In the third step, the writer applied the theories appropriate to be adjusted to answer the two problem formulation. Since the first problem formulation is
about how the character of Francesca Johnson was represented in the novel, the writer used the theory of character to answer it. The second problem formulation
was related with feminism issues portrayed through Francesca Johnson in The Bridges of Madison County; therefore, the writer used the theory of feminism to
answer it. Those two problems formulation were discussed in the analysis. The last step was drawing the conclusion. After the writer discussed the
two problems formulation in the chapter of analysis, the conclusion was drawn. There was a report about how is the character of Francesca Johnson and the
important information related with this character. There was also the brief report about feminism issues portrayed through Francesca Johnson in The Bridges of
Madison County. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
Since there are two questions in the problem formulation, the analysis in this paper will be divided in to two sections. In the first section, there will be a
discussion about the woman main character in the novel that is Francesca Johnson. The result of this first section of analysis will be the answer of the first
problem formulation. The second section is discussing about Francesca Johnson, who reflects the life of women in the middle of the emerging feminist movement.
The result of the section of analysis is the answer for the second problem of the problem formulation.
A. The Characterization of Francesca Johnson
This study concerns on the life of women in the middle of the emerging feminist movement which is represented by Francesca Johnson in Waller’s The
Bridges of Madison County, that is why the writer wants to give a sufficient explanation of Francesca Johnson. It is important to take a look deeply on
Francesca Character because the character that is discussed brings such an important role, that is as the representation of women on a certain era that is the
middle era of the emerging feminist movement. Francesca Johnson is the character that is observed most often in the story.
This character is placed as the one that the readers will pay so much attention on. That is why, based on Henkle’s theory, Francesca Johnson is categorized as a
major character of the story.
24 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Based on another theory of character, Francesca Johnson is characterized as a round character. It is Perrine’s theory which says, a round character is the
character which is complex and many sided. In the story of the novel, Francesca’s character is told as a woman who has two sides of life. On one side, she lives in
the world of reality in which she is a wife, she has Richard as her husband and, Michael and Carolyn as her children. There she lives with her family and does her
routines as an Iowan farmer’s wife, but on the other side of her life, she lives with her illusion and her dreams, to be one who is able to express who is she and what
she want to be. In this novel, Waller builds the character of Francesca Johnson with some
characteristics. He illustrates Francesca’s personal description as a woman who has an interesting physical appearance. According to Murphy’s theory, the author
can make his characters understandable by using some type of description, one of them is character as seen by another.
He took a small drink of tea and watched her. She was about five feet, fortyish or a little older, pretty face, and a fine, warm body. But there were
pretty women everywhere he traveled. Such physical matters were nice, yet to him, intelligence and passion born of living, the ability to move and
be moved by subtleties of the mind and spirit, were what really counted. That’s why he found most of young women unattractive, regardless of
their exterior beauty. They had not lived long enough to possess those qualities that interest him Waller, p.38-39.
The quotation above is about Francesca’s personal description and also the
character of Francesca as seen by another. There, Waller represents Francesca’s character from the point of view of a man through the eyes of Robert Kincaid, the
man main character of the story. Robert as a man has a thought that Francesca is simple but she has something that makes her has the impression of being different
from another pretty girls that Robert ever met before. From this quotation, the readers will find that Francesca is a woman who possesses quality that not all of
women have and also attracting a man. One of them is that Francesca is a woman who is not simply pretty, but also has a high quality.
Stanton’s theory says that a reader can understand a character in a story from the character’s own dialogue and behavior. In the novel, Francesca is
described as a smoker. Robert Kincaid pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket, shook one
halfway out, and offered it to her. For the second time in five minutes, she surprised herself and took the cigarette. What I am doing? She thought.
She had smoked years ago but gave it up under the steady thumb of criticism from Richard… Francesca Johnson, farmer’s wife, rested against
the dusky truck seat, smoked the cigarette, and pointed out, “There it is, just around the curve.” Waller, p.33.
The quotation above shows that she used to smoke, but she gave it up because
Richard wanted her to stop her habit. She goes back to her old behavior after her meeting with Robert.
“But” – she hesitated, smoked, looked across the table at Robert Kincaid – Waller, p.42.
They both smoked, saying nothing, drinking brandy, drinking coffee Waller, p.64.
Francesca really enjoys her habit to smoke. It seems that by smoking, she
wants to shows her rebellion toward Richard’s rule. Francesca snuffed out her cigarette in the ashtray, swung open the door,
and put her boots on the gravel. She glanced around to make sure none of her neighbors’ car were coming and walked toward the bridge Waller,
p.35.
Abrams in his theory says that the quality of a character can be seen by their dialogue and action. Here, Francesca is described as a woman who has a
consciousness of her social environment, Iowa People. There is a quotation which shows Francesca’s reaction toward the society around her.
‘I’m supposed to say, just fine, it’s quiet. The people are nice. All of that’s true, mostly. It is quiet. And the people are nice in certain ways. We all
help each other out. If someone gets sick or hurt, the neighbors pitch in and pick corn or harvest oats or do whatever needs to be done. In town,
you can leave your car unlocked and let your children run without worrying about them. There are a lot of good things about the people here
and I respect them for those qualities…” Waller, p.42.
She realizes that she lives in a social community that is totally new for her. She tries to settle in the situation in it. Here, Francesca is portrayed as an outgoing
person. It is true that Francesca cares of the other like Iowa society, the society in
which she lives, but since she moved to Iowa she becomes an introvert person. Then, after twenty years of living the close life, a life of circumscribed
behavior and hidden feelings demanded by rural culture, Francesca Johnson surprised herself by saying, “I’ll be glad to show it to you, if you
want.” Why she did that, she never had been sure. A young girl’s feelings rising like a bubble through water and bursting out, maybe, after all these
years Waller, p.29.
The quotation above shows that it has been for twenty years that Francesca Johnson should live in the situation which is restricted by the rule of rural culture,
in this case the rule of Iowa society. Francesca lives in a place in which she can not develop herself nor shows her feelings or ideas. And when she says that she
wants to shows Robert the location of the bridge he tries to find, that is the first time for Francesca to do what she want, that is to make a new relationship with
someone new, which is for the Iowa society it is improper to be done by a woman who has a husband to have a relation with a stranger especially a man.
