CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
7. Background of study A novel is described as
a fictitious prose narrative or tale presenting a picture of real life,
especially the emotional crises in the life history of the men and women.
According to Kenny (1996:105), novel is decidedly not mean to be read at single
setting, it is an invented story in prose, long enough to fill a complete book.
The novel is longer and more complex than the short story. It is not bound by
the structural and metrical restrictions of plays and poetry, and is not usually
composed of the traditional plots of myth and legend.
John Peck (1985: 104) states that
a novel is a kind of literary work that has relation to the author and it
cannot be separated from the place where the author comes from. The author
produces the novel suitable with his social life such as talking about
political, economic, and social and so on. So, the novel is really a reflection
of human life in the world.
According to Aminuddin (1987: 24)
there are five qualified features of a true novel. Namely: First,a story of a well-integrated plot. It
means that the plot in the novel must be well organized, the incidents or
events in the story should be arranged chronologically because if plot is not
well organized, the story will make the readers confuse. Second,true to life
(realistic, believable and probable), it means that the story can make the
impression as if the author or the reader had actually seen and experienced the
event himself. So, here the story must be realistic and suitable with the condition of
human life. Third, interplay of characters and incidents. Here, the characters
and situation in the novel mutually influence, because the character is one of
the intrinsic elements of the novel and it will give the influence to the
readers or audience. Fourth,a human interest, it means that the novel must be
interested by human being, such as man’s struggle under stress and emotion, to
overcome problems of life. And the last, a contemporary setting. This means that
the setting must be in the present situation or at least has the same aspects
as the present situation. So, here the setting must relate to human life Novel
has intrinsic and extrinsic elements. We can analyze the novel from intrinsic
elements such as finding out the theme, character, plot, setting and point of
view. One of important elements of novel is character, it is one of the basic elements
of the novel, because without the character there will not be a plot and no
play anymore. Smith (http://depts.galludet.edu/englishworks/literature/fiction html)
states that character is the person or people presented by the writer, in work of
narrative or novel, who convey their personal qualities through dialogue and action
by the reader or audience understand their feeling, intention and material.
On the other hand, from the
extrinsic elements we can find politic, economic, sociological, religion,
culture and psychological aspects. Analyzing psychological aspects is really
important because it has relation with human life such as behavior, mind,
feeling, motivation, wishes, and so on. By using this approach we can know the
one’s attitude, personality, and spirit of his life in the world and also the
background of life.
A novel entitled Jane Eyreby
Charlotte Bronte is selected to analyze for several reasons. First, it is one
of the best novels that a story is about woman struggle to find happiness in
world where love and duty often collide. Second, it is the best selling romance
and also it is read with pleasure by millions around the world. Thirdly, it is
a coming of age story about an unconventional women’s development within a
society of stick rules and expectation.
Forth, it endures as a woman of strong, admirable character for common
sense and her willingness to stand up for her believes. Her life story shows
the difficulties and rewards of balancing passion and practicality.
AAR editor Ellen Micheletti, who
has written or edited several articles for our Historical Cheat Sheeton popular
literature and culture in the 19th century, also read. She was impressed by
many of the things that attracted me to Jane as a character, she wrote: "I
was immediately struck by what a strong character Jane was. Back then, about
all I had read in 19th century British literature was
Charles Dickens. His
female characters are mostly passive creatures who were either
victims or angels.
Jane Eyre
was different [even
if] her childhood
was like something out
of a Charles
Dickens novel. She
had no powerful family, she was
not wealthy, she was not beautiful.
Jane was as powerless as a person
could be back then. But what a backbone she had and how she insisted on her
dignity as a human being." (http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/anderson1.htm)
Jane Eyre's physical appearance wasn't the only feature that made her an unusual
heroine in her day. Charlotte Bronte also broke with custom in insisting that a
female character could be the emotional equal of a man. Writing in an era when many people seriously doubted that women
were capable of strong emotions, Charlotte Bronte created a heroine who was
deeply passionate and felt a need for adventure, excitement, and even a desire
for work that matters in the larger scale of human accomplishment. For this
reason, even though Jane Eyre is a love story told from a woman's point of
view, it also appeals to many male readers.
In many ways an early feminist,
Jane Eyre staunchly confronts a variety of constraints imposed on her freedom
but frequently worries about the excess passion she allows in making her case.
Her desire to maintain self-control conflicts with her unspoken sense of
righteousness. Jane's narration lends intensity to the story; her personality
serves as both catalyst and prism, and it is through her singular point of view
that most of the novel's major issues are explored.
The novel also addresses the
theme of children victimized by corrupt parent figures. Like Charles Dickens's
Oliver Twist, Jane is a pariah, stigmatized simply because she is an orphan,
and denied the protection of the law. The plight of Jane and the other orphaned
girls at Lowood demonstrates the warped and alienated values of Victorian
social welfare schemes, which implicitly presumed a spiritual and intellectual
depravity on the part of orphans equal to the children's social deprivation. In
a sense, the comfortable classes shut away the offspring of the less fortunate
classes as a means of avoiding emotional entanglements; they rationalized their
actions with protestations of charitable intentions and moral righteousness.
The reason of the writer uses
this theory because Maslow looks humans as positive creature, that the most
important in self actualization is the individual who can explore his own
potential can be retaliated. As the story of main character Jane Eyre reaches
her success. And Maslow also views that the individual healthy and safety
includes in physic and soul, but of course characteristics, sort and intensity
of human needs will be different each other, and the human needs not only
materially but also physiologically, mentally and spiritually, because human is
the unique creature. (Journal.Ahmad Sudrajat, M.Pd) When the people has chance
to live in good environment, so they will be able to explore their own
potential, to become creative person, the people do not need has the talent or
special ability but the creativities is the power which bring them into their
expression what they are. (Koeswara. 1991:117) Finally we can state that Jane
Eyre is one of novels whose psychological aspect has important role in building
the story up, it is really important to know deeply about psychological aspects
of the main character in this novel and it consists of problems related of the
personality by main character.
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