CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The first undergraduate thesis the writer refers to is done by a student of Petra Christian University; Gina. According to Gina 2011, as she says in “Brida’s
Psychosocial Problems and Self Treatment in Paulo Coelho’s Brida, Paulo Coelho’s Brida is a novel which is less popular than other Paulo Coelho’s novels. However,
Gina realizes this novel as an interesting one. According to Gina, Paulo Coelho’s Brida, as a fantasy novel with the elements of magic which is not real, is different
from other fantasy novels. Paulo Coelho’s Brida tells about life that all human beings know and understand. It also makes Gina know the view point of the author about life
which is different from her own view point. Besides Gina also says that she can find some values she never knows before. An interesting novel by a qualified author with
a lot of values within becomes the reasons why Gina analyzes Paulo Coelho’s Brida. In this undergraduate thesis, Gina focuses on the major character of Paulo
Coelho’s Brida. Gina argues that Brida faces psychosocial crises when she learns magic. Those crises cause some problems to her. Therefore the aim of Gina’s thesis is
to discover what the problems are and also how she overcomes those problems. It is stated in the
conclusion part of her undergraduate thesis as below
Furthermore, to analyze those problems, I emphasize two main points to discuss. Firstly, I analyze what problems that Brida faces in the novel. And
secondly, I analyze how Brida overcomes her problems. Thus to analyze these
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two main points, I use the theory of Erik H. Erickson, the psychosocial crises or development, a theory about the eight stages that human has to face, such
as trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role confusion, intimacy
versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation and integrity versus despair. But, from these stages, I only use the first five stages to analyze the first of my
analysis and the first four stages to analyze the second point of my analysis 2011:38.
The second undergraduate thesis the writer refers to is done by a Maranatha Christian University student, Ariston. Different from Gina’s undergraduate thesis
which captures Brida as the girl with crises, Ariston 2011 in his undergraduate thesis entitled “Analysis of Theme through The Portrayal of The Protagonist in Paulo
Coelho’s Brida” tries to get the theme of Paulo Coelho’s Brida trough the portrayal of Brida as the protagonist character. Therefore Ariston needs to examine the
characteristics of Brida. According to Ariston, Brida is a teenager who is ambitious, brave, and optimistic. Ariston explains one of Brida’s characteristics as he stated in
the conclusion part as below Brida’s optimistic characteristic is shown by her open mindedness. She is
willing to accept others’ suggestion which might help her to find her path. She is willing to learn about her calling. Brida is willing to listen to others and to
change her perception if necessary. In the beginning, she has a doubt about who she really is, but after she meets Wicca and listens to Wicca’s suggestion
she changes her perceptions about herself because finally she realizes that she has a gift and that she is an extraordinary person. She is willing to learn about
Tradition of the Moon and do the tests given by Wicca and Magus 2011:16- 17.
According to Ariston, those characteristics help Brida in facing all circumstances in pursuing her dream; learning magic. Finally, Ariston concludes that hard work and
good characteristics are required in achieving goals with satisfactory results.
Compared to the two undergraduate theses above, the study made by the writer is completely different. In Gina’s thesis, Gina analyzes the problems Brida
faces in learning magic and how she solves those problems. In order to do her analysis, Gina uses theory about psychosocial crises by Erik H. Erickson. This Gina’s
view point makes the difference between her study and the writer’s study. In this study the writer details the occultism in Paulo Coelho’s Brida while Gina in her thesis
analyzes the problems Brida faces when she learns occultism. Gina also does not analyze the occultism at all because according to Gina, magic is something which is
not real. The writer argues that the author Paulo Coelho tries to describe what occultism is through the major characters. Therefore, the main focus in this study is to
analyze what occultism is. The study made by the writer is also completely different from Ariston’s
undergraduate thesis. In his undergraduate thesis, Ariston reveals the theme of Paulo Coelho’s Brida by analyzing the Brida characteristics. Although Ariston admits that
Brida is an extra ordinary girl who has a gift, he does not analyze the occultism at all. On the other hand the writer analyzes the occultism described in Paulo Coelho’s
Brida. The writer also analyzes the characteristics of main characters while Ariston focuses only on Brida’s characteristics.
B. Review of Related Theories