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THE IDEAS OF LIBERAL FEMINISM AS REFLECTED
THROUGH THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ELIZA IN
BERNARD SHAW’S PYGMALION
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
Elisabeth Ria Handayani
Student Number: 054214077
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2009
THE IDEAS OF LIBERAL FEMINISM AS REFLECTED
THROUGH THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ELIZA IN
BERNARD SHAW’S PYGMALION
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters
By
Elisabeth Ria Handayani
Student Number: 054214077
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE IDEAS OF LIBERAL FEMINISM AS REFLECTED
THROUGH THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ELIZA IN
BERNARD SHAW’S PYGMALION
By
ELISABETH RIA HANDAYANI
Student Number: 054214077 Approved by A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE IDEAS OF LIBERAL FEMINISM AS REFLECTED
THROUGH THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ELIZA IN
BERNARD SHAW’S PYGMALION
By
ELISABETH RIA HANDAYANI
Student Number: 054214077 Defended before the Board of Examiners
On October 30, 2009 and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
DO THE BEST AND GOD
WILL DO THE REST Dedicated for:
My Lord, Jesus Christ
and My Beloved Parents
UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA
FAKULTAS SASTRA
JURUSAN SASTRA INGGRIS—PROGRAM STUDI SASTRA INGGRIS
PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN KARYA TULIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya menyatakan bahwa skripsi saya
dengan judul: The Ideas of Liberal Feminism as Reflected through the
Characterization of Eliza in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion yang dimajukan untuk
diuji pada tanggal 30 Oktober 2009 adalah hasil karya saya.Dengan ini saya menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa dalam skripsi ini
tidak terdapat keseluruhan atau sebagian tulisan orang lain yang saya ambil dengan
cara menyalin, atau meniru dalam bentuk rangkaian kalimat atau simbol yang
menunjukkan gagasan atau keseluruhan tulisan yang saya salin, tiru atau yang saya
ambil dari tulisan orang lain tanpa memberikan pengakuan pada penulis aslinya.
Apabila saya melakukan hal tersebut di atas, baik sengaja maupun tidak, dengan ini
saya menyatakan menarik skripsi yang saya ajukan sebagai hasil tulisan saya sendiri.
Bila kemudian tebukti bahwa saya ternyata melakukan tindakan menyalin atau
meniru tulisan orang lain seolah-olah hasil pemikiran saya sendiri, berarti gelar dan
ijasah yang telah diberikan kepada universitas batal saya terima.
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN KAMPUS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Elisabeth Ria HandayaniNomor Mahasiswa : 054214077
Demi kepentingan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul The Ideas of Liberal
Feminism as Reflected through the Characterization of Eliza in Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya
memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,
mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain
untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan
royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.Dibuat di Yogyakarta. Pada tanggal: 2 Nopember 2009
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my Father, Jesus Christ for His blessing and guidance. I realize that He is always on my side and I would not have been able to finish this thesis without Him.
I would like to thank my parents, Lorentius Parkiyat and Maria Florentina Budiyati, for their prayers and struggles to finance my study. You have been my motivation in finishing this thesis writing. I am also grateful to my beloved sister, Theresia Vita Kusumaningrum. I love you all.
I would like to give my sincere gratitude to my advisor, Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S, M. Hum., for her precious time and guidance in this thesis writing. I would like also to give my gratitude to my co-advisor Harris Hermansyah Setiajid S.S., M. Hum. I thank all the lecturers and all staff in the secretariat of English Letters Department too.
Furthermore, I thank my closest friends in campus: Fransiska Chandra Leonita, Cindy Abram, Galih Asri Nindhita, Norie Paramita. Thank you for the happiness, sadness, smile, and tear. I really thank you for having the best time with you, my best friends,
I thank all 2005 English Letters Department’s students and all family of
Wine in the Wilderness : Dela, Nana, Efra, Aye, Dian, Greg, Adit. Thank you for
the wonderful moment we have shared together.My special thanks go to Fransiskus Xaverius Erlian Cahyadi for the love, laugh, support, help, and encouragement. He always encourages me when I give up in the process of writing the thesis.
Last but not least, I thank everyone whose name I cannot mention one by one for helping and supporting me during the completion of my thesis. May God bless you all. Thank you so much.
Ria
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ................................................................................................. i
APPROVAL PAGE ....................................................................................... ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE................................................................................... iii
MOTTO PAGE……………………………………………………………… iv
DEDICATION PAGE………………………………………………………. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................... vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................. viii
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................... x
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... xi
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION …………………. .................................. 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................... 1 B. Problem Formulation ......................................................... 4 C. Objectives of the Study...................................................... 4 D. Definition of Terms............................................................ 5CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL REVIEW ............................................... 6
A. Review of Related Studies ................................................. 6 B. Review of Related Theories............................................... 9 1. Theory of Character ..................................................... 9 2. Theory of Characterization .......................................... 10 3. Theory of Patriarchy .................................................... 12 4. The Condition of Women in the Nineteenth Century.. 15 5. Theory of Liberal Feminism ........................................ 16 C. Theoretical Framework...................................................... 21CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 23
A. Object of the Study ............................................................ 23 B. Approach of the Study ....................................................... 24 C. Method of the Study........................................................... 24CHAPTER IV : ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 26
A. The Characterization of Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins, and Alfred Doolittle .................................................................. 26 1. Eliza Doolittle .............................................................. 27 a. Poor ........................................................................ 27 b. Uneducated ............................................................ 28 c. Confident................................................................ 29 d. Keen ....................................................................... 31 e. Independent............................................................ 32 f. Tough ..................................................................... 33a.
Ambitious.............................................................. 34 b.
Rude ...................................................................... 35 c. Impatient ............................................................... 37 3. Alfred Doolittle............................................................ 38 a.
Irresponsible.......................................................... 38 b.
Superior................................................................. 39 B. Men’s Domination Depicted through Higgins and Alfred 41 C. Liberal Feminism Presented by Eliza ................................ 49 1.
Personal Independence................................................. 49 2. Eliza Demands for Education ...................................... 52 3. Gaining Equality .......................................................... 54 4. Personhood................................................................... 56
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION.................................................................... 60
BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................... 63
ABSTRACT
ELISABETH RIA HANDAYANI. The Ideas of Liberal Feminism as Reflected
through the Characterization of Eliza in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.
Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2009.Feminism is one of the issues in literary work which always becomes an interesting topic to be discussed. Feminism concerns the inequality between men and women. Feminism shows how women struggle to be independent and to have the same right as men. Among the theories of feminism, however, this thesis focuses on liberal feminism. This thesis is aimed to reveal the ideas of liberal feminism as reflected through the characterization of Eliza. Eliza is a woman who is dominated by Higgins and his father, Alfred. Eliza is described as an independent woman who dares to release herself from men’s domination.
There are three problems formulated in this thesis. The first is how Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins and Alfred Doolittle are characterized in the play. The second is how men’s domination are depicted through Higgins and Alfred. The third is how the ideas of liberal feminism are presented through the characterization of Eliza.
This thesis is a library research. The writer tries to find all the data and other supported references from some books and the internet. In this thesis, the feminist approach is used because it talks about how the characterization of Eliza represents the ideas of liberal feminism.
There are three points that can be concluded after analyzing the play. First, Eliza is characterized as a poor, uneducated, confident, keen, independent, and tough woman. Higgins is a professor of phonetician who is ambitious, rude, and impatient. Alfred is Eliza’s father who is depicted as an irresponsible and superior man. Second, Eliza has become the object of men’s domination. As Eliza’s father, Alfred has an authority over Eliza’s life. He has sold his daughter to Higgins for money. Under Higgins’ domination, Eliza gets pressure. Higgins has a powerful hold over Eliza. He takes an advantage of Eliza’s inability in speaking English properly. Therefore, Eliza becomes the object of his experiment. Third, the writer concludes that seeing from the characterization, Eliza truly presents the ideas of liberal feminism. She does not depend on men both her father and Higgins. She believes that education is the tool to gain the equality among men and women. She proves that by being an educated woman, she can improve her life. Eliza believes that men can be partner in her life. Therefore, men should not be challenged. What Eliza really wants is personhood. She is not a property to someone else’s happiness and ambition. She is a full human person who should be respected.
ABSTRAK
ELISABETH RIA HANDAYANI. The Ideas of Liberal Feminism as Reflected through the Characterization of Eliza in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2009.
Feminisme adalah salah satu permasalahan dalam karya sastra yang selalu menjadi topik yang menarik untuk didiskusikan. Feminisme menyangkut ketidaksetaraan antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Feminisme menunjukkan bagaimana perempuan berjuang untuk mandiri dan mempunyai hak yang sama seperti laki-laki. Diantara teori-teori feminisme, skripsi ini fokus pada liberal feminisme. Skripsi ini bertujuan untuk mengungkapkan ide-ide tentang liberal feminisme yang tercermin melalui penokohan Eliza. Eliza adalah seorang perempuan yang dikuasai oleh Higgins dan ayahnya, Alfred. Eliza digambarkan sebagai perempuan mandiri yang berani untuk melepaskan diri dari kekuasaan laki-laki.
Terdapat tiga rumusan masalah dalam skripsi ini. Pertama adalah pertanyaan tentang penokohan Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins dan Alfred Doolittle di dalam drama. Kedua adalah pertanyaan tentang dominasi laki-laki yang tercermin melalui Higgins dan Alfred. Ketiga adalah pertanyaan tentang ide- ide liberal feminisme yang tercermin melalui penokohan Eliza.
Skripsi ini menggunakan metode penelitian pustaka. Penulis memperoleh semua data dan sumber-sumber pendukung dari beberapa buku dan internet. Pendekatan feminis digunakan dalam analisis karena pendekatan ini mencakup pembahasan tentang bagaimana penokohan Eliza mencerminkan ide-ide liberal feminisme.
Ada tiga hal yang dapat disimpulkan setelah menganalisis drama ini. Pertama, Eliza ditokohkan sebagai seorang perempuan yang miskin, tidak berpendidikan, percaya diri, berkemauan keras, mandiri dan kuat. Higgins adalah profesor fonetik yang ambisius, kasar dan tidak sabar, sedangkan Alfred adalah seorang ayah yang tidak bertanggung jawab dan merasa dirinya berkuasa atas hidup anaknya. Kedua, Eliza telah menjadi objek dari kekuasaan laki-laki. Sebagai ayah Eliza, Alfred merasa memiliki hak atas hidup anaknya. Dia menjual anaknya kepada Higgins demi uang. Dalam kekuasaan Higgins, Eliza mendapat tekanan. Higgins mengambil keuntungan dari ketidakmampuan Eliza dalam berbicara bahasa Inggris dengan baik. Oleh karena itu, Eliza menjadi objek dari percobaan Higgins. Ketiga, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa penokohan Eliza benar- benar mencerminkan ide-ide liberal feminism. Eliza tidak bergantung pada laki- laki baik ayahnya maupun Higgins. Dia yakin bahwa pendidikan adalah alat untuk mendapatkan kesetaraan antara laki-laki dan perempuan. Dia membuktikan dengan menjadi perempuan yang berpendidikan, dia dapat meningkatkan taraf hidupnya. Selain itu, dia percaya bahwa laki-laki dapat menjadi teman dalam kehidupannya sehingga laki-laki tidak perlu dilawan. Apa yang diinginkan oleh Eliza adalah manusia secara utuh. Dia bukanlah alat untuk kebahagiaan dan ambisi orang lain. Eliza adalah manusia yang seutuhnya yang harus dihormati.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study There are several genres of literature such as short story, novel, poetry
and play. Among the genres of literature, the writer is most interested in choosing play to study. The play is fundamentally different from other literary forms. Most plays are designed to be performed in public. The play is more spectacular than the works of fiction. The director pays a great attention to costuming, set design, lighting, and stage movement so that the readers imagine the action by reading the conversation in the play.
Women have certain positions in literature. Women can be writers, readers and characters in the work of literature. In this thesis, the writer discusses a woman as the character in the play. Feminism is one of the topics related to women’s existence. It means the condition of women’s lives in society. Women are treated unfairly because of sex. It is one of the issues in literary work which always becomes an interesting topic to be discussed. Feminism concerns the inequality between men and women. Therefore feminism shows how women struggle to be independent and to have the same right as men.
Jo Freeman in her book, Women, A Feminist Perspective states; The traditionalist notes that historically women have always had less power, less influence, and fewer resources than men, and assumes this must accord with some natural order (1984; xiii). According to that statement, there is discrimination between men and They live under men’s authorities. It is clear that historically men are superior to women.
In society, there is a conventional perception that women have been subordinate to men in certain key of status and mobility. Men are superior while women are inferior. Ashley Montagu in his book, The Natural Superiority of
Women states that women had smaller brains, less intelligence, more emotional
and unstable (1953: 21). Women have been conditioned to believe that they are inferior to men. They have assumed that what everyone believes is a fact of nature. Those perceptions of women inferiority has been extended not only to the mental functions but also to the physical characteristics and functions of the women. Men occupy the superior positions in almost all societies. Women’s places are in the home while men’s places are outside. Women stay at home to nurse and care for their children, to prepare food while men work outside to get money.
The perception of women inferiority is so old. The world does move. Women work outside and participate in organization. Some women have become president and have attained cabinet rank such as the former president Megawati Soekarno Putri, and Hillary Clinton who has attained cabinet rank of United State.
Feminism has the freedom and equality concept. It refuses patriarchal system which concerns with men’s domination. It is more as a woman’s movement to get freedom and equality. Feminism is about changing the way that people see men and women. It said that women were poorly treated in the past and now it is time to change this perception. Women must be treated equally.
There are many kinds of feminisms such as liberal feminism, radical feminism, Marxist feminism, socialist feminism, lesbian feminism, black feminism etc. For analyzing the play, the writer uses liberal feminism. Every human being is created with the same right. Men and women have the same opportunity in developing their future. There are no differences between them. Maggie Humm in Feminism: A Reader states that liberal feminism demands that women should be seen as an individual therefore they have the same right as men in the relation to the states (1992:11). Therefore liberal feminism proposes women and men to decide their own future equally, independently and freely.
In this thesis, the writer chooses Bernard Shaw’s play entitled Pygmalion because Pygmalion is considered as one of his famous plays which has a topic of feminism. It is related with woman’s struggle to get equality and freedom. To be more specific, the writer is interested in the main character of the play, Eliza Doolittle, who struggles to release herself from men’s domination.
th Pygmalion was written in the early 20 Century in Britain. The setting of th
this play is Britain in the 19 Century. The play reveals men’s domination towards a woman. It reflects a woman who tries to get her freedom. Since the topic is a woman’s struggle, the writer finds the importance of Eliza as the main focus of the analysis.
Here, the writer wants to reveal the ideas of liberal feminism through the characterization of Eliza. Eliza is a woman who is dominated by his father, Alfred Doolittle and Higgins. She lives in patriarchal family and has to be obedient to men. These situations lead Eliza to rebel against them. It can be seen how a
The work of literature, George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, is suitable to study the topic. This play reveals the ideas of liberal feminism that are reflected through the characterization of Eliza. Therefore, Eliza experiences as the victim of men’s domination and her struggle to release herself from men’s domination will be the focus on this thesis.
B. Problem Formulation
The problems that will be analyzed in this thesis are:
1. How are Eliza Doolittle, Henry Higgins and Alfred Doolittle characterized?
2. How are men’s domination depicted through Higgins and Alfred?
3. How are the ideas of liberal feminism presented through the characterization of Eliza?
C. Objectives of the Study
The aim of doing this analysis is to answer the problem formulations about the characterization of Eliza, Higgins and Alfred, to show men’s domination depicted in the play and how the ideas of liberal feminism appears through the characterization of Eliza.
Besides answering the problem formulations, the objective of writing this thesis is to know further and to understand about a woman’s struggle to release herself from men’s domination.
D. Definition of Terms
In order to avoid misunderstanding about the meaning of certain terms, there are some terms defined below.
1. Feminism According to International Encyclopedia of Ethics, feminism is the view that inequality between women and men exists, is unjust, and must be corrected (1995: 312).
2. Liberal Feminism According to Josephine Donovan in her book, Feminist Theory: The
intellectual traditions of American Feminism , liberal Feminism is an idea that
based on natural rights extended to women, faith in rationality, belief in faculty equality, belief in education as entrée into previously masculine reserve, individual as a rational and independent agent (1985: 65).
3. Patriarchy According to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica , patriarchy is a hypothetical social system based on the absolute authority of the father or an elderly male over the family group (1983: 800).
4. Pygmalion According to The Teach Yourself Concise Encyclopedia of General
Knowledge , Pygmalion is Greek mythology. King of Cyprus who made an ivory
statue of a maiden. He prayed Aphrodite to give it life and, his request being granted, he married the maiden (1958: 409).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review on Related Studies Pygmalion has been one of Bernard Shaw’s most popular plays. In 1938, a
film version was made. It was the first film of a Shaw’s play. Besides, the successful musical comedy adaptation of My Fair Lady gives evidence of its great vitality. More people are probably familiar with Pygmalion in some form than with any other play by Shaw. Most critics agree that Pygmalion is a delightfully amusing comedy. After Pygmalion published, there are many comments to the play. Some experts give their comments on it.
According to Schwartz in his book entitled George Bernard Shaw’s
Pygmalion , Shaw wants to criticize that English people have no respect for
English language and do not speak it properly (1965: 19). Shaw criticizes the lower class people in England in the nineteenth century who does not have respect for English language. As it is seen in the main character, Eliza who does not speak English properly.
According to John Ervine as quoted by Schwartz in George Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion, Pygmalion is about the improvement of speech (1965: 80).
For Ervine, the topic of Pygmalion focuses on the improvement of speech of English language. The story tells about Eliza who learns seriously how to improve her speech, so she can speak English properly.
According to Eric Bentley as quoted by Schwartz in George Bernard human being (1965: 80). The story tells how Higgins makes a duchess of Eliza and finally Eliza moves to be independent, makes a free woman of herself.
According to Martin Meisel as quoted by Schwartz in George Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion, the story of Pygmalion is about a radical attack on class
distinction and class prejudice (1965: 80-81). He points out Eliza’s understanding that a flower girl and a duchess are distinguished by the way they are treated.
Beginning immediately with the first English production of Pygmalion, a popular debate developed as to whether there should have been a romantic ending between Higgins and Liza. Shaw insisted that such an ending would have been misery for his characters but producers and audiences nevertheless tended to prefer a romantic ending. MacCarthy expressed the sentiments of many when he wrote about the original production “when the curtain fell on the mutual explanations of this pair [Higgins and Liza] I was in a fever to see it rise on Acts
VI and VII; I wanted to see those two living together” ( http://www.answers.com/topic/pygmalion-play-7 ).
George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, on July 26, 1856. He lived for ninety four years. He is considered to be the greatest writer of plays in the English language. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925 (Schwartz, 1965: 5). There were no great English playwrights in the nineteenth century before Shaw. Shaw writes many plays more than any other important English playwrights. He writes over fifty plays, more than Shakespeare who writes thirty seven. It proves that he is a famous English playwright. Shaw began his playwriting career in his thirties. In 1897, he wrote Arms and the Man, The great play, Saint Joan, was written when he was sixty seven (Schwartz, 1965:8). He continues to be creative even when he is a very old man. In his eighties and nineties he was still producing interesting plays.
Shaw always has a deep interest in questions concerning the meaning and purpose of human life. He tries to focus on the survival and liberation of a woman through the characterization of Eliza. How Eliza in Pygmalion struggles in fighting men’s domination. Eliza begins to rebel because she has been treated as the object of Higgins’ experiment. Besides, she has been sold by her father for money.
There is an opinion about Bernard Shaw. Edward Wagenknecht demonstrated the delicate balance many critical interpretations of Shaw in that era tried to maintain, explaining how Shaw had succeeded despite breaking many established conventions of dramatic art. Shaw againsts the idea that literature is writing which supersedes a specific purpose other than to communicate life experience, and is not didactic. “It is amazing,” Wagenknecht wrote, “that a man whose theory of art is so patently wrong should have achieved such a place as Shaw has won” ( http://www.answers.com/topic/pygmalion-play-7 ).
Shaw’s Pygmalion has been chosen as the object of the thesis by some students of English Letters Department of Sanata Dharma University. There are three students who use Shaw’s Pygmalion in their thesis. An Analysis on Factors
Influencing Eliza’s Personality Development by Tri Endang, Shaw’s Criticism
thtoward British Society in 19 C by Bramani Senu, Shaw’s Possible Reason in
Pygmalion , in their thesis but they have different topic on it. The writer chooses
Pygmalion as the object of the thesis, however, the topic is different from those studies. The writer decides liberal feminism as the topic in her undergraduate thesis.
B. Review on Related Theories
1. Theory of Character
A character is one of the important elements in a work of literature. Since the analysis will deal with the characters to reveal the idea of liberal feminism, the writer put the theory about character and characterization. According to Gill on his book, Mastering English Literature Second Edition, a character is someone in literary work who has some sort of identity, an identity which is made up by appearance, conversation, action, name and thoughts going on in the head (1995: 127). According to Abram on his book, A Glossary of Literature Terms, he defines character as the person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and what they do-the action (1981:20).
From this theory, it is clear that a character is a person in literary work. A character has identity which is formed by appearance, conversation, action, and name in the story. The interpretation of the characters is expressed in their dialogues and actions.
There are two kinds of characters. They are major character and secondary character. A major character is the most important and complex in the literary work. Therefore, in order to understand the play, the readers usually give the fullest attention to the major character. Secondary characters are characters who have limited functions in the play. The function of the secondary characters is to inhabit the world in the play, which resembles real life condition (Henkle, 1977:88-97)
Based on those theories, the writer can define the type of Eliza’s, Alfred Doolittle’s and Higgins’ character in order to reveal the ideas of liberal feminism in the play.
2. Theory of Characterization
The process of creating the characters is called characterization. In his book, Gill stated that characterization is the way in which character is created (1995: 127). The way of the author creates the character can be seen through the dialogues and actions of the character.
Murphy proposes nine ways to make the character in the story understandable for the reader. They are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thought and mannerism (1972: 161-173). The explanation on each way will be given as follows. The first way is personal description. The author describes a person’s appearance and clothes. The author uses adjective in describing his character. He tells the details of the character’s appearance such as face, skin,
The second way is character as seen by another. The author describes the character through the eyes and opinions of another. The author represents the character’s performance and personality by letting other characters in the story convey their readers what they are like based on the character that they encounter.
The third way is speech. The author describes the character through what the character says. Whenever the character speaks and states an opinion, the author is giving some clues to the character.
The fourth way is past life. The author can give the past life of one character in order to understand the character. It can be a direct comment from the author, through the person’s thoughts, through the conversation or the medium of another person. By learning something from someone’s past life in the story, the author gives some events which help to shape a person’s character.
The fifth way is conversation of others. The character is described through the conversation of other people and the things they say about the character.
Through conversation with other characters, the author may give clues to the readers in order to show the person’s character The sixth way is reactions. The author describes the person’s character through the person’s reaction to various situations and events. Using this kind of characterization, the author presents a clue to the readers who might expect to find the person’s character in dealing with various situations
The seventh way is direct comment. The author gives comments explicitly about the character in the story. In other words, the author has a possibility to describe the person’s character directly.
The eight way is thought. The author gives direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about.
The last way is mannerism. The author describes a person’s mannerism and habits which tell something about his character. The author reveals the habits of the character both the positive and negative ones.
Those are some of the ways in which an author makes the reader aware of the characteristic of the people that he writes about in his stories. The author uses those ways skillfully so that the reader will tend to think of the author’s creations as real people.
3. Theory of Patriarchy
Patriarchy has been a fundamentally important concept in feminist analyses, leading to the development of a number of theories that aim to identify the bases of women’s subordination to men. According to Madsen, in patriarchal theory, women’s position is inferior in family (2000: 47). It means that husbands have complete power over their wives, as do a father has complete power over his children. This system is the main idea of men’s domination that make women’s position is lower than men in the family and society. Feminism struggles to reconstruct this system by making women realize that they have the same proportion with men because they get the same right as human being.
According to Walby as quoted by Pilcher and Whelehan in 50 Key
Concepts in Gender Studies , patriarchy is a system of social structures and
practices in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women (2004: 95). It means family or tribe. Men have power to oppress and exploit women. Women are considered as weak creatures who have to be obedient to men.
Patriarchy as a political structure seeks to control and subjugate women so that their possibilities for making choices about their sexuality, childrearing, mothering, loving and laboring are curtailed (Eisenstein, 1981: 14).
Based on the theory above, patriarchy is the system to control women’s role in society. Women have participation in public life but their activities are still controlled by men. They live under men’s roles. Women have little possibilities to make choices in their own life.
Patriarchy is the system which destroys women’s potential power. Women cannot develop their abilities and skills. They have limited roles to make decision for their own life.
Patriarchy, as a system of oppression, recognizes the potential power of women and the actual power of men. It’s purpose is to destroy woman’s consciousness about her potential power, which derives from the necessity of society to produce itself. By trying to affect woman’s consciousness and her life options, patriarchy protects the appropriation of women’s sexuality, their reproductive capacities, and their labor by individual men and society as a whole (Eisenstein, 1981: 14-15). Women have their own potential power which should be developed. Patriarchy breaks women’s potential power, therefore women are always controlled by men’s power. Women cannot express themselves because everything is based on men’s decisions.
According to Kate Millett as quoted by Humm in A Reader’s Guide to
Contemporary Feminist Literary Criticism , patriarchy is everywhere (1994: 44).
Men dominate women in all aspects of life such as social, politic and economic. According to Humm in A Reader’s Guide to Contemporary Feminist Literary
Criticism , patriarchy is a fundamental part of all representations because these are
permeated by male power (1994: 44). In patriarchal system, men are the leaders who have authorities to make decisions. Men have absolute power over women.
They always control women’s lives in both family and society. According to Millet as quoted by Rosemarie Tong in Feminist Thought: A
More Comprehensive Introduction, patriarchal ideology exaggerates biological
differences between men and women, making certain that men always have the dominant, or masculine, roles and women always have the subordinate, or feminine, ones (1998: 49). Women have less power than men. Women do not have chances to develop themselves. They live under men’s power. Men have social power to control women’s lives. Patriarchal society uses gender roles to keep women passive (affectionate, obedient, responsive, kind) and men active (aggressive, curious, ambitious, and responsible) (Tong, 1998: 49).
In fact, women and men are different physically. They are distinguished by sex but it cannot be the reason to dominate women. Women and men have the same right as human being. Women can develop their own ability. They have rights to make a choice for their lives without men’s involvements.
4. The Condition of Women in England in the Nineteenth Century
There are several evidences that can describe the condition of women of in the nineteenth century: a. Many Women Turning towards Prostitution in that Time Many women in the nineteenth century commonly turned to be prostitutes. lack of education were also causes of women turning towards prostitution. Some women had either been expelled from their homes or deserted by their parents and found prostitution the only way to support themselves. Other girls were forced into prostitution in order for their families to survive. Similarly, women who had worked in domestics or servants were forced into prostitution because they had been seduced by their master and then abandoned. Many women are expected to remain prostitutes only until something better became available. These sorts of condition caused many women and teenagers to turn towards prostitution.
b. Women’s Sexuality In the nineteenth century, women were not allowed to enjoy sexual satisfaction. They were not allowed to engage themselves freely in sexual acts unless it was with the specific purpose of procreation. Any sexual desires experienced by women were considered to be in contradiction with the proper definition of virtue. Furthermore, religion made this case worse that women who sought sexual satisfaction were thought to be not leading God life. there were also more challenges to the belief that women had no need for sexual gratification. They did not get such a sex education. Therefore they believe that sexual feeling was ‘indecent and immoral’.
c. Women’s education Generally, women were banned of gaining knowledge by education.
Education has been the stumbling block keeping women from attaining equal gained the right and privilege of higher education, they were believed to be lower- class citizens, not worthy of voting or owning property, or any number of other inalienable rights. The lack of education could not empower them to take any chances in entering the field of politic, social, and even to make decision about their own property. The conservative thought that education for women would disrupt the social balance of that time. This condition hampered women’s steps to be equal to men (http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/education.shtml).
5. Theory of Liberal Feminism
Most people believe that women are weak creatures. Therefore, women are treated unfairly. Ashley Montagu states that in society there is a belief that men are superior and women are inferior, women also think that the belief is right, because it is believed as what really happens (1953: 23). Women face the discrimination in society. They lack of opportunities to develop themselves. Women are not confident to do the work better than man because they are always conditioned as inferior.
Feminism appeared since women are being assumed as lower class than men. Women have been defined as inferior to men in some aspects such as politics, socials, and economics. They do not have roles in the government. They do not have chances to earn money. They just live at home to do housework.
Therefore, the main goal of feminism is to gain equality for women in every aspect of life. Maggie Humm in The Dictionary of Feminist Theory states that feminism incorporates both a doctrine of equal right women (the organized aiming to create a world for women beyond simple social equality (1990: 74). It means that there is a social transformation to gain social equality for women. The goal of feminism theory is not only to understand men’s domination to women, but also to get the solution how to change it.
There are some kinds of feminisms which have their own characteristics. Humm proposes four kinds of feminisms. They are Marxist feminism, socialist feminism, lesbian feminism and liberal feminism (1992:87-181).
In this thesis, the writer focuses on liberal feminism. Liberal feminism has a long history at least from Mary Wollstonecraft’s feminist text A Vindication of
the Rights of Women . According to Wollstonecraft as quoted by Humm in
women should have the same civil liberties as, and
Feminism: A Reader/ed,
educational parity with, men (1992: 181). It proves that previously, women do not have freedom and equality in education. Men have more chance to get higher education. Mary Wollstonecraft is sure that if men and women are educated equally, then it follows that they will get equal access to society.
Liberal feminists support the Equal Rights Amendment and other legislative acts to abolish sexual discrimination and to erode oppressive gender roles. Three prominent liberal feminist thinkers are Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Betty Friedan. In what follows the writer look more closely at their works.
Stanton’s feminism arises initially from her commitment to the abolitionist movement. The liberal idea of emancipation informs Stanton’s feminism and her abolitionism in both slavery and women’s oppression. Her writings on marriage, subordinate sexual class. Women are always inferior in all aspect of life. Stanton struggles for the rights of individual and women’s independence from men.
The rights of the individual are natural rights which the individual brings into the world at birth; these rights cannot be taken away because they are constitutive of the individual (Madsen, 2000: 39). The basic liberal principles of individual freedom and social equality are denied by the denial of citizenship to women and slaves. Stanton’s political struggle is the reform of laws that deny women’s rights. Men and women have the same right because they are created equally.