By ANDRIANI UTAMI Student Number: 991214157 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

  THE MARRIAGE FAILURE OF ETNA BLISS AND NICHOLAS VAN TASSEL, AS SEEN IN ANITA SHREVE’S ALL HE EVER WANTED A T h e s i s Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education By ANDRIANI UTAMI Student Number: 991214157 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

  

THE MARRIAGE FAILURE OF ETNA BLISS AND NICHOLAS VAN TASSEL,

AS SEEN IN ANITA SHREVE’S ALL HE EVER WANTED

A T h e s i s

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

  

By

ANDRIANI UTAMI

Student Number: 991214157

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

  

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

  PAGE OF DEDICATION ( Unknown ) I affectionately dedicate this thesis to: My parents & my sister

  My parents-in-law My sisters & brothers-in-law

and especially for my beloved husband & my sweetest baby

  

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or

part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the

bibliography, as a scientific paper should.

  Yogyakarta, February 5, 2007 The Writer, (Andriani Utami)

  

ABSTRACT

  Utami, Andriani. 2007. The Marriage Failure of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van

  

Tassel, as Seen in Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted. Yogyakarta: English

  Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

  This thesis discusses All He Ever Wanted, a novel written by Anita Shreve.

  

All He Ever Wanted is a story about a marriage between Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van

  Tassel, which ends in a failure because there is not any love from the wife and of the poor communication between both of them.

  The objective of this study is to see the complexities that can ruin the relationship within the marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel. Concerning the objective, there are two problems stated in this thesis. The first one is how Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel’s characters are described. The second one is the complexities of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel’s marriage that can fail their marital relationship.

  In order to achieve the objective of the study, the method employed in this thesis is library research. The sources are obtained from the novel itself, criticism, and other sources related to the novel. This thesis also uses some theories to conduct the analysis. They are the theories of character and characterization, of critical approaches, and of marriage.

  Based on the result of the analysis, there are two conclusions which can be drawn. First, Etna Bliss is described as a quiet woman who has little words in speaking, an introvert and secretive person who likes to hide her inner thinking, and a motherly woman who has talent to be a good mother. Nicholas Van Tassel is described as an orderly person because of his habit of doing his daily activities as continually and punctually as possible, a smart and thoughtful person who always has many brilliant ideas to achieve his goal, a sensitive person who is easily being upset in facing distressing situation, and a person who has lack of self-confidence.

  The second result is that the complexities in the marriage failure of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel are caused by lacking of communication, great imbalance of love, and the secrets and untruths. It is also supported by their characteristics because both of them never share their inner feelings. As a result, there will not be a happy marriage, but a failure.

  Finally, beside the suggestions for possible future researchers on All He Ever

  

Wanted, this thesis proposes strategies to implement teaching English by using a

novel, especially in teaching Prose.

  

ABSTRAK

  Utami, Andriani. 2007. The Marriage Failure of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van

  

Tassel, as Seen in Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted. Yogyakarta: Program Studi

  Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Kependidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Skripsi ini membahas All He Ever Wanted, sebuah novel karya Anita Shreve.

  

All He Ever Wanted merupakan cerita tentang suatu pernikahan antara Etna Bliss dan

  Nicholas Van Tassel, yang akhirnya kandas karena tidak adanya cinta dari sang istri dan komunikasi yang kurang baik antar keduanya.

  Tujuan studi ini adalah untuk mengetahui keruwetan-keruwetan yang mengakibatkan gagalnya hubungan dalam pernikahan Etna Bliss dan Nicholas Van Tassel. Sehubungan dengan studi ini, skripsi ini membahas dua pokok permasalahan. Permasalahan yang pertama adalah bagaimana karakter Etna Bliss dan Nicholas Van Tassel digambarkan. Permasalahan yang kedua adalah keruwetan-keruwetan apa saja yang terjadi dalam konflik rumah tangga Etna Bliss dan Nicholas Van Tassel sehingga merusak pernikahan mereka.

  Untuk mencapai tujuan dalam skripsi ini, metode yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka. Sumber-sumber diperoleh dari novel itu sendiri, kritik-kritik, dan sumber-sumber lain yang berhubungan dengan novel ini. Skripsi ini juga menggunakan beberapa teori untuk menuntun analisis. Teori-teori tersebut adalah teori karakter dan karakterisasi, teori tinjauan kritik, dan teori tentang pernikahan.

  Berdasarkan hasil analisa, ada dua hal yang dapat disimpulkan. Pertama, Etna Bliss digambarkan sebagai seorang wanita pendiam yang sedikit bicaranya, seorang yang tertutup dan penuh rahasia yang senang menyembunyikan perasaan terdalamnya, dan seorang wanita keibuan yang mempunyai bakat untuk menjadi seorang ibu yang baik. Nicholas Van Tassel digambarkan sebagai seorang pria dengan hidup teratur dikarenakan oleh kebiasaannya untuk melakukan aktifitas sehari-harinya secara terus-menerus dan selalu tepat waktu, seorang yang cerdas dan banyak akalnya yang selalu memiliki banyak ide-ide cemerlang untuk mencapai tujuannya, seorang pria yang sensitif karena mudah tersentuh hatinya bila menghadapi situasi yang menyedihkan, dan seseorang yang kurang memiliki kepercayaan pada diri sendiri.

  Kedua, keruwetan-keruwetan dalam gagalnya pernikahan antara Etna Bliss dan Nicholas Van Tassel disebabkan oleh kurangnya komunikasi, ketidakseimbangan cinta yang besar, dan adanya rahasia-rahasia dan kebohongan- kebohongan dalam rumah tangga mereka. Hal tersebut juga didukung oleh sifat-sifat mereka dimana keduanya tidak pernah berbagi rasa tentang perasaan terdalam mereka. Alhasil, bukannya suatu pernikahan membahagiakan yang diraih namun justru kegagalan.

  Pada akhirnya, disamping saran-saran untuk para peneliti berikutnya, skripsi ini menawarkan strategi dalam penggunaan novel All He Ever Wanted sebagai bahan pengajaran bahasa Inggris, khususnya dalam pelajaran Prosa.

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Alhamdulillaahi rabbil’aalamiin. I bestow my ultimate gratitude to Allah

  

SWT. My thesis writing would not have been completed without the help and

  prayers from the following people: I would like to thank my sponsor, Paulus Kuswandono, S.Pd., M.Ed., who has sincerely spent his valuable time and energy reading and correcting my thesis.

  Without his guidance and support, this thesis would have never been completed.

  I affectionately dedicate my greatest gratitude to my beloved family: my parents, Tri Wibowo Suharto and Sri Partini (I am deeply sorry if this takes too long), and my lovely and funniest sister, Sita Dewi Yuandari, from whom I always get never ending love and affection.

  My sincere gratitude goes to my parents-in-law: Soeroyo Machfudz and Siti

  

Munafiati, for being very nice and warm to me and to my family. I also thank my

  dearly sisters and brothers-in-law: Mbak Reny & Mas Budi, Mbak Ririn & Mas

  

Hanung (and their daughters, Hanim & Maryam), and Restu, for all the support

and prayer.

  My special thank also goes to the members of B 7-71/79: Mbak Jiyah,

  

Mbak Triksi, Mbak Asih & Fuad, Mbak Karni, Arif, Jona, David, and Pak

Toyo, for all the help and hospitality.

  My very special gratitude goes to my best friends: Diana, Sekar, and Beti, for all the kindness and the nicest friendship we have ever been through.

  I also would like to thank Trondhol, Fiel, Nada, Siska ‘Kubis’, Yunita,

  

Avie, Uul, Dewi, Siska ‘Lup-Lup’, Bodro, and Japar who have been so compatible

during our difficult time in PBI.

  I do not forget to thank the ‘Best Eleven’: Marentong Tolele, Maman

  

Sukiman, Rubiyo, Gabon, Sapiteng, Duki, Bu Mori, Bolo, Tami, Samson, and

Mumut, for all the jokes and laughter, and also for the wonderful moment when we

  play together.

  Last but not least, I would like to bestow my deepest gratitude to the most important person in my life, Rossy Armyn Machfudiyanto. I thank him for having done his very best efforts to encourage me to finish this thesis. Above all, I also thank him for trying to be a wonderful father to our beloved baby, Muhammad

  Allan Romeo Machfudiyanto.

  With Love, Andriani Utami

  TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PAGE OF TITLE ……………………………………………………………….. i

  PAGE OF APPROVAL …...……………………………………………………. ii

PAGE OF BOARD OF EXAMINERS …..…………………………………….. iii

PAGE OF DEDICATION …..…………………………………………………. iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……..………………………….. v ABSTRACT …..………………………………………………………………... vi ABSTRAK …..………………………………………………………………….. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …..………………………………………………… viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ……..………………………………………………… x

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

  1. Marriage …..……………………………………………………. 2

  2. The Goal of Marriage ……..……………………………………. 2

  3. The Complexities of Marriage …..……………………………… 3

  

B. Objective of the Study ……..…………………………………………… 3

  

C. Problem Formulation …..……………………………………………….. 4

  

D. Benefits of the Study …………………………………………………….. 4

  

E. Definition of Terms …..………………………………………………… 5

1. Theory of Character and Characterization …..………………….. 7

a. Theory of Character …..………………………………. 7

  b. Theory of Characterization ……..……………………... 11

  2. Theory of Critical Approaches ……..…………………………… 14

  3. Theory of Marriage …..………………………………………….. 15

a. Problems in Marriage ……..…………………………… 16

  b. Communication is the Core …..……………………...... 18

  B. Theoretical Framework ……..…………………………………………… 20

  C. Criticism and Sources ………..………………………………………….. 21

  1. Criticism …………..……………………………………………... 25

  2. Sources ………..………………………………………………… 25

  

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ……………..…………………………….. 26

A. Subject Matter ……..…………………………………………………….. 26 B. Approach ……..………………………………………………………….. 27 C. Procedures …..…………………………………………………………… 28

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ……..……………………………………………... 30

A. The Characters of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel …..……………… 30

  1. Etna Bliss’ Character ……..……………………………………… 30

  a. Being Quiet ……..……………………………………… 31

  b. Being Introvert and Secretive Person ……..…………… 32

  c. Being Motherly …..…………………………………….. 33 b. Being Smart and Thoughtful …..………………………. 36

  c. Being Sensitive …..…………………………………….. 40

  d. Having Lack of Self-Confidence …..…………………... 43

  B. The Complexities that Fail the Marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel …..………………………………………………………………… 45

  1. Lack of Communication …..…………………………………….. 46

  2. Great Imbalance of Love …..…………………………………….. 52

  3. Secrets and Untruths …..………………………………………… 53

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ……..………………. 60 A. Conclusions ……..……………………………………………………….. 60 B. Suggestions ……..……………………………………………………….. 63

  1. Suggestion for the Future Researchers ………..…………………. 64

  2. Suggestion for English Teachers ……..…………………………. 64

  3. The Implementation in Teaching Prose …..……………………… 67

BIBLIOGRAPHY …..…………………………………………………………… 69

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Lesson Plan of Teaching Prose II …..……………………………. 71

Appendix 2 The Biography of Anita Shreve …..……………………………… 76

Appendix 3 The Picture of Anita Shreve …..…………………………………. 79

Appendix 4 The Summary of All He Ever Wanted ……..…………………….. 80

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter presents five parts, namely the background of the study, the

  objective of the study, the problem formulation, the benefits of the study, and the definition of terms. The first part, the background of the study contains some reasons of choosing the topic of the study which serve as the basis of this thesis writing. The second part is the objective of the study, which explains the goal of this study. The third part is the problem formulation, which states the problems to be analyzed in this thesis. The fourth part is the benefits of the study, which state the benefits of conducting the study for the readers. The last part is the definition of terms, which clarify some important terms that are used in this study.

A. Background of the Study

  This study deals with Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted. The novel talks about the marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel, which is full of intricacies because there is no mutual love between them. Etna Bliss apparently cannot change her feelings to love Nicholas Van Tassel, though he has done many things for her.

  Therefore, it gives a bad effect to the existence of the marriage itself.

  In this study, I am particularly interested in discussing about the complexities in one’s marriage which in the end fail the marital relationship, just like the marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel. The complexities themselves are in fact triggered by the non-existence of love from the wife, Etna Bliss, since the beginning

  The background of the study will be divided into three descriptive title. The first one is marriage, the second one is the goal of marriage, and the third one is the complexities of marriage. The explanation of each point is like the following:

  1. Marriage

  It is perfectly understandable that people will experience three phases in their lives. Those are the moment when they are born, getting married, and finally going back to the life’s creator or die. The three phases above cannot be denied or avoided because they have been the God’s destiny for every people’s life. As a human, we cannot choose or know where we will like to be born, to whom we are going to marry, and when our life will end. All we have to do is only to live our life as appropriately as possible and to be responsible for every thing we have said or done in order to gain a meaningful life in the world.

  Here in this study I will not discuss about all the three phases but I will only focus on the second phase that is marriage, for it is an interesting subject to be analyzed and there are many aspects in it which are essential to learn. Marriage, in a literally word means ‘legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.’ It means that every human being who has grown into maturity and engaged in a serious relationship might normally think about the decision to marry. When a couple decides to get married, there should be a goal to achieve in the future.

  2. The Goal of Marriage

  The reason behind one’s decision to get married might vary but the most common and reasonable is to gain happiness, for it involves the feeling of being to survive their marital relationship and to achieve the goal. The things which are essential in building a happy and successful marriage are honesty, loyalty, openness, communication, accepting, understanding, and loving each other. However, it is not as easy as people have been imagined in a marriage because it consists of two different individuals with different traits, personality, and even preferences which can sometimes lead into difficulties and problems. When the husband and wife cannot handle the difficulties and problems or even use their ego in dealing with them, the marital relationship may probably break down. Drescher (1979: 6-7) in

  

When Opposite Attract also states that a happy marriage is “the one that deals with its

  difficulties in a sympathetic spirit in which partners search together for solutions rather than dealing with difficulties by vindication, blaming, or escape.” So, as I have explained previously, a good communication is needed in order to deal with the problems in marriage.

3. The Complexities of Marriage

  A happy and successful marriage is definitely a thing that most people have been dreaming of, but what will happen in a marital relationship when it is built upon the secrets and lies, betrayal, lack of communication, and the feeling of love which is only from one side of the couple? There must be a serious problem in it and the atmosphere in that kind of marriage must be very strained and unhappy.

  Anita Shreve in her novel All He Ever Wanted wants to reveal the different kind of marriage with its dramatic intrigues as portrayed by the two main characters, Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel. Their marriage is not based on the mutual love,

  Therefore, by learning about the marital relationship between Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel with all its complexities, hopefully we can learn about the moral values in life especially in the life of marriage which does not always end in the romantic phrase ‘living happily ever after.’

  B. Objective of the Study

  The aim of this study is to see the complexities that can ruin the relationship within a marriage as seen in the marital relationship of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel, the main characters of Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted.

  C. Problem Formulation

  Based on the previous discussion as the starting point, we can clearly see the problems that will be brought into later discussion. The problems can be formulated as follow:

  1. How are the characters of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel described?

  2. What are the complexities in the marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel that fail their marital relationship?

  D. Benefits of the Study

  There are some benefits which can be taken by the students of English Language Education Study Program and all of the readers who are interested in literary works through this study. The first benefit is to introduce the readers to one of Anita Shreve’s novels because they mostly have ‘love’ as a theme, a very and marriage which can inspire the readers to know and understand deeper about marriage life.

  The second one is to provide some knowledge for the readers about the complexities in a marital relationship that should be put into considerations and reasons before they decide to get married. It is also necessary to understand that marriage is not merely a state of joy, love, and ecstasy but it is more realistic and it needs an extra hard work if a couple want to survive their marriage. So, before deciding to get married, it will be wise for the readers to throw the childish thinking away that often comes in their minds about the imagination of continuous happiness in marriage life.

  Eventually, this study is conducted to give benefits for other researchers who are interested in literary study, especially a novel. The benefits are for example, learning to use some theories such as the theory of character and the theory of critical approaches to analyze a literary work.

E. Definition of Terms

  In order to avoid misunderstanding and to explain the terms used in the body of this thesis, I will clarify the meaning of significant and important terms here in this last part of chapter one. The terms presented here are:

  1. Character The word ‘character’ has two meanings. The first meaning of character refers to a person which is presented in dramatic or narrative works who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral disposition qualities that are expressed in

  The second meaning of character refers to the individuals who appear in the story (Stanton, 1965: 17).

  2. Complexities In this study, the term ‘complexities’ refers to a negative meaning or intricacies. The term complexities is used because there are some points in the marriage of Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel which cause complex problems. Because both Etna and Nicholas are not willing to solve them, finally they choose to divorce.

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter consists of three significant parts. The first part is theoretical

  review, the second part is theoretical framework and the third part is criticism and sources. In the first part, I will discuss some theories which support my analysis. In the second part, I will explain the reasons I use some theories in this study. In the last part, I will discuss criticism toward Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted and the sources that I use in my study.

A. Theoretical Review

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

  In order to achieve the first aim of the study, I use the theory of character and characterization. Those theories help me to analyze Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel’s characters.

  Here is the explanation of those theories:

a. Theory of Character

  In Character and the Novel, Harvey (1968: 31) states that in real life one’s character is considered as something unique and separable from all other identities.

  Moreover, the uniqueness is needed to describe and to discuss his or her characteristic as an independent entity. However, in the novel, the author has a freedom to create and to present his or her fictional character such as his appearance, his personality, and what problem he might face. And in order to create the characteristic of the character, an author might adopt it from the real people and put it into simple description of a character.

  In this study, I am going to analyze Etna Bliss and Nicholas Van Tassel as the main character of Anita Shreve’s All He Ever Wanted because these characters have their own uniqueness in the characteristics which attract me to study deeper and to give clearer description.

  Abrams (1981: 20) defines the term characters as imaginative persons who inhabit a story and show a distinctive type of person. He also says that the characters in a story are the persons who are endowed with moral and disposition qualities as what is being expressed in what they say and what they do. As a representation of human being in dramatic or narrative work, the characters also have temperament, desires, and moral nature for their speech and action which refer to motivation.

  Through motivation, a character may remain unchanged or may undergo a radical change, either through the gradual process of motivation and development or as a result of crisis happening in his or her life. Thus, whether a character changes or remains stable, the consistency is needed from the readers. It means that a character should not break off and act in a way plausibly grounded in his or her temperament as the readers have been already awake of it.

  According to Nurgiyantoro (1995: 176-178), a character is divided into two categories namely a main or central character and a minor or peripheral character. A main character is a character which has the priority to be performed and discussed in the story, and in a certain novel, the main character might sometimes dominate in every page of the novel. On the other hand, a minor or peripheral character is a its existence is regarded as less important, and it might appear only when the main character needs it either directly or indirectly.

  Altenbernd and Lewis quoted in Nurgiyantoro (1995: 179) explain that if a character is seen from its function in the development of plot, it can be differentiated into main and minor character. Meanwhile, if it is seen from its function in the character’s appearance, it can be divided into protagonist and antagonist character. A protagonist is a character which is admired by the readers, whose performance is suited with our point of view and expectation. As a character which is often given either sympathy or empathy from the readers, it is also regarded as a manifestation of ideal norms and values in life. In brief, what a character feels, thinks, and does can be a reflection of our experience. Hence, such identification toward a protagonist forms an empathy which is given by the readers.

  Again, Altenbernd and Lewis want to say that a fiction must contain conflict and tension, which is particularly experienced by the protagonist. A character that caused the conflict is called an antagonist. It can also be called the opponent of the protagonist, either directly or indirectly, and physically or spiritually. The conflict which is experienced by the protagonist is not merely caused by the antagonist, but it can be caused by accident, natural and social environment, social rules, moral values, natural disaster, or a higher power and authority, etc. Furthermore, a conflict within one’s self such as a decision making which needs high consequences might also be the cause of the conflict. The cause of the conflict which is not done by a character is called an ‘antagonistic force’ (1995: 179).

  However, it is not easy to determine a character into protagonist or antagonist because there are various different opinions on it. A character which portrays our expectations or ideal norms may be regarded as protagonist, but somehow there is a character which does not reflect our moral values is precisely given sympathy and empathy by the readers. Luxemburg, Bal, and Weststeijn as quoted in Nurgiyantoro (1995: 180) say that if there are two opponent characters, then a character which is given more chance to reveal his vision is the one who might probably get the sympathy and empathy from the readers. For instance, a character of a villain may be given sympathy by the readers if the story is written from the villain’s point of view so that he gets any chances to convey his opinion though in fact he is disliked by the society including the readers themselves.

  Forster (1974: 46-48) has his own idea in differentiating the kinds of characters; those are flat character and round character. A flat character in its original form is defined as a character which has a certain single quality or characteristic. It does not have characteristic and attitude which can give a surprising effect to the readers because the characteristic and attitude of flat character is tend to be boring, monotonous, and only reflects a certain characteristic. In other words, a flat character is a character that does not have any changes or always being static. But there are two advantages of the flat character itself; the first one is that it is easy to be recognized by the readers because the readers can get the description of the whole character by seeing a part of a person’s character. The second one is, because there are no any changes from the beginning until the end of the story, the character is more familiar to the readers.

  The next category is round character. Different from the flat character, a round character is a character whose characteristic and self identity can be revealed, and which has certain characteristic that can be formulated. But it can also perform various characteristic and attitude such as complex temperament and motivation which is even difficult to be guessed. Therefore, it is not easy to describe its characteristic because similar with human being, a round character has unpredictable behavior and often gives a surprising effect to the readers (1974: 48-53).

b. Theory of Characterization

  According to Murphy (1972: 161-173), there are nine ways of how the author may reveal the character’s personalities and traits to the readers. Those are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerism. Here is the explanation of each method:

  The first method is personal description. This method is related with physical appearance for which the author gives knowledge to the readers in understanding the character in a story through his or her facial expression and what clothes he or she wears. This personal description is normally used because of the importance of giving clues to the readers to capture the character. The example of this method can be seen in the novel (p. 4).

  The second method is character as seen by another. Here, another character’s point of view and opinion is important to determine a certain person’s character.

  From his or her opinion toward the certain person’s character, the readers may get an indicates that she is a calm woman, “Etna accepted this news with remarkable equanimity, unlike so many of her sex who might have felt it necessary to exclaim at the announcement of ill fortune” (p.21).

  The third method is speech. We can understand about a person’s characteristic in the novel through his or her way of talking to other people and the way he or she conveys the opinion toward something. The example of the way Nicholas gives his comment to the statement of Etna’s sister, Miriam Keep, about Thrupp is available in the novel (p. 80).

  The fourth method is past life. One of the methods to understand a person’s character in the novel is by knowing his or her past life because one person’s past life can shape what character does. The readers can find out the character’s past life by the author’s direct explanation, the character’s thoughts and conversation with others, and also by the minor character’s opinion toward the character’s past life. For instance: “Perhaps because I was so engaged in the world of ink and broadsides, I developed an early and passionate appetite for learning and was sent off to Dartmouth College at the age of sixteen” (p. 10).

  The fifth method is conversation of others. A person’s character in the literary work can be known by paying attention to the conversation of other characters about him or her. An illustration can be gotten from Nicholas and his sister, Meritable’s conversation about Etna:

  “I like her very much,” Meritable said when we had reached the Bliss house and found ourselves alone in a hallway. […] Meritable put her hand on my arm. “She does not dissemble, which I admire,” my half sister said. “Though It can be summed up from the conversation above that Etna is a quiet woman.

  The sixth method is reactions. It is the way to understand a person’s character by seeing at his or her reaction if confronted with various situations and events in his or her life. It can be seen from the novel (p. 200) that Nicholas is very angry after knowing that she is lied by his wife. He destroys some stuffs in Etna’s cottage in order to release his anger.

  The seventh method is direct comment. It involves the description or comment from the author toward a person’s character in the novel. This method gives direct explanation of the character briefly and clearly.

  The next method is thoughts. One way to understand a person’s character is by knowing what a character is thinking about in his or her mind. Here, the author guides us to know that people might sometimes have different thinking toward something which determines his or her nature. For example: “I have always been a man who, when glancing at a woman, looks first at the face, and then at the waist (those shallow curves that so signal youth and vitality), and then thirdly at the hair, assessing in an instant its gloss and length” (p. 4).

  The last method is mannerism. The author wants to help the readers in knowing a person’s character by describing one’s manner, habit, and idiosyncrasies, meaning that one’s character can be understood through the way he or she behaves and talks when he or she interacts with other characters. The habit and attitude of one person’s might also be the clue in observing the character closely. The evidence that shows Nicholas

2. Theory of Critical Approaches

  Reading a novel can be used as a guidance to view what we think about life, human beings and their development. When we read a novel, we cannot ignore the importance of understanding the elements of the novel such as characters, plot, dialogue, setting, theme, point of view, tone, language style, and symbolism, which can be a guidance to explore the real theme of the story.

  Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 6-15) state that there are five critical approaches which can be implemented in analyzing a work of literature. Those are formalistic approach, biographical approach, sociocultural-historical approach, mythopoeic approach, and psychological approach. However, here I will only explain about the psychological approach because it is the approach that will be used to support the analysis. And this study will apply this approach to interpret the psychological aspects of the main character in the novel.

  Psychological approach is the approach that focuses on the human psychology which contains thought, behavior, human personality, motivation, and other aspects which are related to the human psychology. It tries to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns from the knowledge of psychology. The critics which apply this approach would explore literary works using psychological theories to explain human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary objects. In other words, the character’s thoughts and behaviors can be traced more deeply. So, the knowledge of psychological ground is important in order to understand some kinds of work.

3. Theory of Marriage

  According to Drescher (1979: 6), marriage is the most special relationship in life because it is capable of making the persons into better or bitter ones. It means that a condition of the relationship in one married couple is different from one another especially in facing any conflict within their marriage. In some marital relationship, there are couples who pay more attention in their partner’s good traits, disposition, and character. Thus, they prefer to see the strength in their partner in order to complete each other. However, there are also partners who do the opposites. They cannot see the good but rather call forth the worst in each other. And if this happens, the situation in a marriage will be strain and unhappy. This unexpected condition happens not because one marriage has more problems or more adjustments or more difficulties than another but it depends entirely on the couples themselves. It includes how they see and handle all the problems and difficulties in a proper way. Moreover, it would be better if they admit the problems, adjustments, and differences as something which can add dimension in a marriage.

  Ideally, a happy marriage is the one that deals with its difficulties in a sympathetic spirit in which partners search together for solutions rather than dealing with difficulties by vindication, blaming, or escape (Drescher, 1979: 7). It means that if marriage partners want to gain a happy and successful marriage, they should work hard and make a good cooperation in dealing with the conflicts. Moreover, Drescher wants to add that the path toward a satisfying marriage takes us from childhood and adolescence to maturity, and from being self-centered to a love commitment. speaks of a direction, a desire, and a dedication to change. It is also a movement away from preoccupation with oneself and the satisfaction of one’s own desire to a concern for others.