12 Atkinson states that psychoanalytic theories explore the private
personality; the unconscious motives that direct behavior, “psychoanalytic theory is also concerned with the way in which personality develops” 395. Both Woods
and Atkinson have the similar idea about psychological approach. They emphasize the way personality develops. Since the topics in this study, character,
abuse, and personality are parts of psychological knowledge, psychological approach is the proper approach as a base in analyzing this study.
2. Character and Characterization
a. Definition of Character and Characterization
According to Abrams, character can be defined in two. First, “character is the name of literary genre” 23. It usually draws as a short and amusing in prose
of a distinctive type of person. Second, “character is the person presented in dramatic of narrative work”23. This character is interpreted by the reader as
being gifted with moral, dispositional and emotional qualities. Those are expressed in what they say the dialogue and by what they do the action. In this
study, the second definition is the appropriate definition to define the character of the novel.
Rohrberger and Woods state, “character involves person who acts out in a particular time and place some kind of conflict in a pattern of event” 20. This
study needs theory of character because characters have particular personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them from other characters. The process by
which an author creates a character in the story is called characterization.
13 According to Abcarian and Klotz, “characterization is the process by which the
character is rendered to make them seem real to the reader” 6. Murphy states “characters and personality are conveyed to the readers to
make them understand” 161. Both Abcarian and Murphy have similar idea to conclude the character and characterization in the story. Both of them aim to make
the readers understand each character appears in the story. This theory can be used to analyze Anson’s character in Dean Koontz’s The Husband.
b. Types of Characters
Forster, as quoted in Abram’s, divides character in two parts. They are flat and round characters. “A flat character is presented without much individualizing
detail and can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence” 24. A round character is complex in temperament and motivation is represented with
subtle particularity. Guth and Rico states, “A flat character is a one-dimensional character, which has a one-tract personality” 70. Flat character is simpler than
round character, because a round character has a combination of traits. This character usually undergoes changes in some aspects.
Murphy states that there are nine ways, in which an author attempts to make each character in the story understandable and come alive for the readers.
Those are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life,
conversation of others, reaction, direct comment, thought, and mannerism. First is personal description, “the author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes”
161. This way describes the character from the body. It gives the detail
14 information to the readers about the appearance such as hair, scar, and skin.
Therefore, the readers are helped to imagine the character which is pictured in the novel from the body or appearance.
The second is character as seen by another. Instead of describing a character directly, “the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of
another” 162. The author describes one character from another character’s opinion. It describes the impression of one character to the other. In this method,
the readers are helped to understand the character in the story from another’s point of view.
The third is speech, “the author can give us an insight into the character of one of the person in the book through what that person’s says” 164. How the
person says in the novel can be used as a clue to know the character. The way the person gives opinion can be used to know the character, as seen from their diction
to deliver the message or information and how they give comment or suggestion. The fourth is past life. “by letting the readers learn something about
person’s past life, the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character” 166. The person’s character can be seen from the past life.
What happened in the past life and how the past life may influence in building the character. Therefore, the readers can conclude the person’s character from the
person’s background in the past. The fifth is conversation of others, “the author can also give us clues to a
person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him” 167. The attempt to know about person’s character does not
15 always come directly from the author. It can be concluded from the conversation,
how people give opinion to someone. The sixth is reaction. The author can also give us a clue to a person’s
character by letting us know how that person reacts to the various situations and events. The people’s character can be seen from not only how they speak but also
how they react to something. The reaction indicates their quality, because what they react is the reflection of their mind. The readers can know the person’s
character from their reaction. The seventh is direct comment. “the author can describe or comment on a
person’s character directly” 170. The author directly helps the readers to know the character in the novel by giving the information and clue about the person’s
character. The author describes each character in the story so that the readers can imagine the description of the character in the way.
The next way is thought, “the author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about” 171. What the character thinks is the clue of forming
the character. Therefore, by knowing the person’s thought the readers can decide his character in the story. The last method is mannerism, “the author can describe
a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character” 173. What the person usually does can reflect his character,
for example someone’s character who loves jazz music may be different from the one who loves rock music. Therefore, mannerism can be used to identify the
character in the story. Those methods above are the attempts to analyze the character which is described by the author of the story. In this study, those ways
16 can be used in understanding and analyzing Anson’s character in Dean Koontz’s
The Husband.
3. Kinds of Abuses
