attraction. Sabina is also attracted with Lillian’s personality and power. Lillian and Sabina admit hating and regard men as an obstacle in women’s freedom.
a. Lillian’s Characteristics as Seen from Her Relationship with Men
Lillian’s powerful characteristic is obviously shown in her relationships
with men. The word powerful is defined as the ability to control or influence people or things. Lillian is often positioned both as a husband and a mother by
her lovers. In her relationship with a man named Gerard, Lillian is the one who takes initiative and makes decision. Gerard is presented as a passive man who
always hands over his will to Lillian. She fell in love with an extinct volcano. Her strength and fire were aroused.
Her strength flowed around his stillness, encircled his silence, encompassed his quiteness 1995:7.
The moment she sat near him he recaptured his quality of a mirage:
paleness, otherworldliness, obliqueness. He appropriated woman’s armor and defences
, and she took the man’s. 1995: 8. Lillian realizes that Gerard always becomes dependent and can not fulfill her
need of an equal life companion. Thus she ends her relationship. To preserve this fatal secret: you, Lillian, are too strong; you, Gerard, are not strong enough
which would destroy them, Gerard like a woman wove false pretexts. The false pretext did not deceive Lillian 1995: 12.
It significantly shows the fact that Lillian is the superior of her relationship. Besides, Lillian also has a relationship with a man named Jay, a bohemian artist.
As an artist, Jay does not want any obligation in their relationship such as working to supply their daily needs. Jay admits that he will not work because he can not
bear repetition and the atmosphere in the office or the regular hours. Therefore PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Lillian works outside and takes care of everything in her house because Jay is a powerless companion. As a woman, Lillian fulfills every man’s desire. It is
reflected in the quotation below: His helpness made h
im the ‘homme fatal’for such a woman. His hunger for anything metamorphosed her into an Aladdin’s lamp: even his dreams must
be fulfilled 1995: 65-66. Jay is very helpness and has no contribution in their relationship. He is like a
beggar begging for a mercy from Lillian and Lillian fulfills it. Jay gives Lillian the savor of the present, and let her take care for the morrow as shown in the
following descriptions: Nothing could prevent her from feeling that she was not Juliet waiting on the
balcony, but Romeo who had to leap across space to join her. She had leaped, she had acted Romeo, and when woman leaped she leaped into a
void 1995: 55. She was his confessor and his companion, his collaborator and his guardian
angel. At this moment he treated her as if she were a man or the mother 1995: 69.
Once again she had worn the warrior armor to protect a core of love. Once
again she had worn the man’s costume. Jay had not made her a woman, but the husband and mother of his weakness 1995: 87.
From the descriptions above, Lillian obviously shows her powerful
characteristic. Through her actions of taking men roles in her relationships, it shows that Lillian can not passively wait for her lovers to handle the relationships.
She has no fear to show her power and becomes the one whose more responsibility rather than men.
Besides being characterized as a powerful woman, Lillian is also passionate
about her dreams and desire. She craves for a life companion whose equal power with her. When her desire can not be fulfilled, she will continue her adventurous
life to pursue it. Once, Lillian is married with a man named Larry and has two children. They live in a beautiful house which is filled with Lillian’s decorations
yet the house does not seem to belong to Lillian. The house is built for peace and harmony, like other houses, yet it does not suit Lillian’s personality and passion.
She always feels like a stranger in it because she has not been able to show her own character which is adventurous. In her marriage, Lillian is obligated to take
care of her family and play role as a good mother and wife. She feels trapped and anxious about her life and nature as a woman. Lillian knows that marriage and
maternal life do not seem suit her personality. Hence, Lillian decides to leave her family to pursue her desire.
The care Lillian spent in the house, on her husband and children came from some part of her being that was not the deepest Lillian. Who had made the
marriage? Who had desired the children? Lillian had made all this and lived in it, but it had not been made out of the deeper elements of her nature, and
she was a stranger in it 1995: 24.
Lillian’s adventurous life is also supported by her attractive personality.
She owns the charm which can attract her surroundings. In her relationships Lillian always becomes the one who both builds and ends it. She attracts her
lovers by using her charms, femininity, and power. Djuna, one of Lillian’s affairs, once says that Lillian is a femme fatale woman who can easily move from one
circumstance to another and attract men by an aura of charm. Lillian’s attractiveness is also shown from Jay’s impression toward her. At the first time
they meet, Jay knows that Lillian is a powerful woman who is very passionate about her dreams and freedom, he is not only impressed but also attracted to
Lillian’s personality: PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
