emotion Johnson 7. Moreover, according to Johnson, male-identified qualities are associated with the work valued in patriarchal society such as in business,
politics, war, athletics, law, and medicine 7.
3 Male Centeredness
In addition to being male dominated and male identified, patriarchal society is male centered, which means that the focus of attention is primarily on
men and what they do Johnson 8. In this regard, women are portrayed as creatures who are fussing their support work of domestic labor, maintaining
loving relationships, taking care of children and providing services for men.
4 Obsession with Control
The fourth characteristic of patriarchal society is an obsession with control as a core value around which social life is organized. Johnson states that control is
an essential element of patriarchy 12. It means that men maintain privilege by controlling women and anyone else who might threaten it. In this characteristic
men are assumed and expected to be in control at all times, to be unemotional, to present themselves as invulnerable, autonomous, independent, strong, rational,
logical, dispassionate, knowledgeable, always right, and in command of every situation, especially those involving women Johnson 12. Women, in contrast,
are assumed and expected to be the opposite, especially in relation to men.
c. Victorian American Scene in Nineteenth Century
The nineteenth century is also known as Victorian Era according to the reign of Queen Victoria in England. This is the setting of time when the novel was
written. Hence, this part consists of some description of the socio-cultural
background that lead to the clear understanding of the novel itself. The Victorian society and characteristics of Victorian women are described in this part.
1 The Victorian Society
The family that is the smallest kinship unit in a society in Victorian era embraced the concept of patriarchal family Ausubel 65. Patriarchal society
viewed man as the one to hold the power of the house and the whole family. Moreover, the husband acquired at the moment of marriage all the personal
property of his wife, such as money, animals, and goods. He was also exercising a religious function such as saying grace at meals Kane 61-63.
Women in Victorian time were distinctly one of subordination especially outside the home. Within household they performed many tasks that helped keep
the family afloat economically, such as sewing, baking, cooking cleaning, making soap, candles. They were teachers and nurses. The other task was to transmit
household skills to their daughters, since schools above the elementary level were predominantly boys and emphasized only a classical curriculum.
The subordination of women was reflected in the laws prevailing in the nineteenth century. The husband had an entire legal right to his wife and could use
gentle legal means to constrain her liberty. He had to a sole right to remedies of legal wrongs done to his wife. The woman could not sue alone, and she lost
complete control over her property as long as the marriage continued Kane 62- 63.
2 The Victorian Women
The descriptions of Victorian women presented here are the proper behavior and duties of a woman. Every woman in Victorian time must have had
behavior and duties according to the society’s expectations.
Victorian women were supposed to be good mothers, domestic paragons, and when they had enough money, they had to be benevolent contributors to
society. They were supposed to be demure and well spoken, beautiful yet seen and less frequently heard. They were not allowed to work outside the home or to
support themselves Swisher 154. The ideal Victorian women were a pious, pure, and above all submissive.
In the Victorian Era, parents trained their daughters for the preparation of marriage intensively. The training consisted of various trainings in order to attract
men who were potential to be their husbands. There were three main aspects that became the important tools to accomplish their purpose, which were music,
drawing, and French. The demand for the girls in the Victorian Era like this occurred to fulfill
the taste of Victorian bachelors. They needed the girls to be innocent or at least give impression that they look innocent. It could be done when the girls wear
white colored outfit that represented the form of virginity and purity. Not only white, the girls also liked to dress in blue or pink to show similar sense Swisher
184. Excluded from the world of business and commerce, many middle-and
upper class women devoted considerable time and energy to decorate their homes Boyer 685. In leisure time, women shared confidences with friends in informal
social clubs, tried out new fashions in street promenading, and had fun and excitement in neighborhood dance halls and amusement park excursions Boyer
690. As a result, women in this era should play as proper women. Furthermore, the position of women in Victorian society presents a
dilemma since they were said as the most active and responsible individuals in the eighteenth century and they turned into the most intellectually confined and
domestic creatures in the nineteenth century. It was found by Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville who travelled in America in 1830 that Victorian women were
much more independent and self-assertive before marriage Abbot 13. Meanwhile, Victorian women understood the constraints that marriage
imposed on freedom. Furthermore, they also willingly accepted the social restrictions that put into effect a domestic model of marriage. The Victorian
marriage was a patriarchal authorial institution where the husband was a family protector and representative, while the mother was to be submissive and fruitful.
The Victorian family was also a patriarchal one in which a husband has a full control over his wife in the eyes of law 13. For instance, a man could divorce a
merely woman on the views of adultery. However, a woman had to prove her husband guilty of adultery if she wanted to ask for divorce. Moreover, for
Victorian women, divorce was not only expensive but also very hard to do as well. Women and men stayed in unhappy marriages because of numerous reasons.
Many stayed away from divorce because of the stigma attached to divorced women. It was also considered as societal taboo Abbot 45.
Another life aspect that is shown by Victorian women is their behaviors which were imported from England. English customs were developing standard of
feminine behaviors which promoted idleness, passivity, and gentility. It brought influence to American women especially middle-class women. They were being
encouraged to act like aristocrats, scorning work, and occupying activities which had nothing to do with marketplace. For middle-class women, this new behavior
was connected to commercial wealth which dealt with conspicuous consumption of large houses, staffs or servants, and costly furnishing 14.
B. Theoretical Framework
This section summarizes the contribution of the theories mentioned in the analysis of this study. The object of the study is Edith Wharton’s work titled The
Age of Innocence and the problem is about patriarchal society in America nineteenth century which Ellen Olenska rebels against to. Hence, in this study
Socio-historical approach is employed to support the analysis in answering the problem above. Meanwhile, the theory of character and characterization is also
applied to describe Ellen Olenska’s characteristics as the main character of the novel.
In addition to dig out more understanding about the description of how Ellen Olenska rebels against patriarchal society as well as the picture of the
society itself, theory of patriarchy, the characteristics of patriarchal society, and the descriptions of socio-cultural background of America in nineteenth century are
employed. After all related theories mentioned above are gained, the analysis of this
study can be implemented because it already has supporting theories.
