Data Trustworthiness RESEARCH METHOD

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter consists of three main parts. The two parts are the answers of the questions in this research regarding the gender narratives in Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See. The last part is the synthesized framework of binary gender construction attained from the findings. The first part of this chapter discusses how female s in Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See are being subordinated through the construction of their gender. The second part of this chapter discusses how contrastively the engulfing domination of males is narrated also through the construction of their gender. Meanwhile, the last part shows the map of the gender narratives found in the novel and how they create the phenomena of binary gender in society. Gender narratives are key elements to the establishment of a patriarchal society. Female subordination and male domination are usually practiced as the manifestation of gender hierarchy. Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See is a historical novel about war. The novel tells the life story of a girl from her early life to her old day which is trapped under the shadow of war. The novel pictures the various conditions of common civilians as well as military personnel during the war she is in. Both of the parties have to go through continuous hardships caused by the war. This novel seems contrasting the life of this civilian girl with the life of a common military personnel that later becomes her unforgettable person in her life. This research analyzed the novel from the constructio n of the characters’ gender through the representation of gender narratives inside the text. The narratives of women and men in the novel are examined. Narrating characters can be in many ways. There are no limits or didactic and authoritative rules for every author in this matter. A story teller has his or her freedom to tell a story. A person then can be narrated from his or her physical, mental or behaviors or else. All goes in the hand of the narrator. Yet, those narrations from various perspectives, which become parts of the novel’s story, consequently may give particular narratives regarding the characters being narrated. Under this research, those narratives were scrutinized. It was found out that from all the narratives of gender in Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, all of them tend to glorify male superiority through the narrations of dominant male figures. Thus, in effect, they clouded the presence of the women in the novel. Being analyzed from the perspective of gender, those narrations were concluded as the reflection of gender embodiment between male and female in the novel. It was found that the gender narratives from the story were patriarchal based. The narrations among the sexes in the story portrayed the subordination of females and the domination of males. To ease the readers, the researcher has emboldened the phrases or keywords from the data to emphasize the problem. Meanwhile, the italic words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs are genuinely taken from the novel and reflect the author’s emphasis. Both of these signals are important to help understand the discussion of this research better.

A. The Narrations of Female Subordination

This research managed to view the subordination from the perspective of sex that sees women as females. This sexual based perspective is important because it can locate the gender embodiment of “women” from the point of view of sexual discourse. The narratives of gender on females are commonly constructed through the influence of patriarchal paradigm. These narratives about females may then construct their gender identity. This identity is dangerous because a person’s identity should not be generalized. The generalization of female ’s gender identity will only kill the autonomy of every woman to build their own desired identity. This research found that the subordinations of women in the novel are in a form of gender narratives. The construction of females’ gender is manifested through the narration of their vulnerability, fear, irrationality and emotional instability as well as their submissive characteristic.

1. Vulnerability

There are three kinds of narratives under this research which are associated with vulnerability. Those three are fragility, tenderness, and domestic works. The type of female’s fragility in the novel is mostly characterized by the traditional assumption of female’s bodily fragile state. Female’s body is seen as fragile and subjected to male authority. Females are also narrated as identical with the source of tenderness and domestic workers in society. If these generalizations are true, then these may support Levina’s claim on the vulnerability of women. Levina relates vulnerability with feminine values Ganteau, 2015:6. Actually, viewing women as vulnerable beings is very dangerous. It can impact enormously in many spectrums of life. This view obviously creates problems. Vulnerability, according to Ganteau 2015:6, implies “the absence of protection”. This means a vulnerable being must be a being which has no or limited capacity to protect itself. However, does this premise inherently exist in female beings? This question must be answered to show the substantial position of women in this matter. To begin with the analyses, an explanation from the relation of vulnerability with fragility, a tenderness quality, and domestic works is discussed to create a synchronized understanding. Vulnerability relates to the traditional assumption of female’s body fragility because of biological reasons that say females have inferior physical capacity compared to males. Meanwhile, broadly speaking tenderness is associated with vulnerability because this characteristic relates with any soft characteristics. Domestic works are associated with vulnerability because these kinds of work are works done under domestic environment or usually inside a house as a protector. House is associated with a shelter which gives protection to anyone inside it. House represents the guardian for people from the harsh nature or outside world. The world inside a house then is regarded as a safe haven and nurturing place. Therefore, domestic works are associated with vulnerability for their nature as dependent entities to house which acts as a protector. This kind of works does not relate to the outside world which is uncertain and full of insecurities.