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IDEAS OF FEMINISM REVEALED THROUGH THE MAIN

CHARACTER IN CLEWLOW’S NOT MARRIED NOT BOTHERED

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

ROSALINA DAU

  Student Number: 034214023

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY 2008

  

State of Mind

If you think you are beaten,

you are;

If you think you are dare not,

you don’t;

If you like to win, but think

you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

  

If you think you’ll lose,

you’re lost;

For out in the world we find

success begins with a fellow’s

will;

it’s all in the state of mind.

  

If you think you’re outclassed,

you are;

You’ve got to think high to

rise,

  

You’ve got to be sure of

yourself before you can win the

prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

to the stronger or faster man;

  

But sooner or later the man who

wins is the man who thinks he

can.

  Wrae Duncan

  Dedicated to: My Grandmother, Pui Len

For every single hope and prayer…

My Father, F.A.M. Jelivan For every single drop of sweat… My Mother, Elisabet For every touch of love and blessing… My Sister and Brother and All women and girls for a better destiny…

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to the Father in Heaven that was, is and will always be good to me and to Jesus Christ for His great love and guidance in all of my life including His power that enables me to finish this thesis.

  My gratitude is dedicated to my sponsor, Adventina Putranti, S.S., M. Hum. and my co. sponsor, Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, S.S., M. Hum. for their great help, patience and understanding in supporting me to finish this thesis.

  My gratitude is also dedicated to my beloved parents, my father; Drs. F.A.M.

  

Jelivan, M.M., My mother; Elisabet, A.Md.Kep, my older sister; Rafaela Wisda

Fiesta Hinuq and my younger brother; Ronaldus Yen. I thank them for the prayers,

  and supports to me.

  My special thanks go to my cousins: Ber and Ella/De’e (for her saliva on the pillow!), and my friends: Vita/Pita, Sendy, Nophie. I thank them for so much stupidities that we shared, for the best moment and the worst one, for the laughs and the tears we shared that make me understand the meaning of friendship.

  For the guys that came into and walked out of my life within years I study at Sanata Dharma University and for every single moment that has already passed that makes me grow more mature and stronger. I thank them for becoming joy and pain and for the lesson I have learnt. For everyone that cannot be mentioned here because of the page limitation, it does not mean that they are not important. I would like to thank them for all of their kindness and support.

  Ocha

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………… i

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

ACCEPTANCE PAGE …………………………………………………… iii

MOTTO PAGE ……………………………………………………………. iv

DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………….. v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………

  15 C. Theoretical Framework ..............................................................................

  47 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ....................................................................

  44 3. Opportunities ....................................................................................

  36 2. Equality .............................................................................................

  36 1. Freedom and the right to choose ......................................................

  23 B. Ideas of Feminism Revealed through the Character of Riley Gordon ........

  23 A. Riley Gordon’s Characteristics .....................................................................

  21 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .........................................................................

  20 C. Method of the Study ...................................................................................

  19 B. Approach of the Study ...............................................................................

  19 A. Object of the Study ....................................................................................

  18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ……………………………………....

  11 b. Ideas of Feminism ………………………………………...

  vii

  11 a. Feminism and its Varieties ………………………………..

  9 2. Theory of Feminism ……………………………………………....

  9 1. Theory of Characters and Characterization ……………………....

  7 B. Review of Related Theories ………………………………………….......

  7 A. Review of Related Studies ……………………………………………….

  5 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ……………………………...

  5 D. Definition of Terms ……………………………………………………...

  5 C. Objective of the Study …………………………………………………..

  1 B. Problem Formulation …………………………………………………….

  1 A. Background of the Study ………………………………………………..

  

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………. viii

ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………… ix

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………..

  50

  

ABSTRACT

  ROSALINA DAU. Ideas of Feminism Revealed Through the Main Character in

  

Clewlow’s Not Married Not Bothered. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters,

Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.

  This thesis discusses the novel of Carol Clewlow entitled Not married Not

  Bothered

  . The novel is interesting to discuss because it deals with modern woman issues. The novel presents Riley Gordon as the main character who decides to be single in the society that outclasses the unmarried women. Even though there is much oppression from the society, she remains solid with her ideas about how she has to be. Certain ideas that Riley Gordon holds in her life are reflecting feminism. Thus, by struggling for a life that fits her ideal she is struggling for the ideas of feminism that she holds.

  There are two problems to be answered in this thesis. The first question is about how the character of Riley Gordon is described in the novel. The question is important to recognize Riley’s attitude that furthermore leads to the second question which is about how the ideas of feminism are revealed through the character of Riley Gordon.

  This thesis uses library research as the methodology. There are several theories employed here, theory of character and characterization to answer the first problem and theory of feminism to answer the second problem in the problem formulation. The feminist criticism is employed as the approach in this thesis because the writer studies the novel from feminist’s point of view.

  The analysis reveals that Riley Gordon is a person who is eccentric, careless, rebellious, loving, non-ambitious, protective, critical, introverted, independent, kind- hearted and moralistic. Related to the issue of feminism, there are three ideas of feminism that can be seen through Riley Gordon’s personality. The first idea is freedom and the right to choose. Unlike women around her who accept the idea that women are not supposed to be free or having right to choose, Riley takes her freedom. She uses her right to choose what kind of life she wants to live. The second is equality. Riley demands equality between men and women. She does not want to be inferior to men. Unlike women around her, she does not think that she has to be proud if she has a husband. According to her, single women are supposed to be respected as men and married women are. The third idea is opportunity. Riley frees herself from common concept of a good woman. She uses the opportunity to go to university and becomes a famous children’s book writer. Because of the love toward freedom Riley demands her right to choose whatever lifestyle she wants to live in. She wants a life where she is having opportunities that life offers, the same opportunity that is given to men so that there is equality between men and women in every sphere of life. By rejecting patriarchal society’s idea and struggling to have a better life, Riley is fighting for the ideas of feminism that she holds among the patriarchal society. Thus the ideas of feminism are revealed through her personality.

  ABSTRAK

  ROSALINA DAU. Ideas of Feminism Revealed Through the Main Character in

  

Clewlow’s Not Married Not Bothered. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas

Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.

  Tesis ini membahas novel karangan Carol Clewlow yang berjudul Not

  

Married, Not Bothered . Novel tersebut berkaitan dengan permasalahan wanita di jaman

  modern yaitu tentang perannya di masyarakat yang menjadikan novel tersebut menarik untuk dibahas. Novel tersebut menampilkan Riley Gordon sebagai tokoh utamanya yang memutuskan untuk tidak menikah tanpa mempedulikan lingkungannya yang memandang sebelah mata terhadap wanita yang tidak menikah. Walaupun ada banyak sekali tekanan dari lingkungan dan masyarakat sekitar, Riley tetap teguh dengan pemikirannya tentang bagaimana dia harus bersikap.

  Ada dua permasalahan yang dijawab melalui tesis ini. Analisis pertama adalah tentang bagaimana karakteristik Riley Gordon dipaparkan didalam novel. Analisis pertama sangatlah penting untuk menganalisis tokoh Riley Gordon yang kemudian menuntun kepada analisis kedua. Sementara analisis kedua adalah tentang bagaimana ide-ide feminisme tercermin melalui penokohan Riley Gordon.

  Metode pustaka adalah metode yang dipakai dalam penulisan tesis ini. Ada beberapa teori yang digunakan dalam penulisan tesis ini yaitu teori penokohan yang digunakan untuk menjawab permasalahan pertama dan teori feminisme yang digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan kedua. Pendekatan feminis digunakan sebagai pendekatan dalam tesis ini karena pendekatan tersebutlah yang dipakai penulis sebagai acuan dalam mengolah novel yang dibahas.

  Berdasarkan dari analisis bisa dilihat bahwa Riley Gordon adalah seorang yang berpenampilan eksentrik, acuh, pemberontak, perhatian, kurang berambisi, bersifat melindungi, kritis, tertutup, mandiri, baik hati dan bertabiat baik. Dalam kaitannya dengan feminisme, terdapat tiga ide feminisme yang dapat dilihat melalui karakteristik Riley Gordon. Ide yang pertama yaitu kebebasan dan hak untuk memilih. Berbeda dari wanita disekelilingnya yang menerima konsep bahwa wanita tidak perlu memiliki kebebasan dan hak untuk memilih. Ide yang kedua adalah kesetaraan antara pria dan wanita. Berbeda dari kebanyakan perempuan di sekelilingnya, ia tidak berpikir bahwa menikah adalah sesuatu yang bisa dibanggakan. Ia bangga menjadi seorang perempuan mandiri dan menurutnya perempuan yang tidak menikah seharusnya dihormati sebagaimana pria dan perempuan-menikah dihormati. Ide yang ketiga adalah kesempatan. Riley membebaskan dirinya dari persepsi tentang perempuan yg ada di masyarakat. Ia mengambil setiap kesempatan yang ditawarkan kehidupan hingga pada akhirnya menjadi seorang penulis buku anak-anak terkenal. Riley memperjuangkan ide- ide feminisme dengan menolak konsep perempuan yang ada pada masyarakat patriarki dan berjuang untuk menggapai hidup yg lebih baik sebagai seorang perempuan. Maka, ide-ide feminisme tersebut tercermin melalui kepribadian Riley.

  1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Not Married, Not Bothered , which is the source to be explored by the

  

writer, was published in London in 2005 by Harper Collins publisher. The novel

is telling about a woman named Riley Gordon who has different view toward

marriage from her family and friends. Riley Gordon has highlighted what it means

to be a spinster, not because of circumstances, but because of her own choice.

  

Riley is an independent heroine who does not think that as a woman she needs to

be accompanied by a man for the rest of her life. The novel gives a new and

different view of lifestyle options for women, a lifestyle where a woman can stand

independently without a husband especially for the women living in Great Britain.

  

Thus, it is not impossible if the novel has a tendency to be read from feminist

perspective.

  In literature, feminism is one of many issues that cannot be avoided.

Many works of women writers start to be considered and appreciated. Even some

women writers start to write about women and their rights. While in Not Married,

Not Bothered , through Riley Gordon’s character the novel reveals ideas of

feminism which are applied in the modern era in the novel. Riley shows different

personality which rebels against the common conservative society where she

lives. Thus, the novel interests the writer to explore the story, especially exploring

Riley Gordon’s character and some ideas of feminism that are revealed through

  2 Its main character, Riley Gordon, is truly aware of her rights. She does not

let people, especially the patriarchal society, tell her how it is to be a good

woman. Unlike women around her who are so much influenced by the patriarchal

society’s point of view about women, she defines herself as an independent

woman. Riley Gordon frees herself from the bound of domestic duties that have

been identical to women for centuries.

  If driven back to centuries ago, the most influential Greek philosopher,

Aristotle, defines that to be a good wife a woman has to do domestic duties, do

everything based on her husband order and permit and keep herself from

interaction with other women and is not allowed to be involved in decision

making even for her own children marriages. The following quotation shows that

women are supposed to be at home and not given the opportunity to be involved

in public affairs.

  A good wife should be the mistress of her home, having under her care all that is within it, according to the rules we have laid down. She should allow none to enter without her husband's knowledge, dreading above all things the gossip of gadding women, which tends to poison the soul. She alone should have knowledge of what happens within. She must exercise control of the money spent on such festivities as her husband has approved---keeping, moreover, within the limit set by law upon expenditure, dress, and ornament--

• and remembering that beauty depends not on costliness of raiment. Nor does abundance of gold so conduce to the praise of a woman as self-control in all that she does. This, then, is the province over which a woman should be minded to bear an orderly rule; for it seems not fitting that a man should know all that passes within the house. But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her husband; giving no heed to public affairs, nor having any part in arranging the marriages of her children

  (www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/greek-wives.html).

  3 The patriarchal definition of a good woman lasts for centuries. The idea

has been a commonsense in various societies that makes it is hard to be changed.

  

One of those countries holding the patriarchal’s idea of a good woman is the Great

Britain.

  In the year 1861, there is a tiny development in the role of women in

Britain. Even though there are large numbers of women who are wives, one in

four of those wives were occupied in other than doing domestic duties. Women’s

position at home are also not merely become the doer of the domestic things

anymore. Woman becomes her husband’s “helper” in farm-houses or shops, or

sometimes being his substitute in cases of his desertion or helplessness. However,

still, women are not standing independently alone. Women’s position is still as a

helper whose job is merely to support men. (http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/

butler/educ.html).

  The working women do not have better fate either, in fact worse. There

were 80,017 female teachers in England who have uncertain salary in the year

1861. Even from five hundreds applicants, three hundred applied for a similar

place (teacher) with no salary at all. However, they are willing to do the job in the

hope of a higher class in the society (http://www.indiana.edu/~letrs/vwwp/butler/

educ.html).

  Women are seemingly given opportunity to develop themselves. However,

it is still hard for women to be independent. Women, whether they like it or not,

have to be dependent to men to make a living because the society and its

regulation do not support women in reaching a better life independently.

  4 Ashley Montagu from her book, The Natural Superiority of Women, states

that women are conditioned to believe that men are naturally superior and women

are naturally inferior to men.

  Women have been conditioned to believe that they are inferior to men and they have assumed that what everyone believes is a fact of nature (Montagu, 1952:23).

  Because of the social view that women are inferior, women themselves

sometimes are not aware to the condition that they are being discriminated. They

accept the social view and come to the wrong conclusion that their inferiority is a

fact of nature (Montagu, 1952:23).

  Montagu also states that women have fallen to the fact that they are no

more expecting freedom or equality since they are accustomed to the inferiority.

  

They just conclude that men are by nature will be dominant and women are

subservient as quoted below.

  Women have been so long conditioned in the environment of masculine dominance that they have come to expect the male to be dominant and the female subservient (Montagu, 1952:39).

  After centuries living under oppression, women start to react against the

discrimination. Women start making efforts to gain their rights. This effort to gain

equality between men and women, called feminism, affects every aspect of human

life such as social, economic, culture, and of course literature.

  From the reasons conveyed above, the writer is interested to analyze

Clewlow’s Not Married, Not Bothered from feminism’s point of view and

elaborate it in this thesis. The writer will analyze Riley Gordon’s personality to

  5

B. Problem Formulation

  To help the discussion of the topic, some problems are formulated as follows:

1. How is the character of Riley Gordon described in the novel?

  2. How are the ideas of feminism revealed through the character of Riley Gordon? C. Objectives of the Study

  The first objective of this thesis is to describe Riley Gordon character in

the story and the second objective is to deeply recognize how Riley Gordon, as the

main character in the novel, reveals the ideas of feminism referring to the

problems formulated.

  D. Definition of Terms In order to produce clearer analysis and avoid misunderstanding toward certain terms included in this study, some terms are defined in this subchapter.

  1. Character M.H. Abrams in his book, A Glossary of Literary Terms, defines character as “the person presented in a dramatic or narrative, who is interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral and dispositional quality, that is expressed in what he says-the dialogue-and by what he does-the action”(1981:20).

  6

  2. Feminism

According to Women’s Studies Encyclopedia, Feminism is “a belief and

commitment to equal right and opportunities for women” (Terrey, 1989: 139).

  3. Ideas of Feminism

Chowk: Unflinching Idealism, websites of idealisms, states that ideas of

feminism are the visible representations of feminism which is containing the

social action in which the action deals with the political, economic, social,

cultural, spiritual, intellectual, artistic, racial and sexual and hegemonic

institutionalized inequity of women (http://www.chowk.com/articles/85211).

  7

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW In this chapter the writer focuses on various studies and theories related to

  

the literary work discussed. It includes the reviews from many critics and some

theory of character and characterization and feminism.

A. Review of related studies

  Maria Goreti Tri Kurniawati, one of the alumnae of Sanata Dharma

University, writes a thesis based on feminism study. Her thesis which is entitled

Ideas of Feminism Revealed in Lena Lingard’s and Antonia’s Characters as Seen

in Willa Charter’s My Antonia emphasizes on feminism ideas that the two

characters hold. Maria Goreti Tri Kurniawati shows the struggle of the two main

characters of the novel against a patriarchal society as can be seen in the following

quotation.

  While Black Hawk women are only expected to get married and working at home, Lena chooses to be a dressmaker. She leaves her rough work in the farm ad comes to town where there are more opportunities for her to take. Lena realizes that she has a special talent in knitting; therefore she wants to be a dressmaker. In the farm, she used to knit socks or clothes for her siblings or even for her neighbors. To make her dream comes true, Lena leaves Nebraska and comes to the town of Black Hawk. Lena leaves the farm because she does not like to do an outdoor work in the farm (Kurniawati, 1998:54).

  Besides struggling for the opportunity to have a better life, the two main

characters in the novel also free themselves from dependency. Lena’s decision of

  8

not marrying someone is one of her effort to be independent as can be seen

through the quotation below.

  A woman has a right to choose, and Lena chooses not to get marry to focus on her work and be a successful dressmaker. She resolves to remain single to be able to support herself and help her family in the country without being disturbed by family’s burden. She refuses to get married because she does not want to be dependent to her husband (1998:57).

  Another study of ideas of feminism can also be found in the undergraduate

thesis of Nilam Maharani. Nilam Maharani, who was a student of English Letters

in Sanata Dharma University, writes a thesis entitled The Ideas of Feminism as

Seen through the Two Major Characters in Mark Rutherford’s Clara Hopgood.

  

Nilam Maharani analyzes the ideas of feminism revealed through two major

characters in one of Mark Rutherford’s works, Clara Hopgood. A part of the

analysis can be seen in the quotation below.

  The society cannot accept progressive things easily. Clara is not like other women who are supposed to obey rules in the city. As a woman living in patriarchal society, Clara should not talk too much in public. She should be as speechless as other women. The second reason is that although Clara knows her reaction in speaking in public is prohibited, she neglects it. She continues her habit in

expressing herself courageously (Maharani, 1999: 63).

Clara omits the patriarchal society and its point of view. Instead, she rebels

against it by doing thing which is prohibited by the patriarchal society. She uses

her right freely and fight the patriarchal society so that she reveals idea of

feminism through her personality.

  9

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

  A character on a fiction is a creation of the author that is presented in

his/her works (Barnet, 1988: 712). Thus, it is impossible for a fiction to be lack of

characters.

  Stanton states that the term character is commonly used in two ways.

First, it designates people who appear in the story. Second it refers to the mixture

of interests, desires, emotions and moral principles that makes up each of these

individuals (1965:17).

  According to Stanton, there are three important ways to understand a

character in a story. First is by paying attention to the character’s name because

sometimes the author makes the name fits the character. The second way is by

paying attention to the author’s explicit description of and comment upon the

character and the last is by paying attention to the character’s own dialogue and

behaviour (1965:17-18).

  While, according to Murphy, there are nine ways in which an author characterizes his/her character in a novel: 1) Personal Description The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes. 2) Character as seen by another Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him through the eyes and opinions of another. The reader gets, as it were, a reflected image. 3) Speech

  10 person speaks, whenever he is in conversation with another, whenever he puts forward an opinion, he is giving us some clue to his character. 4) Past Life By letting the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person. 5) Conversation of Others The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him. People do talk about other people and the things they say often give us a clue to the character of the person spoken about. 6) Reactions The author can also give us a clue to a person’s character by letting us know how that person reacts to various situations and events. 7) Direct Comment The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly. 8) Thoughts The author can give us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. In this respect he is able to do what we cannot do in real life. He can tell us what different people are thinking. 9) Mannerism The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits or idiosyncrasies which may also tell us something about his character (1972:161-173). Holman, in his book An Introduction to Fiction , states that

characterization is the creation of the imaginary person (character) so that the

character exists for the reader as lifelike (Holman & Harmon, 1986:81).

  There are three fundamental methods of characterization according to Holman and Harmon which are:

  11 (1) The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition, either in an introductory block or action; (2) the presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader will be able to deduce the attributes of the actor from the action; and (3) the representation from within a character, without comment on the character by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self, with the expectation that the reader will come to a clear understanding of the attributes of the character (1986:81). Holman and Harmon propose that the presentation of the character

through direct exposition, actions and the character’s inner self is forming the

characterization of the characters in a novel perfectly by involving readers’

deduction.

2. Theory of Feminism

a. Feminism and Its Varieties

  Feminism, according to Lizbeth Goodman in her book Approaching

Literature: Literature and Gender , is a politics: a recognition of the historical and

cultural subordination of women and a resolve to do something about it

(Goodman, 1996:X). Thus, the key of feminism is the recognition that women are

subordinated that then leads to a real action to do something about it.

  Feminism arises as the result of the unfair treatment toward women in

society. The basic assumption of feminism is starting from the awareness of the

women to be free from discrimination, oppression, exploitation and try to end

those traits (Fakih, 1996:69).

  The first women movement emerges during the 1800’s. It was time of

  12

individual freedom and universal education (Freeman, 1979:533). However, the

first feminism movement dies in 1920 for about forty years (1979:543).

  Feminism arises from its death in 1960. It is signed by the establishment

of some feminist organizations such as Commission on the Status of Women in

1961 by President Kennedy and National Organization for Women (NOW) in

1966 by Betty Friedan (1979:545).

  Mary Wollstone Craft first raises her voice in support of women

emancipation. In her Vindication of the Rights of Women, in 1972, she states that

the lack of sufficient training was felt to be one of the major disabilities in

women’s struggle for independence (Freeman, 1979:521). Women are

conditioned in a situation where they cannot explore their own potencies that

leads to their dependency.

  On its development, feminism branches into various kinds from various

eras. However there will be only some significant and mostly discussed feminism

will be presented in this thesis.

  The first type of feminism is liberal feminism. Liberal feminism

emphasizes on the individual, the rights of a woman as an individual human being

that has her own will and decision. Equality between men and women is the

central concern of this kind of feminism. However liberal feminists propose that

every woman, as an individual being should be given the same opportunities as

every man (Fakih, 1996:69).

  Another branch of feminism is marxist feminism which is organized

  13

gender oppression. Marxist feminism combines the study of class with the

analysis of gender (Madsen, 2000:65).

  Marxist feminism argues that the source of women’s oppression comes

from the patriarchal capitalism. Women are exploited sexually and economically.

  

Women are sold and trafficked as a tool of economy. Marxist feminism believes

that the oppression toward women can be reduced if women are involved in

economic activities (Fakih, 1996:87). The following quotation also shows that the

deletion of the capitalist system will reduce oppression toward women.

  Marxism recognizes that women are oppressed, and attributes the oppression to the capitalist/private property system. Thus they insist that the only way to end the oppression of women is to overthrow the capitalist system (http://www.uah.edu/woolf/feminism_kinds.htm on June 18, 2007).

  Another more extreme feminism is called radical feminism. This term

refers to the feminist movement that sprung out of the civil rights and peace

movements in 1967-1968. The reason this group gets the "radical" label is that

they view the oppression of women as the most fundamental form of oppression,

one that cuts across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class.

(http://www.uah.edu/woolf/feminism_kinds.htm on June 18, 2007). Some radical

feminists are even lesbians. However not all radical feminists are lesbians and not

all lesbians are feminists (http://frontpage.uwsuper.edu/psychology/358/

feminism.htm on June 11, 2007). Radical feminists reject all forms of male

domination. In a nutshell, radical feminists do not agree with the idea that women

  14 From various kinds of feminisms, liberal feminism will be the focus

feminism theory of this thesis. Liberal feminism is chosen because from the

writer’s findings, Riley as the main character in Clewlow’s Not Married, Not

Bothered , tends to have the idea of liberal feminism than the other kinds of

feminism such as marxist or lesbian feminism.

  Liberal feminism has several phases on its development. Initially, liberal

feminism rooted on the political movement that later grows into women liberation

to choose their role in domestic and public affairs individually. th th

  Liberal feminism starts in the 18 and 9 century. It focuses on rights

where “right” must be given priority above “goodness”. It includes the rights to

control reproduction organ, abortion and free access to contraception and its

information as stated in the Bill of Rights that is proposed by National

Organization for Women (NOW) in its first National Conference in Washington

in 1967 (Tong, 1998:16).

  In contrast with marxist feminism that emphasize collectivity, liberal

feminism put emphasis on the individual. Liberal feminism stresses the

importance of the individual and individual autonomy (Madsen, 2000:35).

  Mary Wollstone Craft, a liberal feminist thinker, in A Vindication of the

Rights of Woman states that a woman, as an individual being, should have her

own choices in life. She states that the middle classed women that have no choice

and opportunity in their life are not luckier than the pet animal. They sacrifice

their health, freedom and morality for prestige and power that their husband own

  15 There are still many kinds of feminism that are not mentioned. However

the kinds of feminism mentioned will not all be involved. The writer only focuses

on liberal feminism because based on the writer’s finding when she relates liberal

feminism to the main character of the work involved, liberal feminism is the most

appropriate theory to be employed in this thesis.

b. Ideas of Feminism

  Feminism theory is a very wide one. There are many kinds of feminism

with many kinds of specific ideas and sometimes the ideas are contradictory

between one kind of feminism and another. To provide this thesis with a clearer

border, the writer focuses on the ideas of feminism in general which accepted by

all kinds of feminism and excluding certain specific ideas of minor kinds of

feminism and feminism that is still inviting many controversies such as lesbian

feminism etc.

  Ideas of feminism are the visible representations of feminism which is

containing the social action in which the action deals with the political, economic,

social, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, artistic, racial and sexual and hegemonic

institutionalized inequity of women (http://www.chowk.com/articles/85211). The

ideas of feminism are listed as follows:

  16 i. Freedom and the Right to Choose

  Montagu in her book, The Superiority of Women, states that men have

power over women. They control women in many ways and let them to be

dependent to men. People assume that women cannot do work better than men do

(Montagu, 1953:21).

  To release themselves from this wrong assumption women have to realize

that they are not inferior. Women have to be aware of their rights. Then, women

should be able to make decisions in order to be independent. Women have to

realize their rights to choose. They are free to choose what works or activities they

want to do. All human beings, including women, should enjoy the rights they have

as human beings. Women have freedom of argument that maintains them free to

choose (Freeman, 1975:39). ii. Opportunity

  Basically, men and women are created with equal rights. Thus, they should

be given equal opportunity. In fact, women are treated unjustly. They have so far

lesser opportunity than what men have. One of feminism goals is to get the same

opportunity with men in every sphere so that they can develop their potentials.

  

Women are considered as less intelligent and inferior because they are not given

enough opportunities and chances to develop themselves (Montagu, 1953: 187).

  

Thus, in order to explore themselves optimally women need the same opportunity

  17 Feminism proposes that women should struggle to get opportunity to

develop themselves. Women have to free themselves from the bound of

housewives. They need to realize that they can do many more things than merely

do the domestic duties.

iii. Equality

  Feminism goal is to get equality between men and women. Feminism

proposes that men and women have to be treated equally and such gender

discrimination must be deleted because men and women are basically created

equal as stated in the following quotation from Women: a Feminist Perspecive.

  We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Freeman, 1975:439).

  Montagu states that men and women need to cooperate each other in order

to gain equality. They should help each other because they are mutually dependent

as reflected in the below quotation.

  Men should help women and women will help men, anyway, the sexes are interdependent in manner so biologically fundamental, their function are so basically reciprocal (Montagu, 1953:152). By being cooperative, the relation between men and women is hopefully

can be a perfect harmony and women and men positions is expected to be equal.

  

Feminism demands equality in every aspect of life between men and women. The

equality between men and women can be reached if there is a good cooperation

  18

C. Theoretical Framework

  Theory of character and characterization and theory of feminism are used

to answer the first and second question in the problem formulation. Theory of

character and characterization and theory of feminism are very crucial in this