another person, a group of persons, or an institution, and then achieves his satisfactions at least in part, by proxy, basking in reflected glory 220. Although
kitten is not a human, Olenka’s attitude shows her strong emotional which can be identified as her way to adjust herself from unpleasant reality.
d. Olenka’s Carelessness of Herself
Olenka grows to love Smirnin, a man who entertains Olenka from the sadness caused by the death of Pustovalov, her second husband. But this
happiness does not last long. The veterinary surgeon departs with his regiment, when it is transferred to a distant place to Siberia. And Olenka is left alone
p.184. Olenka is very sad to be separated with Smirnin, a man who cares about her after she loses Pustovalov. Olenka becomes lonely again and her sadness
affects her behavior. After Smirnin leaves her, Olenka’s appearance is not as well as before.
She becomes thinner like a person who suffers from something. When people meet her in the street, they do not smile or address her. Here, her behavior shows
that she does not care about herself. Olenka becomes a person who is not interesting. Even, people look strangely to Olenka.
She got thinner and plainer, and when people met her in the street they did not looked at her as they used to, and did not smile to her; evidently her
best years were over and left behind, and now a new sort of life had begun for her, which did not bear thinking about p.184.
Her change above shows her way to adjust herself from her suffering caused by the trip of Smirnin to Siberia. Here, she shows rationalization, as what
Carroll defines that rationalization involves the process of devising socially
acceptable reasons for an act or an opinion which is socially unacceptable and so deemed blameworthy by the individual 222. The behavior of Olenka that does
not care about her appearance makes her surrounding feel strange because before, they know Olenka as an interesting person.
e. Olenka’s Rigidity of Thinking
Olenka’s behavior after the trip of Smirnin, a man who entertains Olenka when she is sad caused by the death of her second husband, shows that she has no
interest to anything. She does not have desire to do anything. Her thought is blank and she cannot express her feeling about anything. When her love leaves her, it is
difficult for her to think about new ways and ideas. It is because she is a dependent person. She does not have something to be survived because her life
always depends on someone she loves. She looks into her yard without interest, thinks of nothing, and wishes for nothing, and when night comes on, goes to bed
and dreams of her yard. She eats and drinks as it is unwillingly p.184. Olenka cannot form an opinion to anything she has seen. She can
understand the object she sees, but she is unable to express that into words. She becomes have no orientation in life because she does not have someone to rely on.
She does not know what she has to do in her life, because it is difficult for her to express her feeling without someone who can give her guidance.
When she has Kukin or Pustovalov, or the veterinary Surgeon, Olenka could explain everything, and give her opinion about anything you like,
but now there was the same emptiness in her brain and her heart as there was in her yard outside. And it was as harsh and as bitter as worm wood in
the mouth p.184.
