tone
of voice, I thought, but he kept on shoving his hands into my crotch and I kept pushing him away trying to kiss him. He was fourteen and seemed to
have dispensed with the preliminaries to get straight to penetration.”p.27 It is proven that Inge has strong sex appeal, even in her younger years.
When she already became David’s wife, there are still many men who fall knees on Inge. One of them is Mark. Mark is the visitor in their house. David lets him to
stay in their house for few days. Unfortunately, Mark keeps staying for weeks and it is really amuses Inge. Bravely, Mark declares his love to Inge although he
knows that Inge is David’s wife. “During week two, mark declares his love for me. I understand his
mumbled proposals by his gestures. He knees on the kitchen floor as I move about preparing dinner. He wrings his hands, rolls his eyeballs and
moves his unappetizing beard from side to side. I try to ignore him, go on cooking chips fro David’s dinner.”p.75
As a visitor who amuses Inge with what he is doing, Mark seems does not
care with Inge’s family. Being rejected by Inge, he does not give up. He keeps on trying to seduce Inge. He tries to get Inge’s attention. Once again he declares his
love, this time, he uses fine suits and tie. It seems that Mark will not give up in getting Inge’s love. He is attracted to Inge’s inner and also outer beauty. From so
many men who had been attracted to Inge, it could be concluded that Inge was a truly beautiful woman. As a beautiful, young and attractive woman, Inge realizes
that she could easily get a man, but actually what she needs is love, not like what men pursue, sex.
6. Inge is a Strong Woman.
