Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Binary Opposition on the Role of Woman as Depicted in the Interpreter of Maladies

Binary Opposition on the Role of Woman as Depicted in the
Interpreter of Maladies
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Valentina Laras Gita Andaru
112010010

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2014

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in
any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any
university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material
previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is

made in the text.
Copyright@ 2014. Valentina Laras Gita Andaru and Danielle Donelson-Sims,
M.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means
without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English
Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, Satya Wacana Christian
University, Salatiga.
Valentina Laras Gita Andaru

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Binary Opposition on the Role of Woman as Depicted in the
Interpreter of Maladies

Abstract
Living in this patriarchal world may bring some disadvantages to women.
One of the example is bring women down to size by giving them limited role in
literary works. Examining “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri, I will
analyze how the main character, Mrs. Das, limited in her role. This paper attemps
to reveal how women’s role limited in literary works by embracing the theory of

binary opposition role by Gilbert and Gubar. It will explain how women are
portrayed either as an angel or a monster (3). In its conclusion, this paper will
show that Mrs. Das’ character is limited through binary opposition role in the
story of “Interpreter of Maladies”.

Key words: Interpreter of Maladies, binary opposition role on women, Gilbert
and Gubar