The values feminism as revealed through inge`s character in fremd`s the glass inferno.

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ABSTRACT

CORRY VERONIKA (2008). The Values of Feminism as Revealed through Inge’s Character in Fremd’s The Glass Inferno. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

This undergraduate thesis is dealing with one of Angelika Fremd’s novel entitled The Glass Inferno. It presents the female heroine as the central character and the interesting issue that comes up in The Glass Inferno is feminism. It tells about a woman who lives in patriarchal society that causes her experiencing oppressions from her surrounding. She has to survive in order to get her existence as a woman. This novel with its complexity, reveals the struggle of a woman who lives under patriarchal society, and through the main character’s characteristics, actions, struggle and thought could be seen the values of feminism. It would be interesting to discuss the values of feminism as revealed through Inge’s character.

There are three objectives of the studies that would be the main discussion of this thesis. The first objective is to find out the characteristics of Inge as the main character in The Glass Inferno. The second objective is to reveal the patriarchal society where Inge lives. The last objective is to find out the process by which the values of feminism appear through Inge as the main character The Glass Inferno.

In this discussion, the writer used the library research in which there are two types of sources that are primary and secondary sources. The primary source is the novel The Glass Inferno itself, while the secondary sources are the references books and the sites from internet that supported the discussion of this thesis. As for the theories, there are two theories applied, they are Theories of Character and Characterization, and theories of Feminism. Related to the topic of this thesis, the approach that is used to analyze the problem formulation is feminist approach.

The result of this study mentions that Inge is a young woman who is brave, independent, kind-hearted, responsible, strong and attractive. She lives under patriarchal society, therefore, as the result she gets oppressions from her surrounding. Patriarchal society always gives negative outcome to the second class citizen, women. The oppressions can be in sexual or psychological forms. Through Inge’s characteristics, actions, struggle and thought can be seen that she reflects the values of feminism that are freedom of choice, equality and woman’s right to be herself. The story reveals that women have to survive under patriarchal society in order to get their existence as women who have the same and equal rights with men.

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xii ABSTRAK

CORRY VERONIKA (2008). The Values of Feminism as Revealed through Inge’s Character in Fremd’s The Glass Inferno. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Tesis ini berhubungan dengan salah satu novel Angelika Fremd yang berjudul The Glass Inferno. Novel ini menyajikan pahlawan wanita sebagai tokoh utama dan pokok persoalan yang menarik yang muncul di novel ini adalah feminisme. Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang wanita yang tinggal di masyarakat patriakhal, yang menyebabkan dia mendapat tindasan dari sekitarnya. Dia harus berjuang untuk mendapat eksistansinya sebagai wanita. Novel ini dengan kerumitannya, mengungkapkan perjuangan seorang wanita yang tinggal di masyarakat patriakhal, dan melalui karakter, tindakan, perjuangan dan pemikiran dari tokoh utama dapat dilihat nilai-nilai dari feminisme.

Ada tiga pokok bahasan yang akan dibahas dalam tesis ini. Pokok bahasan yang pertama adalah untuk mencari tahu karakter dari Inge sebagai tokoh utama dalam novel The Glass Inferno. Pokok bahasan yang kedua adalah untuk menunjukkan gambaran masyarakat patriakhal dimana Inge tinggal. Pokok bahasan yang terakhir adalah untuk mencari tahu proses yang dilalui Inge sehingga nilai-nilai feminisme dapat dilihat dari karaker Inge sebagai tokoh utama di novel ini.

Pada pembahasan ini, penulis melakukan penelitian pustaka di mana terdapat dua macam sumber, sumber utama dan tambahan. Sumber utamanya adalah novel itu sendiri, sedangkan sumber tambahannya adalah buku-buku referensi dan situs-situs yang mendukung pembahasan ini. Sementara itu, ada dua teori yang diterapkan berkenaan dengan teori karakter dan karakterisasi, dan teori feminisme. Berkaitan dengan topic tesis ini, pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendakatan feminisme.

Hasil studi ini menyebutkan bahwa Inge adalah seorang wanita muda yang berani, mandiri, baik hati, bertanggung jawab, kuat dan menarik. Dia tinggal di masyarakat patriakhal, maka dari itu sebagai akibatnya dia mendapat tindasan dari sekitarnya. Masyarakat Patriakhal selalu memberi efek negative kepada masyarakat kelas kedua, dalam hal ini adalah wanita. Tindasan-tindasan itu bisa dalam bentuk seksual ataupun psikologis. Melalui karakter, tindakan, perjuangan dan pemikiran dari Inge dapat disimpulkan bahwa dia merefleksikan nilai-nilai feminisme, yaitu kebebasan dalam memilih, persamaan hak dan juga hak wanita untuk menjadi diri sendiri. Cerita tersebit mengungkapkan bahwa wanita harus berjuang dibawah masyarakat patriakhal dengan tujuan untuk mendapat eksistensinya sebagai wanita yang memiliki hak yang sama dan seimbang terhadap pria.

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THE VALUES OF FEMINISM AS REVEALED THROUGH

INGE’S CHARACTER IN FREMD’S THE GLASS INFERNO

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By Corry Veronika Student Number: 044214015

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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• Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but

in raising up every time we fail (Ralph Waldo

Emerson).

• Three grand essentials to have happiness in

this life are something to do, something to love

and something to hope for (Joseph Addison).

• You have to endure caterpillars if you want to

see butterflies (Antoine De Saint).

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I dedicate this thesis for to My Beloved Parents, My Sisters

and My Brother who always support me in accomplishing this

thesis.

I dedicate this thesis for those who have participated and

supported me so far.

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vii

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my biggest gratitude to Jesus Christ for the blessings, strength and miracles He has been giving in my life, so that I am finally able to accomplish this undergraduate thesis. Thank God for answering my prayers.

My gratitude is also directed to my advisor, Ni Luh Putu R., S.S, M.Hum. I am so grateful for her guidance, patience, and especially for the time she spent for reading and correcting my thesis. I really appreciate all things she has done in process of writing my thesis. I would also like to say thank to my co-advisor, Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, M. A, for her time in correcting my thesis.

Furthermore, I deeply express my gratitude to my beloved parents for their love, prayers, support, both financial and spiritual and good advices. I am so proud to be their daughter. It is wonderful to have both of them as my parents. For my big sister, Fenty Ferary, thanks for being a good model for me; and thanks for the love, support and help, “I am so proud of you, Sis!”. For my little sisters Febby Felicia and Caroline Setiyanti, thanks for the love and support. I am also so proud of my big brother, Ferry Haryanto. I would like to thank him for encouraging and motivating me in finishing my thesis.

Next, my sincere gratitude belongs to Bunny. Thanks for the love, support, patience, help and the friendship. It was very helpful and means a lot for me. It was nice to have a chance to meet and know you.

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I also dedicate this thesis for my little angel, Natalia. Although we meet only in short time, but it means a lot to me. Thank you for the moment that we shared, for the laughter and joy. You will always be in my heart and I know you are shinning down on me from heaven.

I would not forget to say thanks to my best friends in Yogyakarta (Rhien, Dede, Ita, Erlin, Afril, Fitha and Ci Linda). Yogyakarta would not be much wonderful without you guys.

Lastly but not the least, I would like to express my gratitude to my friends in class A that I cannot mention one by one. It is nice to have nice friends like them. There are many wonderful and exciting moments that we have shared together, “Thanks for the memories friends!” I would not forget to thank all the staff in English Letters Department. I thank them for their help.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGE ... ii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iii

MOTTO PAGE ... iv

DEDICATION PAGE ... v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... viii

ABSTRACT ... ix

ABSTRAK ... x

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Formulation ... 1

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Definition of Terms ... 5

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 8

A. Review of Related Studies ... 8

B. Review of Related Theories ... 10

1. Theories of Character and Characterization ... 10

2. Theories of Feminism ... 13

a. Feminism in General ... 13

b. Values of Feminism ... 17

c. Patriarchy and Its Oppressions ... 20

C. Theoretical Framework ... 21

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 22

A. Object of the Study ... 22

B. Approach of the Study ... 23

C. Method of the Study ... 25

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 26

A. Inge’s Characteristics ... 27

1. Inge is a Brave Woman ... 28

2. Inge is an Independent Woman ... 32

3. Inge is a Kind-hearted Woman ... 35

4. Inge is a Responsible Woman ... 38

5. Inge is an Attractive Woman ... 40

6. Inge is a Strong Woman ... 42

B. The Patriarchal Society as Depicted in the Novel ... 43

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2. The Oppressions from Paul ... 50

3. The Oppressions from Tristan ... 53

C. The Values of Feminism as Revealed by Inge ... 57

1. Freedom of Choice ... 58

2. Equality ... 61

3. Woman’s Right to be Herself ... 63

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ... 68

BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 73

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ABSTRACT

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xii ABSTRAK

CORRY VERONIKA (2008). The Values of Feminism as Revealed through Inge’s Character in Fremd’s The Glass Inferno. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Feminism always becomes an interesting topic to discuss, since it deals with women’s struggle to get equality in all aspects in life toward men, such as education, work fields, politic, human rights, etc. It is particularly hard to find out what equality means when it comes to gender, since there are real differences between men and women. Men and women are created equal with their own excesses and lacks, therefore they have to complete each other but in practice, there are a lot of unfair treatments towards women. They are treated as second-class citizen and what they are doing is somehow restricted to the society in this male-dominated world. Therefore feminists are struggling to get equality. Actually, what most feminists want is not to replace patriarchy with matriarchy, they only struggle for equality. However, equality itself is a difficult idea to be seen as something which is standard, fair to someone without any classification from sex.

Women’s movement has existed a long time ago and it is not the invention of the twentieth century. Women had been struggling to get equality since a long time ago, but the one which marked the rise of this issue is the feminist movement. As stated by Deborah L. Madsen in the book Feminist

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Theory and Literary Practice feminist movement is divided into two waves. The first wave is the wave of American Feminism in 1840s-1920 which is commonly marked by the first women’s rights Convention, held in Seneca Falls in 1848 and the second wave is the wave of American Feminism in 1960s which focused upon indictment of male sexism and the domestic oppression of women and also marks the establishment of the modern Women’s Movement (2000:3).

Although feminist movement has already existed for decades but still many cases of women’s oppression are found. Women are oppressed by society and men due to their sex, they are less valued than men. Women are considered as “trouble” for men. Judith Butler in the book Gender Trouble: Feminism and Subversion of Identity explains that the significance of the term ‘trouble’ in her title. For men, as the subject of desire, ‘trouble’ is represented by the female ‘object’ of desire who unexpectedly returns and answers the masculine gaze, who refuses the passive position of the feminine object and thereby ‘contests the place and authority of the masculine position’. In the other hand it can be said that a male subject desiring a female object. (Butler, 1990, p vii) It means that the image of women can be seen as something ‘desiring’ and giving ‘trouble’ to men.

As oppressions are received by women, a lot of females and some males authors criticize the system that has existed since a long time ago, and they do not only criticize but also want to open the eyes of people in this world to see clearly what truly happened in this male-dominated world. They are trying to

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define what equality they wish for is. Through literary works, they try to give real and true condition about women’s life in patriarchal society. They always struggle for equality. Therefore, women’s writings are considered as critical category since women’s writings and feminism are closely related. Through the literary works, the authors could convey their ideas, comments, dreams in life. Most of works of feminist authors represent the voice of women, to get equality towards men in all aspects in life. Besides, feminists also use it as a medium to trigger women’s awareness about their own rights, to be appreciated fully by society and men and also to restructure the patriarchal society so that women’s rights will be appreciated and there will be no more oppression towards women.

In this study the writer chooses the novel of The Glass Inferno. The Glass Inferno is a novel written by Angelika Fremd, an Australian female writer. The Glass Inferno is one of her best novels which presents female heroine as the central of the story. Her novels concern more on women’s world. One of the interesting issues that comes up in The Glass Inferno is about feminism. The Glass Inferno was first published in 1992 by University of Queensland Press Australia. It is the second part of trilogy novels dealing with the life of Inge Heinrich as the main character. It deals with the life of Inge Heinrich as the female character who lives in patriarchal society. She has to survive to get her existence as a woman. Although she lives in male-dominated world which caused oppression to her, she keeps on surviving, her dignity as a woman will not let her give up. Her characteristics such as brave, independent, kind-hearted,

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strong, responsible and attractive somehow become a proof that she can survive and struggle for her existence as a woman. Patriarchal society and feminism cannot be separated, they have strong relationship. One becomes the cause and one becomes the effect. The negative result is oppression; unfair treatment that triggers many reactions. Many women are struggling to get equality, to be treated as equal as men.

In this study the writer wants to see the feminism values reflected by the main character, Inge. As a woman, she knows what she wants and what she does not want in her life. She wants to have freedom to choose what she wants for her life. In the novel, Inge reflects the values of feminism through her actions, thoughts and struggle. She demands her freedom as a woman, to do whatever she wants to do with her own responsibility and also to be free from males’ domination.

B. Problem Formulation

1. How is Inge characterized?

2. How is the patriarchal society depicted in this novel?

3. How does the character of Inge reveal the values feminism in patriarchal

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C. Objectives of the Study

Based on those questions in the problem formulation above, this study attempts to obtain satisfying answers. In order to see the feminism values that are reflected by the character of Inge, this study has three objectives that have to be accomplished. First, this study is meant to find out the characteristics of Inge as the main character in The Glass Inferno. By knowing her characteristics, the writer could understand what Inge really likes and what she wants in her life. Second, this study aims to find out the patriarchal society where Inge lives. This could be seen from how the male characters do to the main character, Inge. We could also see the struggle of a woman living in a male-dominated world. Last, this study aims to find out the values of feminism reflected through Inge, as she lives under patriarchal society, experiencing oppressions and as the main character in The Glass Inferno.

D. Definition of Terms

In order to avoid misunderstanding in reading this study and to give the right focus for the readers while reading this study, there are some terms that the writer needs to define. This definition of terms hopefully can be helpful in understanding the terms that are used.

1. Feminism

Barranger defines “feminism” as a critique of prevailing social conditions which have excluded women from dominant male cultural, social, sexual,

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political and intellectual discourse and pursuits (1994:646). Humm states that feminism is an ideology of women liberation since intrinsic in all approaches is the belief that women suffer injustice because of their sex. She also defines feminism as the principal that women should have political, economic and social rights equal to men (1992: xi). In simple terms, feminism is a form of rebellion against the patriarchal ideology which has placed women in its ruthless clutches for centuries.

2. Value(s)

In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, value(s) is/are defined as standards, principles, or ideas about worth or importance of certain qualities, especially those generally accepted by a particular group (1987: 1165).

3. Gender

Gender, in common usage, refers to the differences between men and women. Madsen defines gender as opposed to ‘sex’, which refers to the socio-cultural characteristics attributed to the different biological sexes (2000: xii). Whereas sex is biologically determined, gender is socially constructed. Feminism has posited gender roles to be socially constructed, independent of any biological basis. In gender studies the term gender is used to refer to propose social and cultural constructions of masculine and feminine.

4. Patriarchy

According to Madsen, patriarchy is another recurrent term, referring to government by men; patriarchy is a cultural (ideological) system that privileges

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men and all things masculine, and a political system that places power in the hands of men and thus serves male interests at the expense of women (2000:xii). Feminists argue that the opposite of feminism is not masculinity but patriarchy. Therefore, it is not surprising the word ‘patriarchy’ has negative association when it is used in the context of feminist theory.

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

The Glass Inferno is Fremd’s portrayal about women’s struggle in living in patriarchal society. The main character, Inge in The Glass Inferno faces many problems and injustice treatments because of her sex. In struggling her own will, dreams and also to reject the patriarchal standards in her society, she reflects the values of feminism. There have been many comments on literary works by internationally well-known American writers, whether classic or temporary ones, but it is a different case if the novel study is Australian novel. The writer finds that there is limited information or sources related to the work available on books or internet, but two comments based on the novel are finally found.

Sue Walton in her essay entitled Search for Self Rings with Honesty commented on Inge’s characteristic. According to Walton, women’s quest for identity has becomes a recurrent theme in literature. As the main character Inge represents the same idea. Her struggle in searching for knowledge and self-understanding are sort of realization for her curiosity about identity and she does not realize that her refusal to choose any specific course of action in itself is a kind of selection process. Walton explains that many aspects had influenced Inge’s life in her struggle in searching for self-knowledge and self-understanding. She states:

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By experimenting with different sexual partners, Inge tries fervently to discover who she is and where she belongs. The hostility of the world in which she lives, however, is given full reign when her liaisons are discovered. Society, the law, the medical profession combine to humiliate and control her. Inge moves through Melbourne, Sydney, Papua, and Brisbane trying to establish her own identity. She continues to see her existence in terms of her partners and is unable to crate a sense at herself apart from them.

Walton states that Inge’s act in experimenting with different sexual partners as the way to discover who she is and where she belongs.

Another comment comes from Sneja Gunew from the same source. His essay entitled A New Getting of Wisdom, explains the main character, Inge’s childhood and also the story of an artist’s development that told a migrant and non-Anglo Celtic perspective. He states:

I love the ending. She says that for a square peg, meaning herself, a suitable hole will ultimately be found. Her too we have the Bildungsroman (the story of an artist’s development) but told in this case from a migrant and Non-Anglo Celtic perspective. As Inge’s half-sister Monika declares, ‘if being grown-up makes then I don’t want to be a woman or a migrant!’ The purple hands, incidentally, are on one level merely an allergic reaction to the new country, on another, a telling mark of alienation.

Further more, he also states that there are many sexual actions that appear in the story.

The men are physically brutal and sexually rapacious, while the women here become the subjects, the victims who need to learn survival; bartering sex for material leading to alienation from their own bodies.

From those two comments above, we can see that Inge is depicted as a strong, brave and curious woman who lives in male-dominated world. Here, we can see also how her struggle emphasizes her ask of equality in patriarchal

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society. She struggles for the equality to become the person in her own right, the significant person.

In this study, the writer wants to develop both of those comments, the statements which describe Inge as a figure of woman who struggles in facing the oppressions that she got from her society, patriarchal society. In this study, the writer also wants to find out the feminism values that are revealed by Inge as the main character. It is interesting to discuss the character of Inge since she acts differently from the other women characters in this novel. Her characteristics reveal the effort of feminism values that women should have a progress in thinking to determine their selves, as a significant person, not the other. She no longer can be said as woman who is submissive, obedient and passive in dealing the condition that she has to face.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theories of Character and Characterization

Since this discussion is aimed to analyze the characteristic of Inge, related to this idea of feminism, therefore it is important to present theories of character and characterization.

Character is an important element in the story. Character is commonly used in two ways (Abrams 1985:23). The first way is the character designates the

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individual who appears in the story. Second, the character refers to the mixture of interest, desires, emotions and moral principles that make up each of this individual and character gives a certain situation or circumstances in the story because he or she shows his or her emotion on it.

According to Abrams, character may remain essentially “stable”, or unchanged in outlook and disposition, from beginning to end of a work, or may undergoes a radical change, either through a gradual process of motivation and development or as the result of a crisis (1985:23).

Foster differentiates fictional character into flat and round characters. A flat character is built around “a single idea or quality” and is presented without much individualizing detail, and therefore can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence. While a round character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity; such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life, and like real person, sometimes surprising the readers (1927: 29).

Character and characterization are related and cannot be separated from each other. In real life, human sense of character naturally varies with their power of perception and understanding. Human being can find his or her own characterization by seeing others’ judgments towards something.

According to Murphy (1972: 161), the author always reveals the character of imaginary person in the story. It is called characterization. Therefore, characters exist for the readers as lifelike. There are few ways in which an author

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attempts to make his or her characters understandable to, and come alive for the readers:

a. Personal description. The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes. The telling and accurate description can help the readers to know the characters further.

b. Characters as seen by another. Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe the character through the eyes and opinions of another character.

c. Speech. The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what person says. It can be whenever a person speaks, whenever he or she is in conversation with another character, whenever he or she puts forward an opinion, he or she is giving the readers some clue to his or her character.

d. Past life. By letting the readers learn something about a person’s past life the author can give the readers a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, though the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person.

e. Conversation of others. The author can also give the readers clues to a

person’s character through the conversation of other people and the things they say about him or her. People do talk about other people and the things they say often give as a clue to the characters of the person spoken about.

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by letting the readers know how that person reacts to various situations and events.

g. Direct comment. The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.

h. Thoughts. The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is

thinking about. In this respect he or she is able to do what we cannot do in life. The author can tell the readers what different people are thinking.

These are some of the ways in which an author makes his or her readers aware of the personalities and the characters of the people that he or she writes about in his or her books. By knowing about the characterization the readers will understand why the character does the thing and the emotional feeling of the readers will also be involved when they read the story.

2. Theories of Feminism a. Feminism in General

The first idea that is likely to occur in the course of any historical thinking about feminism is that feminism is a social force (Humm, 1992:1). The emergence of this social force is because the awareness of feminists to understand that in all societies which divide the sexes into differing cultural, economic or political spheres, women are less valued than men. Humm states that feminism also depends on the premise that women could consciously and collectively change their social place. The word feminism could stand for a belief

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in sexual equality combines with a commitment to eradicate sexist domination and to transform society (1992:1). In the other word it can be said that feminists desire to restructure the patriarchal society, not to replace it with matriarchy, they only struggle to get equality. The goal of feminism is to change the degrading view of women so that all women will realize that they have the same right with men in all fields. Feminist theories reveal the rights that women should have, women’s oppression and also women’s struggle to get the equality toward men.

According to Maggie Humm, in general, feminism is an ideology of women liberation since intrinsic in all approaches is the belief that women suffer in justice because of their sex. It is also stated that feminism is defined as the principal that women should have political, economic and social rights equal to men. Maggie Humm argues that feminist approach aims to redress the portrayal of gender stereotypes and gives the appropriate value to ignore women’s writing (1992: xi).

Feminism appears because there is an unfair treatment toward women in society. The basic assumption of feminism is a movement that starts from the women’s awareness to be free from discrimination, oppression, exploitation and to try to end these treatments. Feminism is a women’s movement to be free from oppressions, discriminations, and to get the same rights and dignity with men.

Feminism believes that women have the same right as men. They have the rights to live, to work, to get education, to get freedom and so on. Women, are the same with men, have their own rights and freedom to do whatever they

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want. Women are born free and equal to men in the sense of human rights. Unfortunately, in this male-dominated world, women’s rights are not fully appreciated, because what women do is restricted due to their sex. There is a belief in the patriarchal society that men are superior and women are inferior. The misconception of women stereotyping that women are weak, dependent, passive, submissive and receptive makes women seen as inferior to men. It is clear that from time to time people assume that women are nothing compared to men because people themselves believe it and do not want to try breaking that wrong assumption about women.

Feminism also notices that women are always regarded as inferior to men because they are never given equal opportunities to show their intelligence and to prove their capabilities. Their potentialities to develop their abilities are narrowed by the gender stereotypes system built by the patriarchal society.

Related to the gender stereotypes, according to Butler, gender identity is the same with a cultural performance, matrix of signifiers that enables members of a cultural group to ‘read’ the signs of gender and to be read as gendered subject, that the basic ‘to search for the origins of gender, the inner truth of female desire, and a genuine or authentic sexual identity that repression has kept from view (1990: viii).

It is clearly seen that what feminists’ desire are equal rights and equal opportunities for women. Feminist theory reveals the importance of women’s individual and shares experiences and also women’s struggle, their struggle for

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equal opportunities and equal rights. They realize that they have the same right as men, and because of that, women try to fight against the condition and strive for their rights.

In relation to marriage, Stanton says that marriage is only one of a range of choices men may make about how to live their lives; and how women have no individual sovereignty. She recognizes that women are educated and socialized to expert only marriage as the structuring principle of their lives. “Personal freedom is the first right to be proclaimed, and that does not and cannot now belong to the relation of wife, to the mistress of the isolated home, to the financial dependent”. The married women surrenders all her rights, including the right to control her own body, though her husband gives up nothing, she becomes an unpaid domestic drudge, robbed of her labor; and when women are paid to work outside the home they are paid not according to the value of their labor but according to the value of their gender. Stanton identifies the lack of legal status as a citizen as the root cause of women’s dependence within marriage. That situation also can cause the economic and sexual oppression on woman (1969: 70).

As Stanton has expressed it, we must reject every conception that makes women an instrument of men. Both men and women have the same rights and dignity as human being. They complement each other through their differences. Within a marriage, women have the same rights as men. In marriage, women should be free, respected and sovereign in proportion to the stability of the family, since women have the dignity of being a wife and mother (1969: 70).

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Feminist movement also focuses on women’s consciousness about their disadvantageous positions that is regarded as the second class citizen, the purpose is to correct the labeling on women and to restructure the society in order to get the equality in gender. The basic goal of feminist movement is to correct the misconception of women stereotyping and to get the equality toward men.

b. Values of Feminism

Based on the brief explanation about feminism above, there are three values that are important for feminist struggle to get equality towards men. The values will be explained below.

i. Freedom of choice

According to Zillah Einstein in her book The Sexual Politics of the New Right: Understanding the “Crisis of Liberalism” liberalism as an ideology promised certain crucial values, such as individual autonomy, freedom of choice, equality of opportunity and so on (1982:189). Stanton also supports Einstein ideas that personal freedom is the first right to be proclaimed, and that does not and cannot now belong to the relation of wife, to the mistress of the isolated home, to the financial dependent (Madsen, 2000:40).

ii. Equality

Einstein states that liberalism as an ideology promised certain crucial values, such as individual autonomy, freedom of choice, equality of opportunity and so on (1982:189). Humm also supports Einstein’s statement that the urgent

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desire that feminist want: equal rights and also equal opportunities (1992:2). Humm states:

“Liberal feminism aims to achieve equal rights, political and social rights for women. It wishes to bring women equally into all public institutions and to extend the creation of knowledge so that women’s issue can no longer be ignored (1992:181).

Moreover, Madsen states that liberal emphasis on the individual and stresses the importance of the individual which are protected by guaranteed rights, economic justice and equality of opportunity (2000:35).

iii. Woman’s right to be herself

Stanton states that the rights of the individual are natural rights which the individual brings into the world of birth; these rights cannot be taken away because they are constituted of the individual. Women and men are created equal, therefore women’s rights have to be appreciated as the same with men (2000:39) c. Patriarchy and Its Oppression

According to Madsen, patriarchy is another recurrent term, refers to government by men; patriarchy is a cultural (ideological) system that privileges men and all things masculine, and a political system that places power in the hands of men and thus serves male interests at the expense of women (2000:xii). Feminists argue that the opposite of feminism is not masculinity but patriarchy. Therefore, it is not surprising that the word ‘patriarchy’ has negative association when used in the context of feminist theory.

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because it has not come out of capitalism and imperialism. The sexual division of labor and the oppression of women by men predate capitalism. Patriarchal authority is based on male control over the woman’s productive capacity and over her person. This control existed before the development of capitalist commodity production. It was belonged to a society in which the persons of human beings were owned by others. Patriarchy, however, is contradicted by the dominant mode of production in capitalism because in capitalism the owner of capitalist owns and controls the labor power but not the persons of his laborers (1992:96-97)

In Gilman’s view, capitalism and patriarchy work together in the economic and sexual exploitation of women (Madsen 2000: 41). As the negative outcome of patriarchy is oppression. Women constitute the oppressed class in patriarchal society and men constitute the class of oppressors. Gender oppression is the systematic under patriarchy and not a matter isolated violent and discriminatory incidents. According to Anne Koeidt women’s oppression stem from men’s sexual power over women which is achieved through actual or threatened physical violence and by psychological inducements such as romance (Humm, 1992:261). Firestone also supports Koeidt ideas on forms of oppressions, she states:

“But sexual oppression is the fundamental and foundational form of oppression in patriarchal society “(Madsen, 2000:158).

Firestone also shows how women and children are educated to accept their place in lower class, a rigidly segregated class modeled upon the sexual class that

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is ‘woman’ trough the twin mythologies of femininity and childhood. Another form of oppression according to Firestone is love oppression. She concludes that love and romance are very different for men and for women. men idealize, mystify and glorify the individual women with whom they fall in love in order to obscure her inferior class status, women, in contrast, pursue the male love and approval that will raise her up from he subordination class position and validate her existence. In this way, love becomes a political force, a force for unequal power relations (Madsen, 2000:159). Or in the other word it could be said that there are two forms of oppressions, they are physical violence or sexual abuse and psychological inducements or love oppression.

C. Theoretical Framework

In this part of the study, the writer will explain some of the theories and approach that will be used to analyze the problems of the study. It also explains the reason why the theories are needed and applied in the analysis.

The study of Anglika Fremd, The Glass Inferno aims to reveal the feminism values through the main character’s life. In order to achieve the aim, there are three problems come up. First, how Inge’s characteristics are described, second, how the patriarchal society depicted and the last, how the feminism values are reflected through the main character. Therefore, some theories are needed to be applied in the analysis.

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The first analysis aims to find out the characteristics of Inge. The theory of characterization, defined by Murphy, and the theory of Forster on character will support the writer to analyze the main character, Inge. The theory of characterization is used to know the process in finding Inge’s characteristics, actions, struggle and thought.

In discussing the patriarchal society in which Inge lives, the writer applies the theory of patriarchal society related to the feminism theories: Feminist Theory and Literary Practice by Madsen, A reader's Guide to Contemporary Feminist Literary Criticism by Humm and Feminism: A Reader by Humm. Here, the impact of living in male-dominated world could be seen clearly from the oppressions experienced by Inge which come from men around.

The third analysis aims to discuss the feminism values as revealed through Inge as the main character. The writer applies the theory of feminism by Humm, Madsen, Montagu and also the theory of feminism presented by Einstein and Stanton. They give three values of feminism, which are; freedom of choice, equality, and woman’s right to be herself. These theories will support in analyzing the values of feminism seen through Inge’s characteristics.

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CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of the study is The Glass Inferno. This novel is written by an Australian female writer, Angelika Fremd. This novel has 185 pages with 40 subtitles to indicate where the story takes place and also what it is about. The Glass Inferno is one of her best novel, which presents female character as the central of the story. It was first published in 1992 by University of Queensland Press Australia. It is the second part of trilogy novels dealing with female character as the main character.

The Glass Inferno by Anglika Fremd tells about a woman, Inge who lives in male-dominated world. In the patriarchal society where she lives, she has to face oppressions which come from men. She has to deal with it because of her sex. The male characters depicted in this novel are unconsciously or consciously give oppressions to Inge, the sexual oppression and also love oppression. Then, through her experiences in dealing with men, she realizes that she has to strive for her rights, to be equal with men in all of fields. Through her characteristics, actions and struggle we can see the values of feminism. They are freedom of choice, equality, and woman’s right to be herself.

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B. Approach of the Study

Since the focus of the study is about feminism, therefore, the writer uses Feminist Literary Criticism Approach. Feminist Literary Criticism Approach is an academic approach to the study of literature which applies feminist thought to the analysis of literary text and the contexts of their production and reception (Goodman, 1996:xi). Concerning with feminist criticism, Guerin in his book A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature stated that:

Despite their diversity, feminist critics generally agree that their goals are to expose patriarchal premises and resulting prejudices, to promote discovery and reevaluation of literature by women, and to examine social, cultural, and psychosexual contexts of literature and literary criticism (1992: 197).

Most of feminists believe that our culture is a patriarchal culture. Feminist literary criticism tries to explain how power imbalances between women and men. It also presents how gender stereotypes which is shaped by culture, are reflected in or challenged by literary texts (Guerin, 1992: 196).

Feminist approach is used to analyze the condition of women which is usually differentiated with men and considered as inferior, and then eventually this condition discriminates and places women as secondary class citizen in the society. However, through this story, we could see that a woman’s awareness of her own rights result in an effort to have the same rights with men. The approach sees how women can stand equally with men and breaks the misconception that women are weak, dependent, passive, submissive, receptive and subordinate towards men. What Inge does in this novel somehow reveal the values of

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feminism, that are freedom of choice, equality, and woman’s right to be herself.

C.Method of The Study

In writing this thesis, the writer used the library research to find the data as the main step and also preferred to look for some additional references from the website in internet that hopefully helped the writer to finish this study.

Theories of character and characterization that is applied in this study for a better understanding of Inge as the main character are taken from Abram's A Glossary of Literary Terms, Murphy's Understanding Unseen: an Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for overseas Students and Forster's Aspects of the Novel.

To support the analysis of the character of Inge, the writer also used the theory of feminism that are taken from Butler's Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Humm's Feminism: A Reader, Medsen's Feminist Theory and Literary .

The next process was analyzing the data using the theories of character, feminism and patriarchal society. The first step is analyzing Inge character. The second step is analyzing the patriarchal society that is depicted in this novel. It can be seen from the oppression that Inge got from the male characters in this novel. The third part is analyzing feminism values that are revealed through Inge’s struggle in living against male-dominated world. After getting the satisfying answers of the problem formulations, then arranging them into a

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report. The final step was drawing a conclusion. This last step was done by relating all the data into general statements in order to answer the three problems.

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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

In thischapter, the discussion will be divided into three subchapters based on the questions in the problem formulations. The main focus of this study is to reveal the feminism values through the main character, Inge. Therefore, in order to get the study more understandable, this analysis starts with the description of the main character of this novel, Inge. Inge’s characteristics are observed by applying theory of character and characterization. According to Forster, fictional characters could be divided into flat and round character. In this novel, Inge is categorized as the round character since according to Forster round character is complex with subtle particularity; such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real life. Inge is a character with complex characteristics and in this novel, her characteristics are developing and have complexity, therefore, the character of Inge is categorized as a round character. The characteristics of Inge also could be analyzed deeper by using Murphy's theory on characterization. According to Murphy in Understanding Unseen there are several ways in which an author attempts to make his or her characters understandable and come alive for the readers such as from personal description, as seen by another, speech, past life, thoughts, etc. We could find out the characteristics of Inge from other characters, from her past life, her thoughts, etc.

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After observing the main character in this novel, the second section will begin with the discussion of the patriarchal society in which Inge lives. The patriarchal society which becomes the surrounding in Inge’s life has more or less affected Inge. It becomes the central problem of Inge, how a woman lives in male-dominated world. The main point of this discussion is that how a woman’s ability has to be challenged in men’s world or in the other word patriarchal society, to get freedom in choosing the pattern of her own life without being entrapped by the system. The patriarchal society as depicted in this novel could be clearly seen from the oppressions that Inge got from the male characters in this novel, the physical violence or sexual oppression and psychological inducements or love oppression.

The third section will discuss about the values of feminism that are revealed by Inge. In this novel, Inge has revealed the feminism values which are freedom of choice, equality, and woman’s right to be herself. It is clearly seen through her struggle in dealing the oppressions which come from men in the patriarchal society where she lives.

A. Inge’s characteristics

In this novel, The Glass Inferno Inge is described as a young, beautiful woman in the age of twenties. She lives with her boy friend, David Rooney and with other friends. They share a room in a small house. Inge is described as a beautiful woman with attractive body which attracts many men. Besides her sex

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appeal that she has, she is also brave, independent, kind-hearted, responsible, and strong. Her journey as a woman who lives in patriarchal society is marked by her escape from her horrible past. What she had in her past that was she was raped by her step father, more or less has affected her present life. In Inge’s new life, with her savior, her boyfriend, David, she has to face oppressions too. She has to struggle for her own freedom as a woman. Through her actions and ways of thinking, Inge reflects certain values of feminism. To see more deeply how Inge is characterized in the novel, the analysis is divided into each description of her characteristics.

1. Inge is a Brave Woman

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 133), the state of being brave means ready to face and endure danger, pain or suffering; having no fear. In the novel, Inge is depicted as a brave woman. Her characteristic as a brave woman could be seen from her past. Her courage to run away from her terrible past, and from the oppressions that she got not only from her step father, but also from her own mother had become a proof that she is a brave woman. She had to avoid her father’s advances and also to keep away her mother from jealousy. Her step father always tried to rape her, unfortunately she did not get any support, what she got were oppressions. That was why she had the bravery to leave her family and moved forward to live her own life. She chose to be free from the sexual abuse done by her step father, Karl and the oppressions that she got from her surrounding. David Rooney, a man who loved Inge helped Inge run away.

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David Rooney was her savior from Inge’s horrible past. She owed to David, since David helped her to run away. Although Inge did not love David, bravely she took the decision to run away with David. In a way, Inge is a brave woman in making such decision, though she has to barter her body in order to get the freedom. She has to pay high price to get her freedom.

In her new chapter of her life, Inge lives with her boyfriend, David and also with their friends. Inge’s characteristics develop through what she does and thinks. Being David’s wife does not make Inge safe from oppressions, since as a husband, David never gives Inge space to choose whatever she wants, he wants to take control about all the things around Inge’s life. Actually, David treats Inge only as his property, as a means to release his passions, as a means to produce babies. Inge becomes David’s sexual object. David never loves Inge since all what he does to Inge is only to take revenge. He wants to take revenge since when they were in senior high school, Inge rejected David’s love and the wound stayed forever. In the same time, he does not want to lose Inge. He wants to own Inge as his property.

Being David’s wife makes Inge’s movement restricted to her husband’s will. David treats her only as his property. The legal status that they have as a husband and wife, only makes the situation getting worst, it strengthens David’s power to own Inge fully. With the legal status, David feels that he could own Inge fully. David does not appreciate Inge’s rights that she should deserve as a woman and a wife, but it does not make Inge loses her freedom to choose what she wants

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to do and not, Inge strives for her rights bravely. One of the examples is when they decided to move to Sydney, for the first time after their marriage Inge bravely decides to do what she wants to, she prefers to leave her husband in order to understand more about herself. She has a neighbor named Lilith, she is a witch and she could do magic to reach her will. Lilith wants to trap Inge in order to ruin her family. Lilith introduces Inge to her friend, Paul. She sets everything to ruin Inge’s family. With Lilith’s trick Inge is trapped in such difficult situation, a situation that actually Inge does not want to be in. Lilith wants to ruin her family, therefore she tells David that Inge is unfaithful to him. David feels angry, betrayed by Inge. He forces Inge to go home rather than with Paul. What Inge did is somehow a kind of unfaithfulness act, but, inside she feels when she is with Paul, she feels different, warm, and being loved. Although what Paul wants only her body, she finds something different, which she sure, she wants it. Therefore, bravely she rejects David’s order to come back home. She remains stay with Paul.

“No David, this bargain I can’t enter. I’ll stay here,” I say finally. (p.83) Inge’s decision to stay with Paul shows that she is a brave woman in making such decision. She prefers to understand more deeply who she is by staying with Paul rather than going home and being David’s property.

Moreover, when David is accepted to be the new teacher in Papua New Guinea, Inge decides to follow him to the remote area. She does not feel afraid to the new environment. In fact, she could adapt well, and get along with the natives. She also used to meet regularly with the other wives in her new place,

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Kiwa-Kiwa. The other women feel they are trapped in that remote area, but not with Inge. She feels that she loves that place very much.

“I feel drawn to everything I see. I can’t get enough of that crazy green twilight when everything seems to be at a standstill waiting for the nightfall. I can’t help dancing to their music. I can see my self living the way their woman live. They’re so natural.”(p.111)

Inge’s decision to leave Sydney and make new life in Papua New Guinea gives tribute to understand more who she is. Her bravery to follow her husband and live in a remote area has developed her own characteristics. Living in a remote area has made Inge’s eyes widely open. She meets Tugl, the native man. She makes decision to make love with Tugl, although she knows the effects. She does it in a matter to get the deeper knowledge to understand who she is, what actually life is and what she wants in her life. After making love to Tugl, she feels her eyes are opened widely. She chooses to leave David once again.

“For days on end I think about the note I’ll leave David and Lena. In the end I write what many wives before me have written.

Forgive me, but I can’t stand it anymore. I’m leaving with Rua. My darling Lena, I’ll be back for you. Be good.” (p.153)

That kind of action shows that Inge is a brave woman in making such decision. She prefers to leave her husband and her daughter in order to understand more who she is and to find her freedom, her quest for herself with all of the consequences. Her characteristic as a brave woman completes the complexity as a woman who lives in male-dominated world.

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2. Inge is an Independent Woman.

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 604), independent is the state of being not dependent on other people or things; not controlled by other people or things. Inge’s independence could be seen from her past. Although she lived in a broken family, it did not make her lost her dignity as a woman. Her childhood was full of sorrow, since her family was migrants, therefore young Inge was forced to adapt in the new environment. Besides she had to face the problem inside her family. Since Inge was a little girl, her mother, Lisl never loved her because she was an unwanted baby. Inge’s mother traded her body in order to get safety from the war and when Inge’s mother gave birth to Inge, she was still too young. Young Inge never got love from her mother neither from her step father. She was lack of affection, her step father, Karl always took advantages to rape her. Inge spent her adolescent years avoiding her step father’s advances and in return she got her independence. She could not depend herself on her mother neither her grandmother. They seemed to blame Inge for Inge’s beauty that made Karl attracted to her. They always tried to make Inge really ugly or locked up her so that she could not get into trouble. Actually what children needed the most were to be loved, but young Inge never got love, she was lack of affection. Lisl did not give any support at all or try to protect Inge from her step father’s advances, however, she kept on blaming and hating Inge, she could not stand anymore and preferred to run away. Lisl, Inge’s mother kept on hating Inge until she died.

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Inge’s childhood was unhappy and full of sorrow. She had to survive for the internal problems in her family and also external problem, which she had to face her new environment as a migrant from Germany. She had to work hard to be accepted in the new school, she had to learn English, she had to blend with the other students in her new school. This hard situations that she got had made her independence grew since she could not depend to anyone to live her adolescent years.

“The school is tiny, one for the seniors, one for the juniors, in the larger room I learnt to speak English, to hate my origins, to survive; blending into the rhythms, the nuances, the hierarchy of my surroundings.”(p.42) She had to force herself to do what actually she did not want to do in order to be accepted in the new environment. Finally she was accepted in her new environment, she could adapt well, she was welcomed by her friends, and in a way, she became popular girl in her school, and through her effort in struggling to live in her new environment by herself had shown her independence as a girl.

In Kiwa-Kiwa where David becomes a teacher, Inge also shows her independence. Most of the white wives have boy house, a native young man who could help all of the house works with low price only for eight dollar a week. But not with Inge, she does not want to have it since she still could do the house work by herself. When one of the wives asks Inge why she does not want to have helper at her house, she answers that she still can do all of the house work by herself.

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one? Alice says.

“Well I don’t want know. It’s a bit like slave labor, isn’t it? I mean we get twenty times that amount and having a grown man do your housework when you’re quite able bodied as a bit strange.”(p.105)

By preferring not to have a helper at her house although the payment is cheap, Inge not only shows her independence, that she still could handle all the household things by herself, but also her concerns about the slavery labor issue.

Moreover, when one of the teachers in Kiwa-Kiwa is leaving she is offered to replace the place as the new teacher. Although her background of education does not fit with the subject she has a will to try it. By trying to fill the position, she wants to prove to David that she is also capable to teach. She could do like what David could. She goes alone to the Moresby, where the education department is located. Although the place is really far away from her village and the street is not in a good condition, she still goes by herself, she does not ask her husband to take her to the education department, and it shows her independence too as a woman. David, as Inge’s husband, does not feel happy to know Inge’s succeed to fill the position, in fact he looks suspiciously, as if Inge does not have the ability to teach. By becoming the new teacher, in the other hand Inge wants to prove to David that she could do whatever she wants and that she has the ability to do it. In conclusion, Inge could be said as an independent woman. She could work and it proves that she is financially independent.

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3. Inge is a Kind-hearted Woman.

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 601), the state of being kind means showing concern about the happiness and feelings others in a gentle and friendly way. As a human, her loyalty to her friends and her families is very big. She has a good heart and sensitive feeling. When she lives with David in a shared-house with their friends, the one who takes care of David is Inge. She makes him breakfast, waits for David until he returns from work, does the house work, etc.

“I rise with him, make him breakfast, escort him to the tram, walk back down Rathdowne Street, wash the dishes, do whatever housework doesn’t distract from the general mess. I wait for him to return, afraid of the space his absences creates.”(p.11)

Inge owes to David since he saved her from her past. Although David treats Inge merely as his property, a means to release lust, but Inge always tries to be good to David. The sexual relationship that they have was always cold because there is no love and it is only to satisfy lust. Although inside her heart Inge feels disappointed with the sexual relationship that she has but she feels that she owes so much to David. She has to barter her body to the freedom that she dreamt for and also to get the shelter and protection. For all what David has done to Inge, she prefers to stay with him.

In their house, they share the rooms with Fitz, a man, a friend of David and also Jo, a woman. Although they live in the same house, it seems that Fitz and Jo could not get along together well. They never speak the same language. It

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happens because they have different perspective towards life and different idealism. Although Jo is a woman, but she is very tomboy. She used to ride a bike. It seems that Fitz hate it. According to Fitz a woman should be at home, do the households, fulfill men’s needs and satisfy their sexual pleasure. He praises free sex and he thinks that women are worthless, they are merely means to satisfy sexual desire. Fitz hates Jo’s dignity of being a free woman, therefore he sets to ruin it by raping her. He sets everything and gives Jo poison that makes Jo unconscious so that he could release his lust to her.

Fitz rapes Jo successfully. Watching the sexual violence that is done to her friend, Jo, Inge’s sympathy as a woman appears. She could feel what Jo feels. After that, she helps Jo to fix up with her clothes. She feels empathy for Jo, although Jo seems underestimates Inge. Having the same feeling as women, she feels that her hatred to men becomes bigger, she feels that what Fitz has done to Jo seems to underestimate her, does not respect women’s rights and it makes Inge’s eyes open widely.

The other friend of Inge, Sue who praises love more than anything has the same tragic fate. Sue is the kind of woman who believes and praises love more than anything. She keeps her virginity until the man who is destined for her is coming. She keeps on waiting ad waiting. At that time if a grown up woman still keeps her virginity until she gets married, people will regard it as something old and awkward. As a woman, Inge respects Sue’s idealism. Sometimes she feels a bit jealous. Inge adores Sue for her belief, her idealism and her faith on love.

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Until one day, Sue is being raped by three masked-men, but Sue recognizes that one of them is her boy friend. She feels disappointed, lost hope, lost faith and lost everything. Hearing her lovely friend got an accident, Inge searches for Sue, she feels sad for what happened to Sue.

“Sue, I heard what happened.” She is still, silent. I sit beside her, my arm around her shoulder, my face amongst her hair. Sue is a statue. She is rigid, like the other statues; the marbe Angel Gabriel, the tiny agonized Jesus. I am the first to sob and then she joins in. Sue’s hair holds our many tears.” (p.33)

This shows Inge’s kindness towards her friend. Inge feels empathy and disappointed at the same time. She feels disappointed to men. Men always treat women as their stuff, to release lust and they do not respect women. What happened to Sue has somehow, stronger Inge’s hatred to the system. The system which underestimates women, gives unfair treatment and merely regards women as sexual objects.

Although Inge has terrible past, she was raped by her step father, it seems that she does not want to take revenge to her step father. Her sister, Monika seems to hate her own father for what he did to Inge and the rest of the family. Monika hates him and wants him to be imprisoned for he is a Nazi. Inside her heart, Inge hates for what Karl did to her, but she does not want to take revenge. As a mature woman and a mother, she feels that to take revenge is not a good thing to be done. It is useless, since it does not solve the problem, and it will not change the condition. Therefore, she rejects Monika’s and Sam’s ideas to imprison Karl.

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got no evidence. I think it’s better to forget about it. He’s your own father, Monika,” I counter, shocked at the suggestion.”(p.49)

As a sister, Inge gives advice to Monika, but it does not mean that she wants to take side with Karl. Inside, she has forgiven him to what he did to Inge. Inge has erased him from her life, she is trying to live her new life without being interrupted by her past. Therefore, Inge does not want to take revenge. Her maturity as a woman grows up as the time goes by.

4. Inge is a Responsible Woman.

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 1000) responsible means capable of being trusted; reliable and sensible. Inge is said to be a responsible woman since she always accepts all of the consequences to what she has chosen in her life. This could be seen when she is living with David and she finds herself is pregnant. As a young woman in her twenties, she could choose to free herself by aborting the fetus, but she has the responsibility to keep the baby. She chooses to have the baby with all of the consequences. Although the doctor agrees to help her doing abortion. She prefers to keep the baby.

“I can arrange an abortion for you. Dr. Mauris says cautiously. I go tomato red. “No, of course I don’t want an abortion.”(p.36)

Her motherly feeling appears and tries to save the baby inside her womb. She chooses to keep it, although she is not ready yet to marry and so does with David. By taking a big decision to marry the man whom she does not love becomes the proof that she is responsible to her life and the baby’s inside. Inge is responsible to what happens in her life.

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Besides responsible to her life, she is also responsible to her family. Although she had bad experience with her family, which she got oppressions not only from her step father, but also from her own mother and grandmother, she does not want to take revenge. Her grandmother, Mami is a typical of conventional woman. In Inge’s adolescent, she always treated unfairly by Mami. Mami always took side with her daughter, Lisl, she also blamed Inge to Lisl’s death. Although so, Inge never hates her grand mother, she does care for her and wants to take responsibility for her. This could be seen when Inge is getting married to David and Mami is coming.

“Where are you living now Mami?” She cries. I have to bring her tissues before she can answer the question. “I’m living in Dandenongs with a German family. They have adopted me as their grandmother. I’ve lost my own family. I’m all alone.” She starts to cry again. “No, you haven’t. There still Monika and me.” “I never see you.” She says aggressively. “I’ll come and see you, I promise.”(p.50)

Inge feels sympathy to her old grand mother. Although she never got love from her grand mother, she still wants to take responsibility of her. As a grown-up woman she knows what to do to her old grand mother.

As the time goes by, Inge has a baby girl. Here, her responsibility as a mother appears. When she gives birth to Lena, her daughter, she already swears in her heart to protect Lena from any kind of men in her surrounding. She does not want if her daughter has the same fate as hers, or her friends’. Having seen many kind of men in her life, Inge has the passion to protect her daughter, Lena so that she will grow up happily, not experiencing what she had in her adolescent.

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Inge also has different characteristic with David who seems to see something only from its usage and advantages. For David, work and family are important, but he never make the real decision in his life, including the matter of having a baby, and being a father.

From the explanation above, it is clearly seen that as a woman Inge could be responsible to her life and also to her families. She is also responsible to what she has chosen in her life, she follows the pattern in her life with responsibility. Living in male-dominated world and being David’s wife does not make Inge feels inferior, but in fact she could prove that she is strong and she will be responsible to what she chooses in her life.

5. Inge is an Attractive Woman.

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 66) attractive means having the power to attract; pleasing or interesting. In the novel, Inge is depicted as a young, beautiful woman in her twenties. Besides her inner beauty, her outer beauty and sex appeal that she has are attractive as well. It is shown from many men who fall knees on her. In her adolescent time, when the first time her family moved to Australia, she had to adapt in the new environment. She did it well. She could get along with the boys, play boxing matches and soccer with them. However, when she got her first period and grew her breasts, the way the boys treated her changed. They seemed to underestimate Inge for her sex, and the worst was they seemed to take advantages from her. As a young girl Inge also attracted many boys, so that her mother and grand mother always tries to make her look

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ugly, in order to protect Inge from the boys. It is true that what she has outside attracts many boys, but, unfortunately all they want only to seduce her. Inge’s first love, as she thought, a boy named Tony was fourteen and he wanted to take advantages from young Inge.

“Tony and I did get each other in the end, but it wasn’t at all like I dreamed. We sat on a log in the dark of a shed tighter. I wanted tender kiss with his hands gently exploring my nipples. I wanted him to say sweet and beautiful things to me in English. I would know what it meant by his tone of voice, I thought, but he kept on shoving his hands into my crotch and I kept pushing him away trying to kiss him. He was fourteen and seemed to have dispensed with the preliminaries to get straight to penetration.”(p.27) It is proven that Inge has strong sex appeal, even in her younger years. When she already became David’s wife, there are still many men who fall knees on Inge. One of them is Mark. Mark is the visitor in their house. David lets him to stay in their house for few days. Unfortunately, Mark keeps staying for weeks and it is really amuses Inge. Bravely, Mark declares his love to Inge although he knows that Inge is David’s wife.

“During week two, mark declares his love for me. I understand his mumbled proposals by his gestures. He knees on the kitchen floor as I move about preparing dinner. He wrings his hands, rolls his eyeballs and moves his unappetizing beard from side to side. I try to ignore him, go on cooking chips fro David’s dinner.”(p.75)

As a visitor who amuses Inge with what he is doing, Mark seems does not care with Inge’s family. Being rejected by Inge, he does not give up. He keeps on trying to seduce Inge. He tries to get Inge’s attention. Once again he declares his love, this time, he uses fine suits and tie. It seems that Mark will not give up in getting Inge’s love. He is attracted to Inge’s inner and also outer beauty. From so

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many men who had been attracted to Inge, it could be concluded that Inge was a truly beautiful woman. As a beautiful, young and attractive woman, Inge realizes that she could easily get a man, but actually what she needs is love, not like what men pursue, sex.

6. Inge is a Strong Woman.

In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 1185) strong means feelings, thoughts or opinion felt, held or expressed with intensity. Inge is said to be a strong woman since all of her decisions in her life are taken consciously without the help of anyone. Her past becomes the evidence that she is a strong woman. Although she was lack of love that she needed, she still could live her life strongly. Moreover, she had a hard time in her adolescent years, but she could face it and decided to run away from it. She prefers to live her own life without any interruption from her past, from her step father who always took advantages to rape her. Then, she strongly commits to herself to forget the past and face the new life.

“His name, his touch, the crime of my people are stain on my flesh. The birds are no more tears to cry I take off my clothes and ease my self into the fast flowing river to begin the baptism. I wash myself clean of the past. I wash myself clean of hi9s name. I wash myself clean of his hands. I wash myself clean of the crime I haven’t committed.”(p.43)

Inge is trying so hard to get out from her past. More or less, her past influences her present life. Finally she decides to be free from her past, forgets what Karl had done to her, and forgets the revenge that she has to Karl and also the burden that she holds for a long time, she releases these strongly.

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Being David’s wife, she is supposed to be loved and cared, but, unfortunately she does not get that. Since what David does to Inge it seems only to take revenge, he treats her only as his property, as a means to release his passion and a means to produce baby. Inge knows about it and as a mother and wife she is struggling for her own rights as a woman. She is strong in living her life, she never regrets to what happened in her life. As a married woman she does not merely depend on her husband for the financial support. She could work as well as her husband. After they got divorce, she still works to live her live and her daughter. She never gives up in searching the vacancies until she gets it.

“Once I've finished my training. I'm left alone to check and double check the accuracy of a variety of thermometers and pressures gauges. I am instructed to call the manager at any hour if the readings are abnormal.” (p.161)

Her job as a labor in a glass factory is a hard job. In general, usually, only men can do that job, but she takes it and she has the ability to do the job. Being a woman does not make limitation to what she wants to do, in this case she chooses to have a hard work and she also shows her ability to do the work. She has shown to everyone that although she is a woman, but she can do men’s job. She is as strong as men, as tough as men.

B. The Patriarchal Society as Depicted in the Novel.

Patriarchal society is somehow related to feminism. In a way, patriarchy is the opposite of feminism. It is not surprising, then, the word patriarchy has a negative association when it is used in the context of feminism. Patriarchal system

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has existed for a long time ago, and as the negative outcome of this system, there are oppressions toward the inferior one, in this case, women. Here, the patriarchal society is clearly seen through the males’ characters’ oppressions toward Inge as the main character.

The negative outcome of patriarchy is oppressions. Women constitute the oppressed class in patriarchal society and men constitute the class of oppressors. According to Anne Koeidt women’s oppression stem from men’s sexual power over women which is achieved through actual or threatened physical violence and by psychological inducements such as romance (Humm, 1992:261). Firestone also supports Koeidt ideas on forms of oppressions, she states:

“But sexual oppression is the fundamental and foundational form of oppression in patriarchal society “(Madsen, 2000:158).

Another form of oppression according to Firestone is psychological inducements or love oppression. She concludes that love and romance are very different for men and for women. Men idealize, mystify and glorify the individual women with whom they fall in love in order to obscure her inferior class status, women, in contrast, pursue the male love and approval that will raise her up from he subordination class position and validate her existence. In this way, love becomes a political force, a force for unequal power relations (Madsen, 2000:159). Or in another other word it could be said that there are two forms of oppressions, they are physical violence or sexual oppression and psychological inducements or love oppression. In this novel, Inge is the one who experiences

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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 2nd ad. Assex: Longman Group UK Ltd, 1987.

Madsen, Deborah.L. Feminist Theory and Literary Practice. London: Pluto Press, 2000.

Murphy, M. J. Understanding Unseen: an Introduction to English Poetry and the English novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1972.

Stanton, Theodore & Harriet Stanton Blatch, eds. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. New York: Arno and The New York times. 1969.

Walton, Sue. Search for Self Rings with Honesty. (Accessed on March, 8th 2007)

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APPENDIX

Summary

The Glass Inferno

Inge Heinrich was a migrant from Germany who had to survive in her new place, Australia. Young Inge lived with her mother and step father in small town, named Eajon. Her adolescent time was horrible since her step father always tried to rape her, and it worked. As a young and beautiful girl, she had to experience bad treatments from her step father that caused her physically and psychologically hurt. In fact, the women surround her were never give support to her, in the other hand, her own mother felt jealous and blamed Inge. Young Inge was lack of love and the oppressions that she got from her surrounding had caused her decided to go and live her life freely from the oppressions.

Nevertheless, in the new chapter of her life with David, she had to survive from the oppressions too. David, her savior from her past and her boyfriend was a rebel and he helped Inge, somehow only to take revenge. Since they were in high school, David had already fallen in love with Inge, unfortunately, Inge rejected his love. Therefore, when there was a chance to take revenge, he took it. He helped Inge to run away and made her owed to David. They lived together and David took advantages from it. He made Inge became as his appendage, as a

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means to satisfy his lust. David oppressed Inge sexually and also psychologically. He never treated her well, in the other hand, David merely regarded Inge as sexual object, and he always forced his will to have sexual intercourse anywhere, anytime, without considering Inge’s will on it. It was happened until Inge was pregnant and they decided to get married. The legal status that they had, as a husband and wife only worsen the oppressions that Inge got from David.

Inge had to survive her life as a woman and also a mother. Since David never appreciated Inge’s rights as a woman, neither loved her truly, Inge found her own ways to discover who she was and to be loved. When they moved to Sydney, from the first time Inge’s bravely took the decision to be unfaithful to David. By doing so, she hoped that she could know who she was deeply and also to experience different sexual relationship that warmer and appreciated her as a woman. She decided to leave David and her daughter, Lena to live with Paul, a widower whose wife was murdered. Inge’s relationship with Paul lasted for months since Paul was only regarded Inge as sexual object too. Although the sexual relationship that she and Paul had was better than what she and David had, but actually Paul only treated her merely as an object. For the worst, Paul wanted to sell Inge as a prostitute. He was also being unfaithful to Inge by having another lover. In the end, when he discovered Inge was being unfaithful to him by sleeping with his friend, he was angry. Inge was pregnant, but no body wanted to take the responsibility. Paul oppressed Inge sexually and psychologically.

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Therefore she preferred to leave Paul and go back to David, she also decided to terminate the unwanted baby.

Moreover, David accepted Inge regarding that his daughter needed mother. Then they moved to Papua New Guinea since David was accepted to become the new teacher there. Their relationship was better there, they decided to have another daughter, named Rua. Although so, David oppression toward Inge was not stopped yet. When Inge was asked to become the new teacher there, David seemed to underestimate Inge’s ability to teach. He never supported Inge. Inge’s decision to be the new teacher had shown that as a woman she could do what she wanted to do and that she was financially independent from her husband.

Life had its own purpose. Inge met the native man, Tugl. He was Inge’s student in the remote area. Somehow, Tugl was attracted to Inge’s beauty. In the other hand, Inge also had curiosity to understand life deeply. She decided to make love with Tugl with all of the consequences. Then she realized that she was being unfaithful to David once again, therefore, she decided to leave David and her daughter, Lena. She went with her little daughter, Rua to Queensland.

Finding herself pregnant, she decided to do abortion once again. Besides, she took the crucial action by removing her womb. By removing her womb, she felt as if she was newly born, became new person, with new body. There was no difference with men, she could do what men do, there would be no more menstruation, and she was happy to live her new life.

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In Queensland, she was struggle in making living for her and her daughter. She was looking for jobs. Until she got a job in Glass factory whose owner was Tristan, an old friend of Inge. Tristan was the man who gave the great influence to Inge. He was also the only man whom Inge loved. Destiny met them; actually Tristan liked Inge since they the first time they met, when they were young. Therefore, Tristan asked Inge to live with him. He did not permit Inge to work in his factory, he wanted Inge to be at his house, served him. Although Tristan loved Inge very much, he strated to give limitations to Inge. it happened when Inge wanted to meet her own daughters and Tristan did not let her to do so. Tristan was afraid if Inge met her daughters, she would met David and made love to him. Despite of Tristan’s will, Inge kept on meeting her daughters. Tristan was angry and felt betrayed, he had prejudice on Inge. He accused Inge for having another lover. In fact Inge did not have any. The fragile Tristan kept on ignoring Inge, this situation went fro weeks. Afraid of losing and hurting Tristan, Inge told a lie. She told Tristan that she had another lover, she set up a lie. Tristan felt excited to hear the story and he turned on Inge. They would made love for a long time.

Tristan always regarded as if he was the mirror of Inge. Therefore he always asked Inge the stories of the men in her past. He would feel as if he was Inge, who made love with Inge’s step father, David, Paul and Tugl. Tristan was psychologically ill, he could not accet Inge as the way she was. He always regarded Inge as something unclean, dirty and as a whore. Therefore he forced Inge to be a prostitute. He set up everything, he dressed Inge as a prostitute, and

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took her to the customers. Inge wanted to do so since she had lost the sense of being Inge. She could no longer remember who she was, who Inge was, and who Tristan was. She was influenced by Tristan’s personality. Tristan oppressed Inge sexually and also mentally. Until one day finally, she broke free, she could confront and recognize her inner landscape. The recognition and the subsequent sense of hope tinged with bitterness that she had arrived at that point in her development, not because of the help given by men and society, but in spite of their efforts to prevent it. She decided to leave Tristan and live her own life.

The values feminism as revealed through inge`s character in fremd`s the glass inferno.

•

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but

in raising up every time we fail (Ralph Waldo

Emerson).

•

Three grand essentials to have happiness in

this life are something to do, something to love

and something to hope for (Joseph Addison).

•

You have to endure caterpillars if you want to

see butterflies (Antoine De Saint).

I dedicate this thesis for to My Beloved Parents, My Sisters

and My Brother who always support me in accomplishing this

thesis.

I dedicate this thesis for those who have participated and

supported me so far.

APPENDIX

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INGE’S REPRESENTATION AS A POSTMODERN FEMINIST IN FREMD’S THE GLASS INFERNO

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Links

The values feminism as revealed through inge`s character in fremd`s the glass inferno.

•

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but

in raising up every time we fail (Ralph Waldo

Emerson).

•

Three grand essentials to have happiness in

this life are something to do, something to love

and something to hope for (Joseph Addison).

•

You have to endure caterpillars if you want to

see butterflies (Antoine De Saint).

I dedicate this thesis for to My Beloved Parents, My Sisters

and My Brother who always support me in accomplishing this

thesis.

I dedicate this thesis for those who have participated and

supported me so far.

APPENDIX

Parts

Dokumen yang terkait

Portrayal of The Female Protagonists in Bharati Mukherjee's 'Jasmine' and Angelika Fremd's 'The Glass Inferno'.

The ideas of feminism revealed through the main character in Hannah Shah`s the imam`s daughter.

Liberal feminism values seen through the main female character in Kinberg`s Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

The moral values revealed through the major character`s bad experiences in Toni Morrison`s a mercy.

The idea of feminism revealed through the character of Portia as seen in Harisson`s 1968 The Merchant of Venice.

Feminism as revealed through the character of Dr. Kat Hunter in Sidney Sheldon`s nothing lasts forever.

INGE’S REPRESENTATION AS A POSTMODERN FEMINIST IN FREMD’S THE GLASS INFERNO

Sexual revolution as reflected in the character of inge in angelika fremd`s heartland - USD Repository

The values feminism as revealed through inge`s character in fremd`s the glass inferno - USD Repository

Ideas of feminism revealed through the main character in Clewlow`s not married not bothered - USD Repository

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