Motifs Of Woman Emancipation In Abidah El Khalieqy’s Novel Perempuan Berkalung Sorban And Hendrik Ibsen’s Play A Doll’s House: A Comparative Literature Study

6 CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

2.1. Novel

A novel is a piece of prose fiction of a reasonable length. Even a definition as toothless as this, however, is still too restricted. Not all novels are writtten in prose. There are novels in verse, like Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin or Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate. As for fiction, the distinction between fiction and fact is not always clear. The novel is a genre which resists exact definition. This in itself is not particularly striking, since many things – ‘game’, for example, or ‘hairy’ – resist exact definition. It is hard to say how ape-like you have to be in order to qualify as hairy. The point about the novel, however, is not just that it eludes definitions, but that it actively undermines them. It is less a genre than an anti-genre. It cannibalizes other literary modes and mixes the bits and pieces promiscuously together. You can find poetry and dramatic dialogue in the novel, along with epic, pastoral, satire, history, elegy, tragedy and any number of other literary modes.

2.2 Drama

When one deals with dramatic texts one has to bear in mind that drama differs considerably from poetry or narrative in that it is usually written for the purpose of being performed on stage. Although plays exist which were mainly written for a reading audience, dramatic texts are generally meant to be transformed into another mode of presentation or medium: the theatre.

7 Depending on whether one reads a play or watches it on stage, one has different kinds of access to dramatic texts. As a reader, one receives first-hand written information (if it is mentioned in the secondary text) on what the characters look like, how they act and react in certain situations, how they speak, what sort of setting forms the background to a scene, etc. However, one also has to make a cognitive effort to imagine all these features and interpret them for oneself. Stage performances, on the other hand, are more or less ready-made instantiations of all these details. In other words: at the theatre one is presented with a version of the play which has already been interpreted by the director, actors, costume designers, make-up artists and all the other members of theatre staff, who bring the play to life. (Basics of English Studies, Version 03/04, Drama)

2.3 Comparative Literature Study

Comparative literature as an intellectual field arose in the nineteenth century, a counterpart of the equally new fields of comparative anatomy, comparative law, and comparative philology. These fields sought to locate what they postulated as the larger whole that united the various differences of specific languages, laws, species, and (national) literatures. Comparative literature presumably acquired its name as such from a series of French anthologies for the teaching of literature; published in 1816, they were entitled Cours de littérature comparée.

The intellectual field and later the academic discipline of comparative literature, then, circulated and developed in nineteenth century Europe as a gentlemanly and evaluative inquiry into what constituted the worthy contemporary literatures of Europe, the exchanges between those literatures, and their links to

8 presumably shared traditions of the past. It is noteworthy that this development was concomitant with the emergence and consolidation of nation states in Europe and their legitimation through cultural claims to national literary and popular traditions. It is as noteworthy that the circulation and institutionalization of the concept of comparative literature was also concomitant with the continuing colonial expansion of European states throughout the globe and with the intra-European contest over who would control which colonies. In 1886, one of the `map-makers' in the burgeoning field of comparative literature, Hutcheson Macaulay Posnett (in his Comparative Literature, published in London by K. Paul - Trench as part of their “International Scientific Series”) defined “the proper order of our studies in comparative literature” as the pursuit “ of causes which can be specified and described.” Those studies were to reveal the socio-cultural development of “man” from clan to city, from city to nation, from both of these to cosmopolitan humanity

Comparative literature is the study of literature from around the world, transcending the restrictions of national and linguistic boundaries. Traditionally, comparative study has been based on literary movements, periods and lines of influence, as well as on genres, themes, myths, and legends. In recent years comparative literature has come to include the comparison of literature with other areas of human experience.

Comparative literature is an excellent major for anyone desiring a broadening and enriching liberal arts education. Its application to foreign cultures is particularly useful for careers in foreign service and international trade. Translating, editing and publishing, journalism, broadcasting, and film are other possibilities, as well as advertising and public relations, politics, writing, library work, and criticism.

9 Comparative literature is also, like English, an excellent foundation for careers in the professions, especially law.

Comparative literature is the study of inter-relationship between any two or more than two significant literary works or literatures. It is essential that while making comparative study we must take the sources, themes, motif, myths, forms, artistic strategies, social and religious movements and trends into consideration. comparative study has been based on literary movements, periods and lines of influence, as well as on genres, themes, myths, and legends. In recent years comparative literature has come to include the comparison of literature with other areas of human experience.

Comparative literature offers students the opportunity to study a broad range of literary subjects from various cultures throughout the world.

The Comparatist with their critical approach and investigations will find out, the similarities and dissimilarities among various works that he has undertaken for the purpose of comparison and justification lies in the fact that his approach must be unbiased and unprejudiced to reach the ultimate truth.

It is only their earnest and sincere approach which will bring forth the naked truth or natural results and this really is the purpose of comparative study.

If taken historically, comparative literature has been a result of a reaction against the narrow nationalism of the 19th century scholarship in England. Though it was an occasional tradition, the comparative study of literary works was in vogue, right from the beginning of the Christian era. Romans were the pioneers in the field of comparative study. They out did the Greeks in the development of comparative

10 study. The Romans worked out the tradition of comparing the works of great orators and poets of Greek and Roman and found out many similarities among their studies of literary works.

The comparative study is not different from a critical approach of a particular literature except the fact that here we deal with two or more than two literatures side by side. In this way, the subject matter becomes vaster and perspective wider. Boundaries of comparative literature have to be extended to encompass the entirety of human life and experiences in one's embrace.

2.4 Motifs

A motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood. Any number of narrative elements with symbolic significance can be classified as motifs—whether they are images, spoken or written phrases, structural or stylistic devices, or other elements like sound, physical movement, or visual components in dramatic narratives. To distinguish between a motif and theme a general rule is that a theme is abstract and a motif is concrete. A motif is not necessarily a theme. The latter is usually defined as a message, statement, or idea, while a motif is simply a detail repeated for larger symbolic meaning. In other words, a narrative motif—a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning—can produce a theme; but it can also create other narrative aspects distinct from theme. A motif is a recurring symbol which takes on a figurative meaning. We see them in books, films, poems; in fact almost every text commonly uses the literary device of the motif. A motif can be almost anything: an idea, an object, a concept, a

11 character archetype, the weather, a color or even a statement. Motifs are used to establish a theme or a certain mood, they have a symbolic meaning.

The literary device ‘motif’ is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature. Using a motif refers to the repetition of a specific theme dominating the literary work. Motifs are very noticeable and play a significant role in defining the nature of the story, the course of events and the very fabric of the literary piece.

Through motifs will be found the theme of the story, because motifs is smallest elements of the story and what motifs that is repeated in the story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other literary aspects such as theme or mood.

Knowing motifs, it make us easy to find the differences and the similarity of the literature and in this thesis will be compared the both of the literary work based on finding motifs of the both of literary work.

Sometimes, examples of motif are mistakenly identified as examples of symbols. Symbols are images, ideas, sounds or words that represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing. Motifs, on the other hand, are images, ideas, sounds or words that help to explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme. Moreover, a symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work, whereas a motif is a recurring element.

12 2.5 Theory of emancipation

Emancipation is any of various efforts to procuring more generally in discussion of such matters

Emancipation means the freedom of somebody especially from legal, political or social restrictions. The phrase "Emancipation of women" is frequently used to describe a process wherein the powerless can gain a greater share over resources and decision-making. Generally, the emancipation of women is a process through which women in general and poor women in particular tend to gain control over resources and ideologies. The emancipation of women ensures the freedom of self-fulfillment and self-development as well as equal access to domestic and community resources. Without women, the prosperity of a society cannot be gained properly. It is because they are large in number and you cannot expect to go ahead by ignoring them completely. It is impossible that a society will progress keeping a number of noticeable population illiterate and non-workable. If that society progresses 2 steps forward, then it will come back 5 steps. Ultimately the progress will be scattered. So by emancipating the women from all kind of social, mental and physical bondage, you will make the ideal situation for a society to prosper.

So many kinds of emancipation, namely: Emancipation of freedom, Emancipation of woman, Emancipation of economy, Emancipation of minors, Emancipation of proclamation and etc. But in this thesis will be focus with Emancipation of woman, because in the background of this thesis have been explained that the both of literature tells about position of woman.

13 Theeffort to secureequalrightsforwomenand to removegenderdiscriminationfromlaws,institutions,andbehavioralpatterns.Thewomen' srightsmovementbegan in thenineteenthcenturywiththedemand by somewomenreformersfortheright to vote,known as suffrage,andforthesamelegalrights as men.Thoughthevotewassecuredforwomen by t theU.S.Constitution in 1920,most of thegainswomenhavemade in achievinglegalequalityandendinggenderdiscriminationhavecomesincethe1960s

of thaterawasprimarilyfocused on

ensuringthatAfricanAmericansandotherracialminoritiessecure thelaws.However,theinclusion of sex as a protectedcategoryunderth

Emancipation of woman often is said by feminist, it generally self-defines as advocating for or supporting the rights and equality of women.

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common stated aim: to define, establish, and defe social women in education and employment.

and early twentieth century. In the UK and US, it focused on the promotion of equal contract, marriage, parenting, and property rights for women. By the end of the nineteenth century, activism focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women's campaigning for women's sexual,

14 The literary work that be compared is written at the nineteenth century, so emancipation of woman still strong to be talking when the writer make the both of literary works.

The feminist movement produced both feminist fiction and non-fiction, and created new interest in women's writing. It also prompted a general reevaluation of women's lives and contributions have been underrepresented as areas of scholarly interest. Much of the early period of feminist literary scholarship was given over to the rediscovery and reclamation of texts written by women. Studies like Dale Spender's Mothers of the Novel (1986) and Jane Spencer's The Rise of the Woman Novelist (1986) were ground-breaking in their insistence that women have always been writing.

The reasons behind the dis-empowerment of women are many. However, we can sort out the major causes into the following three heads.

Economic Causes: The majority of the women are dependent on men for their economic insolvency. Socio-cultural And Religious Causes: (i) Illiteracy: The most of the women in Asia and Africa are illiterate. The rate of literacy of women is less than that of men. That’s why women are not cautious about their rights-whether social or legal. As a result men dominate their counterparts and deprive them of their rights. (ii) Negligence: In Asia and Africa women are ignored. So people usually do not tend to welcome a girl baby in their family. Even highly educated people fail to overcome this type of mentality. That’s why a girl is neglected right from the beginning of her life and do not get the minimum attention that she

15 deserves.(iii)Cultural Indifference: The culture of Asia also affects women to a great extent. They are considered inferior to men. On the other hand, the system of dowry on the part of a bride is detrimental to women development. The dowry system leads to ruining of life of many girls. Many marital relations are broken due to this system. And in most of these cases, the girl has to lead a cursed life. Often they commit suicide due to the inability of bearing social harassment. That’s why their moving forward becomes a hilarious task. Political Causes: In Asia and Africa women has a very few political rights. They do not get support by the men. Women representation in the party committee and other bodies is very rare.

10 study. The Romans worked out the tradition of comparing the works of great orators and poets of Greek and Roman and found out many similarities among their studies of literary works.

The comparative study is not different from a critical approach of a particular literature except the fact that here we deal with two or more than two literatures side by side. In this way, the subject matter becomes vaster and perspective wider. Boundaries of comparative literature have to be extended to encompass the entirety of human life and experiences in one's embrace.

2.4 Motifs

A motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood. Any number of narrative elements with symbolic significance can be classified as motifs—whether they are images, spoken or written phrases, structural or stylistic devices, or other elements like sound, physical movement, or visual components in dramatic narratives. To distinguish between a motif and theme a general rule is that a theme is abstract and a motif is concrete. A motif is not necessarily a theme. The latter is usually defined as a message, statement, or idea, while a motif is simply a detail repeated for larger symbolic meaning. In other words, a narrative motif—a detail repeated in a pattern of meaning—can produce a theme; but it can also create other narrative aspects distinct from theme. A motif is a recurring symbol which takes on a figurative meaning. We see them in books, films, poems; in fact almost every text commonly uses the literary device of the motif. A motif can be almost anything: an idea, an object, a concept, a

11 character archetype, the weather, a color or even a statement. Motifs are used to establish a theme or a certain mood, they have a symbolic meaning.

The literary device ‘motif’ is any element, subject, idea or concept that is constantly present through the entire body of literature. Using a motif refers to the repetition of a specific theme dominating the literary work. Motifs are very noticeable and play a significant role in defining the nature of the story, the course of events and the very fabric of the literary piece.

Through motifs will be found the theme of the story, because motifs is smallest elements of the story and what motifs that is repeated in the story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other literary aspects such as theme or mood.

Knowing motifs, it make us easy to find the differences and the similarity of the literature and in this thesis will be compared the both of the literary work based on finding motifs of the both of literary work.

Sometimes, examples of motif are mistakenly identified as examples of symbols. Symbols are images, ideas, sounds or words that represent something else and help to understand an idea or a thing. Motifs, on the other hand, are images, ideas, sounds or words that help to explain the central idea of a literary work i.e. theme. Moreover, a symbol may appear once or twice in a literary work, whereas a motif is a recurring element.

12 2.5 Theory of emancipation

Emancipation is any of various efforts to procuring more generally in discussion of such matters

Emancipation means the freedom of somebody especially from legal, political or social restrictions. The phrase "Emancipation of women" is frequently used to describe a process wherein the powerless can gain a greater share over resources and decision-making. Generally, the emancipation of women is a process through which women in general and poor women in particular tend to gain control over resources and ideologies. The emancipation of women ensures the freedom of self-fulfillment and self-development as well as equal access to domestic and community resources. Without women, the prosperity of a society cannot be gained properly. It is because they are large in number and you cannot expect to go ahead by ignoring them completely. It is impossible that a society will progress keeping a number of noticeable population illiterate and non-workable. If that society progresses 2 steps forward, then it will come back 5 steps. Ultimately the progress will be scattered. So by emancipating the women from all kind of social, mental and physical bondage, you will make the ideal situation for a society to prosper.

So many kinds of emancipation, namely: Emancipation of freedom, Emancipation of woman, Emancipation of economy, Emancipation of minors, Emancipation of proclamation and etc. But in this thesis will be focus with Emancipation of woman, because in the background of this thesis have been explained that the both of literature tells about position of woman.

13 Theeffort to secureequalrightsforwomenand to removegenderdiscriminationfromlaws,institutions,andbehavioralpatterns.Thewomen' srightsmovementbegan in thenineteenthcenturywiththedemand by somewomenreformersfortheright to vote,known as suffrage,andforthesamelegalrights as men.Thoughthevotewassecuredforwomen by t theU.S.Constitution in 1920,most of thegainswomenhavemade in achievinglegalequalityandendinggenderdiscriminationhavecomesincethe1960s

of thaterawasprimarilyfocused on

ensuringthatAfricanAmericansandotherracialminoritiessecure thelaws.However,theinclusion of sex as a protectedcategoryunderth

Emancipation of woman often is said by feminist, it generally self-defines as advocating for or supporting the rights and equality of women.

Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common stated aim: to define, establish, and defe social women in education and employment.

and early twentieth century. In the UK and US, it focused on the promotion of equal contract, marriage, parenting, and property rights for women. By the end of the nineteenth century, activism focused primarily on gaining political power, particularly the right of women's campaigning for women's sexual,

14 The literary work that be compared is written at the nineteenth century, so emancipation of woman still strong to be talking when the writer make the both of literary works.

The feminist movement produced both feminist fiction and non-fiction, and created new interest in women's writing. It also prompted a general reevaluation of women's lives and contributions have been underrepresented as areas of scholarly interest. Much of the early period of feminist literary scholarship was given over to the rediscovery and reclamation of texts written by women. Studies like Dale Spender's Mothers of the Novel (1986) and Jane Spencer's The Rise of the Woman Novelist (1986) were ground-breaking in their insistence that women have always been writing.

The reasons behind the dis-empowerment of women are many. However, we can sort out the major causes into the following three heads.

Economic Causes: The majority of the women are dependent on men for their economic insolvency. Socio-cultural And Religious Causes: (i) Illiteracy: The most of the women in Asia and Africa are illiterate. The rate of literacy of women is less than that of men. That’s why women are not cautious about their rights-whether social or legal. As a result men dominate their counterparts and deprive them of their rights. (ii) Negligence: In Asia and Africa women are ignored. So people usually do not tend to welcome a girl baby in their family. Even highly educated people fail to overcome this type of mentality. That’s why a girl is neglected right from the beginning of her life and do not get the minimum attention that she

15 deserves.(iii)Cultural Indifference: The culture of Asia also affects women to a great extent. They are considered inferior to men. On the other hand, the system of dowry on the part of a bride is detrimental to women development. The dowry system leads to ruining of life of many girls. Many marital relations are broken due to this system. And in most of these cases, the girl has to lead a cursed life. Often they commit suicide due to the inability of bearing social harassment. That’s why their moving forward becomes a hilarious task. Political Causes: In Asia and Africa women has a very few political rights. They do not get support by the men. Women representation in the party committee and other bodies is very rare.