A Thesis Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education

  

MASCULINITY OF JOSEPHINE MARCH

AS SEEN IN LOUISA MAY ALCOTT’S

LITTLE WOMEN

  

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

  By MAXIMILLIAN SAMUEL PUJI

  Student Number: 991214207

  

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

  

BREAKAWAY

Gr e w u p i n a s m a l l t o w n

A n d w h e n t h e r a i n w o u l d f a l l d o w n

  

I j u st st a r e d o u t m y w i n d o w

D r e a m i n g o f w h a t c o u l d b e

A n d i f I ' d e n d u p h a p p y

I w o u l d p r a y

T r y i n g n o t t o r e a c h o u t

B u t w h e n I ' d t r y t o sp e a k o u t

  

F e l t l i k e n o o n e c o u l d h e a r m e

W a n t e d t o b e l o n g h e r e

B u t so m e t h i n g f e l t so w r o n g h e r e

So I p r a y

  

I c o u l d b r e a k a w a y

I ' l l sp r e a d m y w i n g s a n d I ' l l l e a r n h o w t o f l y

I ' l l d o w h a t i t t a k e s t i l l ' I t o u c h t h e sk y

I ' l l m a k e a w i sh

  

T a k e a c h a n c e , M a k e a c h a n g e

A n d b r e a k a w a y

O u t o f t h e d a r k n e ss a n d i n t o t h e su n

B u t I w o n ' t f o r g e t a l l t h e o n e s t h a t I l o v e d

  

I ' l l t a k e a r i sk

T a k e a c h a n c e , M a k e a c h a n g e

A n d b r e a k a w a y

W a n n a f e e l t h e w a r m b r e e z e

  

Sl e e p u n d e r a p a l m t r e e

F e e l t h e r u sh o f t h e o c e a n

Ge t o n b o a r d a f a st t r a i n

T r a v e l o n a j e t p l a n e , f a r a w a y

  

A n d b r e a k a w a y

B u i l d i n g s w i t h a h u n d r e d f l o o r s

Sw i n g i n g a r o u n d r e v o l v i n g d o o r s

M a y b e I d o n ' t k n o w w h e r e t h e y ' l l t a k e m e b u t

Go t t a k e e p m o v i n g o n , m o v i n g o n

F l y a w a y , b r e a k a w a y

  

I ' l l sp r e a d m y w i n g s

A n d I ' l l l e a r n h o w t o f l y

T h o u g h i t ' s n o t e a sy t o t e l l y o u g o o d b y e

I g o t t a t a k e a r i sk

  

T a k e a c h a n c e , M a k e a c h a n g e

A n d b r e a k a w a y

O u t o f t h e d a r k n e ss a n d i n t o t h e su n

B u t I w o n ' t f o r g e t t h e p l a c e I c o m e f r o m

  

I g o t t a t a k e a r i sk

T a k e a c h a n c e , M a k e a c h a n g e

A n d b r e a k a w a y , b r e a k a w a y , b r e a k a w a y

  

Kel l y Cl ar kson

STATEMENT OF WORK ORIGINALITY

  I honestly declare that the thesis I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those which were cited in the quotations and the bibliography as a scientific paper should.

  Yogyakarta, 25 January 2007 The Writer

  Maximillian Samuel Puji

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First and foremost, I would like to thank the almighty God, Allah, Buddha, and all the holy spirits in this universe for giving me a chance to live on earth and making me very thankful when some other people think that life is such a curse on them, for giving me many chances to do good and bad things, for letting me choose to take the chance or not to. Those things are very influential in creating me like what you see now.

  The most weakness in me is that I cannot do anything alone. Even when I do something by myself, I still need help from people I trust in. This thesis is just a very small part in my life but I realize that I would not have been able to complete this thesis without the help from others. In the process of writing this thesis, I have received supports from many people with their attention, intelligence, knowledge, love, spirit, and money.

  It is reasonable to give my deepest gratitude to Dra. Wigati Y. Modouw, M.Hum, as my major sponsor and Yohana Veniranda S.Pd, M. Hum, as my co- sponsor, because they have guided me and motivated me to write this thesis, helped me to do my best in writing this thesis.

  I would like to thank my family, Bapak Baskoro Poedjihardjo, Ibu Sumiharti, my sisters, Titut, Maya, Tiva, Shinta, and Vita, my brother, Tata, and my uncles Pak Nunuk and Pak Son for all of the financial and emotional supports, attention, care, and patience.

  To my special friend, Windhy Wirdhoningrum, I would like to thank her we have felt together, for helps that seem will never end. It is not easy to get a friend like her.

  To a very special companion in my life, Oktofianus Susim. I thank him for his willingness to let me take some parts in his life. To Emil, Butet, Erna, Bayu, Tunjung, Dista, Nunug, Witman, Ajie, Novi, Ika, Betty Boop, Retno, and all of my friends in EEPRO especially year 1999 whom I cannot mention one by one, I would like to thank them for the good and bad times we have had. We are the best no matter what other people say.

  At last, may God bless us and help us. Amen.

  With love,

  Maximillian Samuel Puji

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Page TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………........ i PAGE OF APPROVAL ………………………………………………… ii PAGE OF BOARD EXAMINERS ……………………………………... iii STATEMENT OF WORK ORIGINATILY ……………………………. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………….. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………….. viii ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………….. xi

  ……………………………………………………………….. xii

  ABSTRAK CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION …………………....…………..……..

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

  1 B. Objectives of the Study ………......………………………..………

  6 C. Problem Formulation …………….………………………………...

  6 D. Benefits of the Study …………………..…………………………..

  6 E. Definition of Terms ………………...……………………………...

  7 CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ……..……………………...

  9 A. Review on Theories of Literature ….………………………………

  9 1. Theory of Critical Approach …...…..………………………..

  10 2. Theories of Character ………………………………………..

  12 3. Theory of Characterization …………….................................

  13

  4. Review on Women in the Victorian Age ……………………

  15 B. Review on Theories of Psychology …………..................................

  17 1. Theory of Personality ………………………………………..

  18 2. Variables of Personality Development …................................

  22 3. Theory of Traditional Masculinity …………………………..

  23 C. Criticisms ……………………………………................................. 29

  D. Theoretical Framework ………………...……................................. 30

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

  b. Stoic …………………..……………………………….. 50

  69 1. Josephine March’s Poverty ………………………………….

  B. Variables Developing Josephine March’s Masculinity ……………

  c. Uninhibited and Adventurous ……................................ 67

  65

  62 b. Proud and Egoistical …………..……………………….

  62 a. Success Oriented and Ambitious …................................

  60 6. Other Personal Determinants ……….……………………….

  b. Disciplinarian ………….…………................................ 59 c. Independent and Individualistic ….................................

  57

  57 a. Leading and Dominating …...………………………….

  b. Objective and Practical ……………………………….. 54 5. Interpersonal Determinant …………….……………………..

  a. Logical and Rational ………………………………….. 53

  4. Intellectual Determinant ……………….................................. 52

  a. Unemotional ……...………………................................ 48

  32 A. Subject Matter ……………………………………………………..

  3. Emotional Determinant …………..…………………………. 48

  46

  2. Functional Determinant ………..……………………………. 46 a. Breadwinner or Provider …………................................

  43

  c. Brave ………………………………………………….. 41 d. Unconcerned about Appearance and Aging …………...

  40

  a. Unfeminine ……………………………………………. 48 b. Athletic and Strong ……..……………………………...

  37

  36 1. Physical Determinant ………….…………………………….

  36 A. The Determinants of Josephine March’s Masculinity ……………..

  CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ……………………………………………

  C. Procedures ………………………………..……………………….. 34

  32 B. Approaches ……………………………….……………………….. 33

  69

  2. Josephine March’s Disappointment on Discrimination ……..

  72 CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ………..…….

  76 A. Conclusions …………………….……………………..................... 76

  B. Suggestions ………………….………………………..................... 78 1. Suggestions to Future Researchers …………………………..

  78 2. Suggestions to English Instructors …….…………………….

  79 a. The Implementation of Teaching Reading II ………….

  80 b. The Implementation of Teaching Prose II …………......

  81 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………….. 83 APPENDIXES …………………………………………………………..

  85 Appendix 1. Summary of the Novel ………………………………...

  86 Appendix 2. Biography of the Author ………………………………

  90 Appendix 3. Syllabus of Reading II ………………………………… 100 Appendix 4. Syllabus of Prose II …………………………………… 101 Appendix 5. Implementation of Teaching Reading II ……………… 102 Appendix 6. Implementation of Teaching Prose II …………………. 106 Appendix 7. The Passage from the Novel of Little Women pages 9- 21 ……………………………………………………… 109

  ABSTRACT

  PUJI, MAXIMILLIAN SAMUEL. (2007). Masculinity of Josephine March as Seen Yogyakarta, English Language Education

  in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

  This thesis discuses Louisa May Alcott’s novel, Little Women. It is a story of a girl named Josephine March who turns into a woman in a society in America during the Victorian age. To be a female is not as easy as to be a male human during that period because there are some restricting regulations regulating women’s behavior and even in law, women have less power than men do. Women must be dependant on men and what girls should do is to prepare themselves for the marriage since the aim of life for every woman must be to be married. Josephine March is conscious about those facts and thus she decides to be masculine as her way to show her disappointment on the discrimination and to show that she, as a girl who turns into a woman, is not weaker than men. This is a very interesting story since it has the real time and place background with the real history and situation.

  There are two questions to answer in this thesis. The first is to know the determinants of Josephine March’s masculinity based on the theory of traditional masculinity by Janet Saltzman Chavetz, and the second is to find out the variables which develop Josephine March’s masculinity based on the theory of personality development by Edward J. Murray.

  The method employed in this study is library research encompassing the novel of Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott as the primary data, books of literature, psychology and also data from the internet as the secondary sources. The approach used in the study is psychological and socio-cultural historical approach because this study related with the main character’s masculinity which is her reaction on the pressure from her society.

  The findings of the first analysis show that Josephine March’s masculinity is shown through some determinants, they are: physical determinant, functional determinant, emotional determinant, intellectual determinant, interpersonal determinant, and other personal determinant.

  In the second analysis, the findings reveal Josephine March’s variables which develop her masculinity. The first variable is her poverty and the second is her disappointment on discrimination.

  Finally, besides giving suggestions to future researchers concerning possible future research on Little Women, I also suggest the implementation of the novel in teaching English in English Language Education Study Program. The novel of Little Women can be used as the source for teaching Reading II for the second semester and Prose II for the fifth semester.

  

ABSTRAK

  PUJI, MAXIMILLIAN SAMUEL. (2007). Masculinity of Josephine March as Seen Yogyakarta, Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris,

  in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

  Skripsi ini membahas tentang novel Louisa May Alcott yaitu Little Novel itu adalah cerita tentang seorang gadis bernama Josephine March Women. yang tumbuh dewasa menjadi seorang wanita di dalam suatu masyarakat di Amerika dalam masa Victorian. Menjadi seorang perempuan tidaklah semudah menjadi seorang pria di dalam masa itu karena ada beberapa aturan yang mengikat yang mengatur dan bahkan dalam hukum, wanita lebih lemah daripada pria. Wanita harus tergantung pada pria dan apa yang seharusnya dilakukan oleh para gadis adalah mempersiapkan diri mereka untuk pernikahan sebab tujuan hidup dari setiap wanita adalah menikah. Josephine March menyadari kenyataan-kenyataan tersebut dan maka dari itu dia memutuskan untuk menjadi maskulin sebagai caranya menunjukkan kekecewaannya atas deskriminasi dan untuk menunjukkan bahwa, sebagai gadis yang beranjak dewasa, dia tidak lebih lemah daripada pria. Ini adalah cerita yang sangat menarik sebab cerita ini memiliki latar belakang waktu dan tempat yang nyata dengan sejarah dan situasi yang nyata.

  Ada dua pertanyaan dalam rumusan masalah untuk dijawab dalam skripsi ini. Yang pertama adalah untuk mengetahui determinan-determinan dari kemaskulinan Josephine March berdasarkan teori maskulinitas tradisional oleh Janet Saltzman Chavetz, dan yang kedua adalah untuk mencari tahu variabel-variabel yang membangun kemaskulinan Josephine March berdasarkan teori perkembangan personaliti oleh Edward J. Murray.

  Metode yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah penelitian perpustakaan meliputi novel Little Women yang ditulis oleh Louisa May Alcott sebagai data utama, buku-buku mengenai literature, psikologi, dan juga data-data dari internet sebagai sumber pendukung. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah pendekatan psikologis dan pendekatan sosial-kultural historis karena studi ini berhubungan dengan kemaskulinan tokoh utama yang merupakan reaksinya atas tekanan dari masyarakatnya.

  Hasil dari analisa pertama menunjukkan bahwa kemaskulinan Josephine March ditampilkan melalui beberapa determinan, yaitu: determinan fisik, determinan fungsi, determinan emosi, determinan intelektual, determinan interpersonal, dan determinan personal lainnya.

  Dalam analisa kedua, hasilnya menunjukkan variabel-variabel Josephine March yang membangun kemaskulinannya. Variabel pertama adalah kemiskinan dan yang kedua adalah kekecewaannya atas deskriminasi.

  Akhirnya, disamping memberikan saran-saran untuk penelitian yang akan datang mengenai novel Little Women, saya juga memberikan saran mengenai penerapan novel ini dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris di Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris. Novel Little Women dapat digunakan sebagai sumber dalam pelajaran Membaca II untuk semester dua dan pelajaran Prosa II untuk semester lima.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of four important parts that will help us to

  explore our understanding of this study. The first part is the background of the study. It focuses on the reasons of the study. The second part is the objectives of the study. It gives the explanation of the focus of the study. The third part is the problem formulation which contains of two questions to be answered in this study in order to get the aim of the study. The fourth part or the last part of the first

  chapter is the definition of terms. This last part will be very helpful because it contains some definitions of terms related to the study in order to avoid misunderstanding.

A. Background of the Study

  Studying literature is different from studying any other branches of knowledge. The difference is that literature gives a wide range of description of human’s life and its problems. It is as if what Moody says in his book entitled The

  

Teaching of Literature . He says that literature, by its nature so various, confronts

  the students with the opportunity of dealing with and endless stream of fresh and unpredictable experiences. It is thus an excellent preparation for later life, especially at the more professional levels where the educated man has to be ready to take on, evaluate, and make decisions about a wide range of diverse problem

  Therefore, literary work has many aspects to be analyzed deeper. A novel as one genre of literary works, offers its reader a model of an imaginary life. Developed by using its intrinsic elements such as theme, plot, character, setting, point of view, etc.; it carries a certain message for its readers. Those developmental elements make the story inside the novel, as a work of literature, become factual or become alive in its readers’ eyes, especially when the novel is based on the real situation and has both real setting of time and location like Little

  

Women (1868). Little Women is a classic novel and well known. The feminine

  environment is quite dominating in this novel since the major characters are female. Further, in my research, I will focus my attention on one of the major characters of Little Women, Josephine March, who is an interesting character and taking role in many parts of the novel.

  People usually make reactions toward the situations of everyday life, mostly because they feel unsatisfied with the situations in their social circumstances or because they are unsatisfied toward what the others think about or express. People will have different ways as their reactions toward their dissatisfactions. Josephine March in Little Women shows her dissatisfaction toward her society by possessing certain personality. The distinctive personality of Josephine March is being unfeminine or masculine.

  Nowadays, being unfeminine or masculine for women is not a strange or a shocking phenomenon, since people have more freedom to choose and to express themselves in their own ways, but it is different if it is compared with the situation in the Victorian age when women were bound to certain rules regulating their behavior which are likely to make them feminine.

  In this life, we will find that there are many factors affecting and influencing someone to have certain personalities which are grouped into two major factors: internal and external factors. Those factors give many contributions to human beings in creating his or her personalities. As an example is one of the four major characters in Little Women that I will observe more in this analysis, Josephine March. She is just an ordinary girl who is limited by the high Victorian age when few women start to think differently about their being female and about the rules on women. She is different from other girls because she is brave enough to show her difference by possessing a distinctive personality, being masculine, since she is struggling to show her strength and her disappointment on the limited opportunities for women because of the rules and norms of the Victorian age.

  Though many texts often attempt to define femininity, few do the same for masculinity . It is interesting to observe more about Josephine March since she is one of the major characters in the novel who has distinctive features from others. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women was the subject of some scholars to get their undergraduate degrees and it makes Little Women more interesting for me. I am challenged to do a research on Little Women in a different point of view with more focus on the masculinity as the personality of Josephine March as the result of her reactions toward her environment and society. Since in the real life we cannot avoid some factors that will develop our personalities, doing a research on Josephine March is very interesting. It also challenges me since I have to study both the novel and the situation of the society, especially of the women, in the Victorian age. First, it tells about the life of Josephine March. She is the second oldest daughter who dissatisfies with her society. Eventually, it leads her to posses a masculine personality as her way to show her disappointment toward the Victorian age rules on women.

  Second, the novel contains of the inequality between men and women in the society of the Victorian age which makes women to have less opportunities in raising money and in contributing themselves for the society development.

  Josephine March’s leading behavior is similar as Tjoet Njak Dien’s leading behavior. They both have a leading behavior which can be categorized in the interpersonal determinant, one of seven determinants of masculinity based on the theory of traditional masculinity by Janet Saltzman Chavetz. Josephine March’s masculinity is her reaction against the rules of the Victorian community which provides inequality between men and women while Tjoet Njak Dien’s masculinity is her reactions against the rules on women which lower the position of women compared with men according to the Moslem religion rules. Her leadership in her struggle with her followers against the colonizer can also be considered as a masculine action.

  I have compiled some information about Louisa May Alcott and her work, Little Women from www.wikipedia.com and www.awerty.com. Little is Alcott’s best novel because it was and is still popular until now. It also

  Women

  depicts the realistic portraits and genuine American backgrounds. It is the good example of a novel which shows the effects of society and environments on someone’s personality. Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, is a story from the U.S.A. and was first published on 30 September 1868, three years after the end of the American Civil War (War of the States). It was based on her own experiences as a child in small town in one of the Northern States where the March family lived. Mr.

  March, the father of the four “little women”, as he like to call his daughters, was a priest and had gone away to be a minister of religion with the army. The setting of time of the novel takes the period in the recent nineteenth century life in America when is the difficult time for women to express themselves in public. Women’s major works are domestic works if there are some chances to work. is the story of the Marches, a suffering family. The

  Little Women

  conflicts in this novel begin when Mr. March had to go away as the minister of religion with the army in the American Civil War. Although Father March is away with the Union armies, the sisters Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth keep in high spirits with their mother, affectionately named Marmee. Their friendly gift of a Christmas holiday breakfast to a neighboring family is an act of generosity rewarded with wealthy Mr. Laurence's gift of a surprise Christmas feast.

  However, despite their efforts to be good, the girls show faults: the pretty Meg becomes discontented with the children she teaches; boyish Jo loses her temper regularly; while the golden-haired schoolgirl Amy is inclined towards affectation. However, Beth, who keeps the house, is always kind and gentle. After certain happy times winning over the Laurences, dark times arrive as Marmee finds out about her husband's illness. Worse is to come as Beth contracts scarlet fever in her Samaritan efforts for a sick neighbor and becomes more or less an invalid. The novel tells of their progress into young womanhood with the additional strains of romance, Beth's terminal illness, the pressures of marriage and the outside world.

  This is the story of their growing maturity and wisdom and the search for the contentedness of family life. It was written in 1867 and is a fictionalized biography of Alcott and her sisters.

  B. Objectives of the Study

  This study has two main objectives to be achieved. The first aim of this study is to find out the determinants of Josephine March’s masculine personality.

  The second is to find out some factors which are influencing the development of Josephine March’s masculine personality. All of those aims are to be achieved by employing the theory of traditional masculinity by Chavetz (1978) and the theories of personality by Hurlock and Murray (1974) as the main guidance.

  C. Problem Formulation

  In accordance with the objective of the study, the problems of this study that will be discussed are formulated as follows:

  1. What are the determinants of Josephine March’s masculinity?

  2. What variables influence the development of Josephine March’s masculinity?

  D. Benefits of the Study

  Some benefits are expected from this analysis. The reader can gain more knowledge about human’s feeling and personalities which underlie human behavior after reading this analysis. Hopefully, this analysis will also be useful for daily life, such as how we recognize one’s personality as his or her reaction toward something in life. For the students of English Education Program hopefully this analysis will enrich their knowledge, particularly to the study of novel, in relation to human’s personality, and also to enrich student’s opinion of American writers and their works.

  Another researcher may also obtain a benefit from this analysis. Hopefully this analysis can stimulate the researcher to develop their opinion toward different interpretation of Louisa May Alcott and her novels, since this analysis gives additional information about the novel especially from psychological viewpoints.

E. Definition of Terms

  The definition of terms is presented in order to avoid misunderstanding. It is very significant because if there was no brief and clear explanation, the study will be confusing and perhaps, there will be a misconception.

1. Personality

  Dewey and Humber (1951: 236), emphasizes that personality is the product of interactive processes and is a dynamic concept, self-contained, one that is being a part of a social act rather than a part of an individual.

2. Masculinity

  Based on The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, masculinity is the quality or condition of being masculine; or something traditionally considered to be characteristic of a male (1996). Based on rg/wiki/masculine, masculinity is the trait of being associated with the male in various contexts. The word masculine can refer to: 1.

  The property of being biologically

  ale humans.

   gender role association.

  Masculinity is sometimes used. The negative antonym is . Greater masculinity usually brings greater social status for males, and many English words such as virtue (from the Latin vir for "man'", also used in words such as and vigor and virulent) reflect this, implying a clear association with

  vim

  .

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW In this section, I will discuss the relevant theories which are employed

  in order to help me analyze the problems. It is necessary to employ some theories as the guidance since this study is dealing with the distinctive personality of one of the major characters in Little Women, Josephine March. They are interconnected in order to answer and to give a profound analysis to the problems which are formulated above. This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is the review on theories of literature consists of theory of critical approach, theory of character, theory of characterization, theory of setting, the relation between character and setting, and review on the women of the Victorian age. The second

  part is the review on theories of psychology consists of theory of personality and theory of traditional masculinity. The third part is the theoretical framework. A. Review on Theories of Literature This part consists of theory of critical approach, theory of character, theory of characterization, and the review on the Victorian age society . Theory of critical approaches concerns with the approaches that I employ to analyze the novel, theory of character and characterization will be employed to describe the characteristic of the main character that will make me easier to understand the personality of Josephine March and after that the review on the Victorian age society will be needed to help me understand the custom of the women in the

1. Theory of Critical Approach

  This study deals with the literary study, therefore, it is important to discuss the theory of critical approaches that are used in analyzing the novel.

  Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods Jr. say that to study a piece of literature we have to use critical approach to literature (1971:3). The purpose is to receive some of the positive aesthetic values, to get the understanding of how literature is shaped and what it means. Consider the psychological aspects existed in the story; I use a critical approach of Rohrberger and Woods which gives five kinds of critical approaches in analyzing literature. They are formalist approach, biographical approach, socio cultural-historical approach, mythopoeic approach, and psychological approach.

  The first is formalist approach, which believes in the idea of the work itself; the second is biographical approach which asserts in the necessity for an appreciation of the author ideas and thought of the author to understand of the literature object. The third approach is socio-cultural historical approach which believes the only way to discover the real work be in reference to the civilizations of which the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people become the subject matter. The fourth is mythopoeic approach, which seeks to discover certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought, and the fifth is psychological approach, which involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns.

  In this analysis, I will use both psychological approach and also socio- cultural historical approach. I will use socio-cultural historical approach because the story and the characters in this novel are related to the history and the social condition of the Victorian age and the American Civil War and since I will discuss the psychological aspect of the character, I will use psychological approach. In this analysis I will explore more about personality especially about masculinity of Josephine March.

  The psychological approach draws a different body of knowledge. This approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns, such as a person’s capacity for creation and complexity of his thought and behavior. The masculinity of Josephine March, which is the reaction toward her environment, can be explored through her thought and behavior using this approach.

  The critics of socio cultural-historical approach believe that it is necessary to investigate the social milieu in which a work was created and the culture is reflected. They assert two things, such as: literature is not created in a vacuum and literature embodies significant ideas to the culture that produces it.

  The examination is not only the work of art itself but also the work in relation to others by the same authors in the same period or in different periods. This knowledge might enrich the experiences of reading (1971:9).

  It is important for me also to pay attention on the socio cultural- historical approach because the main character in Little Women, Josephine March, and also the story of the novel are related to the history and the social condition of the Victorian age and the American Civil War. The history and the social condition of the Victorian age in America during the Civil War are affecting Josephine March psychologically that she is urged to possess certain personality, something which is different from other women in common. The impact of the social environment where Josephine March lives gives great contribution for Josephine in taking any actions including being masculine.

2. Theories of Character

  Character is the creation of a novelist that becomes an important aspect in the novel. A novelist should create human beings that represent the real situation and they should behave like actual human beings.

  It is necessary for a novelist to make his or her character interesting. The characters portray the human values described in the ordinary lives. When a novelist presents characters, he or she presents them not as an individualized personality but as an example of some vice and virtue. The author of Little Women describes the characters of Josephine March very clearly using many descriptions in many parts of the novel. I employ as the starting point to explore deeper about Josephine March. Some theories of character that give me an understanding about what a character is. Later, the theory of character will guide me to analyze and to understand the character before I start to analyze Josephine March’s masculinity and then to find out some determinants which has developed the masculinity in Josephine March.

  The definition of character is not only from fiction term. Drever defines character psychologically by saying that character is derived from many aspects of life. By understanding the characters, especially in the novel, the readers can predict what the characters would do if they faced certain problems (1958: 23).

  There are four major characters in the novel since the title of the novel is in plural Little Women and it tells a story about four girls in facing a hard life as female in the Victorian age but I will only take one character who has distinct characters, Josephine March and I consider her as the major character and she is also the object of my analysis.

  This research takes one of four major characters as the center. Robert Stanton in his An Introduction to Fiction elaborates that character is the doer who can make changes in him or in our perception as the readers toward him (1965:17). Abrams shares the same opinion with Robert Stanton that the character is the determiner of the actions (1981: 20). Those theories are employed to help me finding the characteristic of Josephine March. It is important as the first phase in observing deeper about the personality of the character.

3. Theory of Characterization

  The author characterizes characters in the novel in order to be understood. M.J. Murphy classified the way an author reveals the characters’ personalities and trait to the readers (1972: 161-173). They are nine altogether are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation with others, reactions, direct comment, thought, and mannerism.

  The first one is “personal description”, meaning that the characters can be seen from the person’s physical appearances in the story such as the clothes wore in the story. Some of Josephine March’s characters are shown by her physical appearances especially her clothing. The second is “characters as seen by another”. It means that the author describes the character through the opinion given by other characters in the story. Their opinion influences the reader’s impression. There are many opinions given by other characters in the novel about Josephine March. Most of them are from her sisters and mother. The third is “speech”, meaning that what the character says in his speech can give the reader clue to know deeper about the character himself. The way Josephine March’s talks shows her characters.

  The next is “past life” that is the author gives a clue to the reader by describing the character’s past life. Past life in a story sometimes the plot jump to the past events and it also involves the past life of the character. 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. The story is started when Josephine March was a little girl. There is only small explanation about her past life but it is enough since Josephine March dislike her being as a woman. The fifth is “conversation with others”. The conversation between the character and the other character can give the reader a clue of the characters the character have. The way Josephine March talks and replies other characters’ speech can also show her character. She uses many slang words that are considered as vulgar and unladylike.

  The sixth is “reactions”, that is to say that the readers are allowed to know the character’s personality by giving problems to the character. The reactions to the problems can show the character’s characters. Some problems affect Josephine March and force her to make certain actions on them including, later, to posses a certain personality. The next is “direct comment”, the author gives her own comment to the characters she creates. Some descriptions on Josephine March are presented directly by Alcott in Little Women.

  The eighth is “thought”, meaning that the author takes the reader to the character’s thoughts and feelings, so the readers can subjectively understand the character’s characters and position in the story. The reader can feel as if they were experiencing what the character’s feel and think. The last is “mannerism”. The character’s mannerism, habits, idiosyncrasies are described by the author to the readers in order to be a way in knowing the character itself.

  Characterization uses dramatic method instead of describing the character directly, an author uses dramatic method to describe the character by placing him or her in situations to show what he or she is like by the way he or she behaves or speaks. This description is drawn based on the characters’ eyes and opinion.