conservative patriarchal society has so many legal constraints and social controls that limits the freedom of movement of all women in Saudi Arabia Kelly, 2010:
431.
5. Literature and Society
A writer is a social being since heshe lives in a society. A society in which a writer lives can give a big influence toward hisher writing. Rene Wellek
in Theory of Literature explains the relation of literature and society. She states Literature represents life and life is, in large measure, a social reality,
even though the natural world and the inner or subjective world of the individual have also been objects of literary imitation 1956: 94
Literature is often used by authors as a representation of their life, it is an expression of society 1956: 95. The aspects of society such as social, economy,
or even political aspect in which an author lives, can bring influences in hisher literary work.
A novel, for example can be a description about a certain society in which the author lives, it can represent many aspects of the author s society that heshe
puts in the story as an imitation of the real world.
C. Theoretical Framework
As mentioned in the previous part, there are three problem formulation regarding to this research. Each problem needs a theory in order to be answered.
All theories help to analyze the struggle of women in a patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia as seen in Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Al-Sanea.
First is the theory of character and characterization. By applying Abrams and Murphy s theory, the qualities of the character can be identified through the
way she speaks and what she does, her way of thinking, what other characters say about her, etc. Even though there are four major characters in the novel, the writer
only focuses on two characters, they are Gamrah and Michelle. Once the qualities of the characters are revealed, the writer applies the theory of gender
discrimination to see phenomenon of discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia society and the effect toward the characters.
Secondly, the theory of gender discrimination is used by the writer to identifying the discrimination against women that occur in the novel whether it is
a domestic or social discrimination that cause a struggle for women characters in the novel. The writer will also use the information about women s rights in Saudi
Arabia in order to get a deeper analysis on the gender discrimination issue. The last is the theory of feminism. In order to identify the struggle of
women in the novel towards the gender discrimination, the theory of feminism is used by the writer. Not only feminism in general but also the theory of radical
feminism as one of the particular movements of feminism.
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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The novel Girls of Riyadh was written by Rajaa Al-Sanea, a young woman doctor who grew up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The novel was first published in
2005 in Arabic language in Lebanon with the original title Banat Al-Riyadh. It was prohibited to be published in Saudi Arabia due to the controversial content
since Saudi Arabia is very strict with things related to sex segregation. In 2007, the novel was translated into English and published by The Penguin Press New
York and finally available in many bookstores in Saudi Arabia. The novel consists of 286 pages and divided into 50 chapters.
The novel which is written in the form of emails by a woman narrator tells about the life of four Riyadh young women. They are, Gamrah, Michelle, Lamees,
and Sadeem. The narrator herself is the friend of these four women. She discovers the life of her friends by sending emails every week to the internet subscriber in
Saudi Arabia. The story begins with Gamrah s wedding. She is married to Rashid who is
chosen by her family and move to United States. Gamrah realizes that Rashid does not love her. Once they move in America, Gamrah finds out that Rashid
loves another woman who is a Japanese women. Gamrah tries hard to protect her marriage by using her pregnancy but it did not work out. She eventually divorced
with Rashid and comes back to Riyadh and bears her son there. Being a widow
