plagiat merupakan tindakan tidak terpuji … · two sisters, audy and dida, for their cute smiles...

THE INFLUENCE OF MINOR CHARACTERS ON JESSIE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN SUE MONK KIDD’S

THE MERMAID CHAIR

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By:

Rantika Praditya

Student Number: 021214117

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2008

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE INFLUENCE OF MINOR CHARACTERS ON JESSIE’S PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN SUE MONK KIDD’S

THE MERMAID CHAIR

A Thesis

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By:

Rantika Praditya

Student Number: 021214117

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

2008

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Go confidently in the direction of your dream! Live the life you’ve imagined.

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.

(Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

This thesis is dedicated to:

My beloved parents, my grandparents, my three sisters, and my best friends

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to ALLAH SWT for the

great blessing to finish this thesis. Thank him for this wonderful life, friends and

opportunities.

I would also like to express profound gratitude to my sponsor, Dr.Wigati Y.

Modouw., M.Hum., for her invaluable support, encouragement, supervision and

useful suggestions throughout this thesis. Her moral support and continuous guidance

enabled me to complete my work successfully. I am also highly thankful to Mrs.

Laurentina Sumarni, S.Pd., my second sponsor, for her valuable suggestions and

corrections to my grammar throughout this thesis. I thank her so much for the time

and for helping me and my friend in every debate activity. It was an unforgettable

moment that we spent with her. I would also extend my sincere thank to lecturers

who have guided me during my study, especially Pak Prast, Pak Purba, Pak Gun,

Pak Budi, Bu Lanny, Bu Mita, Bu Henny, Bu Frida, Bu Dwina. Also I would thank to

Bu Yuseva, who help me to improve my English although it is only through e-mail.

I would also like to thank PBI’s administration staff (Mbak Tari and Mbak Dani) for

their kindness.

I am as ever, especially indebted to my parents, my father and my mother for

their love, prayer and support throughout my life. I also wish to thank my sister, Ian

for her support, prayer and understanding during my study. I am also thankful to my

two sisters, Audy and Dida, for their cute smiles and love. Furthermore, I would

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always thank my Grandmothers and fathers for their pray and love. I also thank

Nicko who helps me adjusting the page set up.

Moreover, my sincere thanks go to my friends, who shared their love and

experiences with me. I thank my beloved college best friend Esta, Ike, Bekti for the

wonderful friendship. I thank Ike for being there every time I need, for listening my

happy stories and sad stories. I thank My SPD teammates (Hastri, Wawan, Bekti, Ike

and Esta) for the ultimate coorporation. My deepest thank is also addressed to Mas

Joko who teaches me a lot about accepting things the way they are. I thank him for

making me to learn to “thank”. I thank him for the life lesson.

I thank Wawan for always supporting me through phone calls and sms. I

would also grateful to my Play Performance teammates for their coorporation, time

and friendship. I would also thank Nana, Chrisrian, Amri, Miko, Mbak Adis, Ardi,

Gugun, Siro for always keeping in touch with me.

Meanwhile, this work would not have been possible without the support and

encouragement of my colleagues and friends, therefore; I would like thank to

Angela, Dian, Nizar, Ifa, Saras, Adit, Isti, Lia, Dee for their support. I would like to

thank to Odjo and Nizar for songs. Thank you for my students for their prayer and

surprises. A great thank is addressed to Lala for lending me the USB.

I thank my debate teammates and my seniors (Mbak Wiwik, Mbak Deta, Mas

Guntur) without their willingness to share with me, I would never have been brave

enough to speak in front of people.

My special appreciation also goes to all my classmates in PBI especially,

Reni, Galih, Wida, Adesti, Ruri, Niken, Ila, Emen, Metty, Udjo, Miko, Dedi, Sasha,

Ita, Echi, Mawar, O’ok, Bunga, Cecil and, Vivi.

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I thank Inna Garuda’s HRD (Pak Edi and Bu Eko) for the opportunity to

work as an English trainer in Inna. Also, I would like to thank my students who will

go to the State for their prayer and wonderful moments (Rizal, Ismail, Rahmat Pak

Nur, Bu Nur Pak Bekti, Pak Hanung). I would also thank to Bu Ani for her kindness.

For my lovely computer, without it I would not have been able to work this

out. I thank Jamie Cullum, Maliq & de essentials, Damien Rice, Radiohead and

Sufjan Steven who inspire me.

Last but not least, I thank Fery Pramudya Novada for the love and for

reminding me to finish my study. I thank him for the tender loving and care as well

as for the calls and the support.

Finally, yet importantly, I would like to thank to those who have helped me

and prayed for me during the process of writing this thesis whose names I cannot

mention one by one. I thank them so much for the support.

Yogyakarta, January 10, 2008

Rantika Praditya

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE……………………………………………………………… i

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

PAGE OF ACCEPTANCE………………………………………………. iii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY…………………………. iv

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

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………….. ix

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………. xii

ABSTRAK.…………………………………………………………………… xiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study………………………………………………… 1

1.2 Objective of the Study…………………………………………………… 4

1.3 Problem Formulation……………………………………………………. 5

1.4 Benefit of the Study……………………………………………………… 5

1.5 Definition of Terms……………………………………………………… 6

CHAPTER 2 : REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Theoretical Review………………………………………………………… 8

2.1.1 Theory of Literature …………………………………………….. 8

2.1.1.1 Theories of Character …………………………………. 8

2.1.1.2 Theories of Characterization…………………………… 10

2.11.3 Critical Approach………………………………………. 11

2.1.2 Theories of Psychology…………………………………………… 13

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2.1.2.1 Personality Development……………………………… 13

2.1.2.2 Theory of Mid-life Transition…………………………. 15

2.1.2.3 Factors Influencing Middle Age Woman’s Personality Development……………………………… 16

2.2 Criticism…………………………………………………………………… 17

2.3 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………. 19

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Subject Matter…………………………………………………………… 20

3.2 Approaches……………………………………………………………… 21

3.3 Procedures………………………………………………………………. 21

CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS

4.1 The Minor Characters’ Personalities…………………………………… 23

4.1.1 Nelle (Jessie’s Mother)…………………………………………. 25

4.1.1.1 Sensitive…………………………………………….. 25

4.1.1.2 Reclusive …………………………………………… 27

4.1.1.3 Silent………………………………………………… 28

4.1.2 Hugh (Jessie’s Husband)……………………………………… 29

4.1.2.1 Responsible…………………………………………. 29

4.1.2.2 Caring………………………………………………. . 30

4.1.2.3 Merciful……………………………………………… 32

4.1.2.4 Patient……………………………………………… 33

4.1.3 Whit (The Monk)……………………………………………. 34

4.1.3.1 Tough………………………………………………. 34

4.1.3.2 Persistent …………………………………………… 35

4.1.3.3 Decisive ……………………………………………. 36

4.2 How Jessie’s Personality Develops………...……………………………. 36

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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusions……………………………………………………………… 50

5.2 Suggestions ……………………………………………………………… 52

5.2.1 Suggestion for Future Researcher…………………………….. 53

5.2.2 Suggestion for English Teacher……………………………….. 54

5.2.3 The Teaching Extensive Reading

by Using The Mermaid Chair………………………… 55

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………… 56

APPENDICES

1. Appendix 1 The Summary of The Mermaid Chair…………………… 58

2. Appendix 2 The Biography of Sue Monk Kidd………………………. 63

3. Appendix 3 Syllabus for Extensive Reading…………..……………… 66

4. Appendix 4 Implementation of Teaching Extensive Reading.……….. 67

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ABSTRACT

Praditya, Rantika. 2008. The Influence of Minor Characters on Jessie’s Personality Development in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Mermaid Chair Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Department of Language and Arts Education, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis discussed Sue Monk Kidd’s novel entitled The Mermaid Chair. The novel was interesting because it tells about a wife who tries to deal with her idle marriage life, her relationship with her husband and her existence as a woman and how others influence her personality to deal with her life. This thesis discussed the main character’s personality and how the minor characters influence her personality development. There were two main problems which were discussed: (1) What are the minor characters’ personalities described in the novel? (2) How is Jessie’s personality development described?

This study applied a library research method as the methodology. There were two kinds of data resources used in this study: primary and secondary sources. The primary source was the novel The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. The secondary sources were books of literature, psychology and some sources from the internet. This study employed three main theories. The theories were theory of character, theory of characterization, and theory of psychology. Furthermore, this study used the psychological approach in analyzing the main character’s personality development. This approach was used to analyze the psychology of the main character who was influenced by the minor characters.

There were three minor characters who influenced her personality. Those persons were her mother, her husband and the monk. These persons played their role to influence Jessie’s personality. First, her mother, the silent, sensitive and reclusive person, changes her to be a mature person. Second, her husband who was very responsible, care, patient and, merciful, changed her to be a patient person and a person who can thank everything that she had got. At last, the monk who was very tough, decisive and persistent. He changed her personality from an unconfident person to a confident one. Because of the influence of those people, she finally understood her existence and starts a new life with her husband.

It can be concluded from the analysis that Jessie Sullivan was an egoistic, worried, spoiled, unconfident person. Because of the minor characters’ influence she became a confident, patient and caring person. It showed that minor characters give a strong influence to the main character’s personality development. This thesis provided suggestions for the future researchers who would conduct studies on other topics in The Mermaid Chair. This study also gave suggestions for the English teaching learning activities. Furthermore, this thesis provided lesson plan in teaching English especially on reading class. The lesson plan was focused on the extensive reading class and it used some chapters from The Mermaid Chair as the reading materials.

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ABSTRAK Praditya, Rantika. 2008. The Influence of Minor Characters on Jessie’s

Personality Development in Sue Monk Kidd’s The Mermaid Chair. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Skripsi ini membahas novel Sue Monk Kidd yang berjudul The Mermaid Chair. Novel tersebut menarik karena bercerita tentang kehidupan seorang istri yang berusaha mengatasi persoalan rumah tangganya yang membosankan, hubunganya dengan suaminya dan keberadaanya sebagai seorang wanita. Serta bagaimana karakter lain mempengaruhi watak dalam menjalani hidupnya. Skripsi ini membahas karakter tokoh utama dan bagaimana keberadaaan tokoh pendukung mempengaruhi kepribadiannya. Ada dua pokok masalah pada tokoh utama: (1) Bagaimana karakteristik tokoh pendukung digambarkan di dalam novel. (2) Bagaimana perubahan kepribadian Jessie digambarkan?. Studi ini menerapkan metode studi pustaka. Ada dua macam sumber data yang digunakan: sumber utama dan sumber kedua. Sumber utama adalah novel The Mermaid Chair. Sumber kedua adalah buku-buku kesusastraan, psikologi dan beberapa sumber dari internet. Studi ini mengunakan tiga teori pokok. Teori tersebut adalah teori tokoh, teori penokohan, dan teori psikologi. Selanjutnya, studi ini menggunakan pendekatan psikologi sebagai pendekatan dalam menganalisa karakteristik tokoh utama dalam perubahan watak. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa keadaan psikologi tokoh utama yang mengalami perubahan dikarenakan pengaruh karakter pendukung. Terdapat tiga tokoh yang mempengaruhi perubahan karakter Jessie. Tokoh tersebut adalah, suaminya, ibunya, dan seorang pendeta. Ketiga tokoh tersebut berpengaruh terhadap perubahan watak Jessie. Yang pertama adalah ibunya, seorang yang pendiam, perasa dan tertutup, ia mengubah Jessie menjadi seorang wanita yang dewasa. Yang kedua adalah suaminya, seorang yang bertanggung jawab, peduli, sabar dan pemaaf. Ia yang mengubah Jessie menjadi wanita yang sabar dan mensyukuri apa yang telah dia dapat. Yang terakhir adalah pendeta, seorang yang kuat, tegas dan berprinsip. Ia yang mengubah Jessie menjadi wanita yang percaya diri. Karena pengaruh ketiga tokoh tersebut akhirnya Jessie menyadari keberadaannya dan memulai kehidupan barunya bersama suaminya. Berdasarkan analisis, dapat disimpulkan bahwa Jessie Sullivian adalah seorang yang egois, pencemas, manja, dan tidak percaya diri. Karena pengaruh dari karakter pendukung, Jessie menjadi seorang yang percaya diri, sabar,tidak egois dan penyayang. Berdasarkan pembahasan tersebut, menunjukan bahwa tokoh pendukung mempunyai peran yang kuat terhadap perubahan watak tokoh utama. Skripsi ini memberikan beberapa saran untuk peneliti-peneliti dimasa mendatang yang akan mengadakan studi pada topik-topik lain dalam The Mermaid Chair. Skripsi ini juga memberikan saran untuk kegiatan belajar mengajar Bahasa Inggris. Sebagai tambahan, skripsi ini memberikan rencana pembelajaran kelas Extensive Reading mengunakan beberapa bab dari novel The Mermaid Chair.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

There are five parts that are discussed in this chapter. The first part is

Background of the Study, the second part is Objective of the Study, the third part is

Problem Formulation, the fourth part is Benefit of the Study, and the fifth part is

Definition of Terms.

1.1 Background of the Study

Reading literary work means gaining knowledge and experiences from the

characters. Furthermore, it might also open our mind to a new life lesson that is

experienced by the characters. The most important thing is how the experience

influences the readers and contributes new knowledge to the reader. In reading a

novel, there is always a new topic with a new value that we can learn from it. We can

put those values into our life. Furthermore, Reading a novel always brings a new

portrait of life and characters that can be discussed.

Sue Monk Kidd’s work The Mermaid Chair (2005) is such an incredible

novel. I choose this novel because it is an interesting novel. It is about a middle age

woman who has a problem in her happy marriage. Mostly, a woman feels satisfied

when she is in a happy marriage but this novel gives different idea about middle age

women in her perfect marriage. It shows the readers the portrait of an unhappy

woman in her perfect marriage. In the real life, it is a common matter when a wife

feels satisfied if her needs are fulfilled by her husband. However, the need to be

admitted as an important person in the family is also an important matter. The novel


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tries to make the readers aware that sometimes a portrait of a perfect marriage does

not always guarantee happiness. The most interesting thing to discuss is the main

character is influence by some characters when she faces her marriage problem.

Furthermore, this novel also tells the readers about the main character’s effort to face

her problems.

In the story, Jessie, the main character interacts with Nelle, Hugh and Whit

who give influence on her personality development. In a real life, we also interact

with other people who live around us in our environment. Usually, these people give

influence to our life. Actually, the strongest influence toward someone personality

development is people close to us, for example, the influence of a parents’ attitude on

their child’s attitude. When parents always curse and shout when angry to their child,

their child will do the same thing when he is angry to other people. Unconsciously,

the parents are forming a bad habit in their child’s personality. Another example is,

when a husband always trusts her wife to handle the family, her wife will feel exist in

the family. From the example it is clear that people around us give a great influence

on one’s personality.

Jessie is a middle age married woman who faces problems in her happy

marriage. She realizes that the problems come from inside her. In facing the

problems, Jessie is influenced by Nelle, Hugh and Whit. These people are considered

as the minor characters that influence her personality. Since the influence of minor

character on one’s personality is an interesting subject to discuss, this study is going

to analyze Jessie’s personality development and its relation with other characters

who close to her. According to Milligan (1983: 195), the second characters or minor

characters are those who appear as the complement of the story.


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Personality development according to Hurlock (1974: 19) is the product of

learning during the course of social relationship with people both within and outside

his home. In the story, Jessie develops her personality along with her relation with

people who close to her. Furthermore, it shows to the readers the process of Jessie’s

personality development.

This novel establishes some interesting situations that bring Jessie closer to

some people around her. Those situations are her coming to her hometown to take

care of her mother, her forbidden relationship with a monk and her marriage

relationship with her husband. Through these situations, Jessie establishes a

relationship with three people who influence her personality. These people are her

mother, her husband and the monk. From these people also she changes into

someone better.

Jessie lives with her family. Her husband, Hugh, is a person who gives big

influence in her personality. Basically, her husband is a portrait of a perfect husband

who gives a perfect marriage. However, Jessie still feels inconvenience with her

marriage. For Jessie, being a wife in a perfect family is not enough. She thinks that

her life is just a chain of monotonous activities. For that reason she needs to step out

from that situation and to be away from her husband for a while.

In the real life, a condition in which a wife is getting bored with her activities

is a common thing. For Jessie, it becomes a serious problem. Furthermore, her visit

to her hometown will not solve her problem. Jessie is asked to take care of her

mother who suffers from strange illness. However, her coming to visit her mother is

another problem, she never has a good relationship with her mother since her father’s

death. At the same time, she meets Whit, a monk who is about to take his vow.


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She falls in love with him.

Many unpredictable things happen in this life beyond our control, which we

call it mistakes. Making mistakes is part of life. However, there is always

responsibility after making mistakes. Jessie realizes that she makes big mistakes by

betraying her husband. However, Jessie takes her responsibility on her mistakes. She

also learns something from those people and develops herself become well.

This novel is interesting to discuss since it teaches the reader about value in

a relationship. Furthermore, this novel would like to show how people close to us can

give a great influence toward one’s personality. This novel also leads the reader to

believe that the existence of people near us may have a power to change a person

becomes better or worse.

1.2 Objective of the Study

The objective of this study is to show how a woman faces a problem in her

middle age marriage and how the minor characters give strong influences to develop

one’s personality. In the story, Jessie’s personality is strongly influenced by the

minor characters. There are three minor characters that change Jessie’s personality.

Those are Nelle, Hugh and Whit. Nelle is her mother, Hugh is her husband and Whit

is the monk. Each character has its own characteristic. Jessie learns many things from

the minor characters. Furthermore, there are problems she faces that influence her

personality development. The minor characters play an important role to help Jessie

to solve her problem. In a real life, parents, friends and the family member have a

strong role to change’s one’s personality. Therefore, this study also figures out how

Jessie’s personality is developed due to the influence of people close to her.


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1.3 Problem Formulation

This study is focused on two problems.

1. What are the minor characters’ personalities described in the novel?

2. How is Jessie’s personality development described?

1.4 Benefit of the Study

This study offers benefit for myself, the readers and the researchers. For me,

by analyzing this novel, I get more knowledge about the personality development of

the main character. This study also strengthens my thought that the existence of

people who close to us can give a great influence to our personality.

Moreover, I learn to appreciate what we have got, to be able to get along with

what God gives us and to love it. I also obtain some beneficial values by knowing

one’s personality. Furthermore, it gives me a new thought about how one’s

personality is developed.

This study will be beneficial for the readers to implement new value to their

life and to get the beneficial messages from the main character’s experience.

Moreover, this study can be used as pre –reading before reading the novel. I hope the

reader can get more knowledge about what minor character is and its influence

toward one’s personality.

Moreover, I expect this study to be beneficial for the future researchers. The

future researchers can analyze the reason why this novel is written or why minor

character can give big influence toward one’s life. They can explore more about the

author’s life by using biographical approach. They can use the theory of minor

character if they want to explore more about the minor character.


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1.5 Definition of Terms

1.5.1 Personality Development

The word personality, according to Personality Theories, second edition

( 1981: 7) , personality represent an evolving process subject to a variety of internal

and external influences, including genetic and biological propensities, social

experiences and changing environmental circumstances. According to George Kelly

(Chapter 9), personality is individual’s unique way of “making sense” out of life

experience.

Furthermore, the word development according to Schiambang and Smith,

development means the changes happening to human being during their lifetimes

(1982: 5).

According to Allyn & Bacon, 2002 on www.healthofchildren.com,

personality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors

and attitudes that makes a person distinctive. Personality development occurs by the

ongoing interaction of temperament, character, and environment.

1.5.2 Minor Character

Milligan describes Minor Character as Characters who appear as the

complement of the story (1983: 195). According to www.Humanitiesweb.org by

Gilfford, Katya (9 November 2004), Minor Character is those figures who fill out the

story but who do not figure prominently in it. 8:05 pm, 06,07,07

1.5.3 Influence

According to As Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English,

the word influence is the power to affect somebody’s actions, characters or beliefs,


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especially by providing an example for them to follow, winning their admiration, or

making them afraid to disagree. (1995: 611).


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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part is Theoretical Review,

second part is Criticism, and the last part is Theoretical Framework. The Theoretical

Review includes the theory of Literature and the Review of Related Theory.

Furthermore, Theory of Literature includes Character, Characterization and Critical

Approach. The review of Related Theory includes the Theory of Psychology and the

Theory of personality. Meanwhile the Criticism presents some critics about the novel

and the author. The last part is Theoretical Framework, it talks about how theories

are used to analyze the novel.

2.1 Theoretical Review

2.1.1 Theory of Literature

A novel is a form of literature; therefore, I support the analysis by using the

theory of literature. This part presents the theories of literature, which are divided

into two, the theory of character and theory of characterization.

2.1.1.1 Theories of Character

Character is one of the most important elements in a novel. A novel may

contain many characters that are presented by the author. A character can be

recognized by describing his physical and psychological appearance. According to

Abrams (1993: 23), “Characters are persons presented in a dramatic or narrative

work who are interpreted by the readers as being endowed with moral, dispositional


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and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say- the dialogue and what

they do- the action”. Therefore, a character is usually easily analyzed from his dialog

or action.

Abrams (1993: 24) classifies a character into two types: flat character and

round character. A flat character is a single idea and is presented in outline and

without much individualizing detail. It means flat character has dominant traits and

has no desires motivation, or conflict. Therefore, flat character is easy to remember

because it does not undergo a change and will have the same character from the

beginning until the end of the story. Furthermore, it can be described in a single

phrase or sentence.

On the other hand, round character has many dominant traits and complex

desire, motivation and conflicts. Therefore, a round character tends to change from

the beginning of the story until the end of the story and tends to be complex. Thus,

round character is difficult to describe. Round characters can also called as

developing characters.

Furthermore, Foster (1947: 47) describes the advantages of flat character and

round character. Flat characters are easily known by the readers’ emotionally eye,

not by the visual eye. Emotionally eye means, it can be described by using feeling.

The reader can also easily remember the characters because they do not change.

On the other hand, round characters cannot be identified directly and quickly

because there are some life aspects that influence them to develop. Because of those

aspects the readers cannot easily memorize the characters as in the flat characters.

In addition, Perrine (1947: 48) divides characters into two parts. The main

character, who appears more often in the story than other characters. It appears from


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the beginning to the end of the story. Furthermore, the content of the story is focused

on the main character. The minor character appears in certain circumstances and

times. His role is less important than the main character because the total roles and

focus are on the main character.

2.1.1.2 Theories of Characterization

According to (Holman and Harmon, 1968: 81) characterization is the way to

create of imaginary persons, so they exist for the reader as life like. Therefore, the

author always points out what the character is, how he lives, what he like and dislike.

Those traits are called character while the technique to make the traits known is

characterization.

According to M.J Murphy (1972: 161-173) there are nine ways to make the

characters understandable to and alive for the readers. The first one is personal

description, it deals with the physical appearance. The readers will recognize the

character from the clothes they wear and the facial expression from the character in

the novel. The second is character as seen by another. The character can also be

recognized from another character’s opinion in the novel. The third is speech, the

author describes the character through what the character says and what style the

character uses. It is an important way to describe the character, because through the

way he speaks and responds and gives opinion will make the reader more easily to

describe the character in the novel. The forth way is past life. The reader will

understand more easily about the character from his past story or experience. It will

help the reader to know how the character is shaped. It can be figured out by a direct

comment, through the person’s thought or through his or her conversation. The fifth


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one is conversation of others. The readers can have clues about the character from

other character in the novel. Reader can get clue from other characters’ conversation

about the character. The sixth characterization is reaction. The readers will be able to

have clues about the characters by analyzing the character’s reaction when he is

facing a problem.

The seventh is direct comment. In the direct comment, the author directly gives

his personal reception and comment to the character he creates. The eighth way is

thought. The author gives a clue to the reader from the character’s thought. By

knowing what the character is thinking, the reader will simply describe the character

through the thought. The last way is mannerism. Describing the mannerisms or habit

gives the reader clues about the character.

This study will focus on the influence of the Minor Character on the main

character’s personality. The Minor Character here is including the main characters’

the family’s influence and her peer.

According to Milligan, the second character or the minor characters are those

who appear as the complement of the story. While major character appears more

often in the story. (1983: 195)

According to www.Humanitiesweb.org that is contributed by Gilfford, Katya

(9 November 2004), Minor Character is those figures who fill out the story but who

do not figure prominently in it.

2.11.3 Critical Approach

In order to understand a literary work the need of using an approach is

important. It will help the researcher to have an easier understanding to analyze the


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literary work. Therefore, a researcher should choose an appropriate approach in order

to help him to have better understanding in analyzing a literary work.

Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 613) present five approaches to analyze a novel.

Those approaches are the Formalist approach, the Biographical approach, the

Sociocultural-Historical approach, the Mythopoeic approach and the Psychological

approach. Each approach has its own characteristic. Each approach will be defined

and explained according to its usage.

The Formalist approach is an approach that judges the esthetic values of a

novel from the harmonious involvement of all parts of the novel to the whole and

how meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique determine

structure. The Biographical approach leads the readers to try to learn as much as they

can about the author’s life and the development of the author. The proponent of this

approach demands that a work of art is a reflection of a personality. The third

approach is Sociocultural-historical approach. This approach leads us to analyze the

novel based on the civilization that produces the novel. It will help us to analyze the

people’s life in society at the time the novel was written. The fourth is Mythopoeic

approach. It emphasizes on the universally patterns of human thought such as myths

and folk rites. The myth or folk rites of certain societies may affect the author’s

behavior and his motivation in writing the literary work. The last approach is

Psychological approach. It takes us to the psychological point of view of the

character to analyze the novel. It may include human thought, behavior and other

psychological aspects that give the influence to the literary work. Each approach has

its own value and limitation. Therefore, the researcher should be able to choose the

best approaches that are suitable to his literary work analysis.


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In this study, I would like to choose the Psychological approach to analyze

Jessie’s personality development. Furthermore, this study will focus on the influence

of the minor characters on the main character’s personality development.

2.1.2 Theories of Psychology

The theory of personality development is part of the theory of psychology.

Therefore, it is important to apply the psychology theory to analyze one’s personality

development.

According to Floyd L. Ruch (1963: 8), literarily the word “psychology” means

“the science of mind”. Unfortunately, psychologists have never been satisfied with

that definition. Therefore, most psychologists would agree on a definition of

psychology as the science of the behavior of organism.

Behavior is including internal processes –thinking, emotional reactions and the

like-which one person cannot observe directly in another but which can be inferred

from observation of external behavior.

Theories of psychology are used to help analyze Jessie’s personality

development. I use the theory of psychology, since personality has a close

relationship with human psychology.

2.1.2.1 Theory of Personality Development

According to Allport in Hjelle and Ziegle, the word personality is originally

derives from the Latin word “persona”, which means a mask (1981: 6). Furthermore,

personality is “The dynamic organization within individual of those psychophysical

systems that determine his characteristic behavior and thought.”


14

According to Hurlock (1976: 108), people change throughout their lifetime. It

is so because they are not completely satisfied with their personality. Therefore, they

always have a desire to change their personality. Change here means that they alter

or vary their personality. The changing of personality can be better or worse. If the

environment gives a good influence, he will improve his personality. If it gives bad

influence he may be influenced by the bad influence

Therefore, the change in one’s personality is not always synonymous with

improvement.

Hurlock (1974: 19), an individual’s personality pattern is in the product of

learning during the course of social relationship with people both within and outside

his home. Moreover, socialization and every value during one’s life will influence

the personality.

According to Murray (1981: 165), person’s personality develops against the

background of both their history and their future goals. On the other hand, an

individual must understand where he has been and where he intends to go as a

person. Murray also employed four sets of determinants to describe how personality

develops (1981: 168). The first is Constitutional determinants. It includes, individual

body, age, sex, physical strength, disability etc. it play an important role in the

environment. For example, how an individual’s precise effects upon his interaction

with the environment. The second is Group membership determinants. These

determinants are such groupings as familial, ethnic, religious, racial, political, etc. the

grouping will determine the social environment and the value system. It determines

in which group an individual Belongs to. The third determinant is Role determinants.

In this determinant, an individual is treated separately in the environment based on


15

their role. For example: sex and occupation. The last determinant is Situational

determinants. Situational determinants may include things that have happened a

thousand times as well as those that happen only once. It plays important part in

helping shape the kind of person one become.

On the other hand, Pikunas (1961: 22) states that development is a series of

sequential changes in an organism leading to its maturity. Development occurs as

new kinds and levels of differentiation and integration, learning and maturation,

emerge.

2.1.2.2 Theory of Mid-life Transition

According to Daniel J. Levinson (1978: 191-192), the mid-life transition

ordinary has its onset at age 40 or 41 and last about 5 years. The average age at

termination was 45.5, the range 44 to 47. The Mid-life Transition is a bridge between

early adulthood and middle adulthood. There are three major tasks that must be

worked on.

The first is to terminate the early adulthood. He has to review his life in this

era and reappraise what he has done with it. The initial focus in the Mid-life

transition is on the past. The major task is to reappraise the life structure of the

settling down period.

The second is to take his first steps toward the initiation of middle adulthood.

He can modify the negative elements of the present structure and to test new choices.

A man must make choices that will modify the existing life structure and provide the

central elements for a new one. The Mid-life Transition also brings significant

changes in the internal aspects of a man’s life structure. He may change appreciably


16

in social outlook, in personal value, in what he wants to give the world, in what he

wants to be for himself. The inner changes may be highly out in dramatic external

changes. (1978: 191)

The last one is to deal with the polarities that are sources of deep division in

his life. In this period a man must modify the early adult self. Greater individuation is

needed if he is to form a life structure more appropriate for middle adulthood.

When a man begins his Mid-Life Transition, it is the time of moderate or

severe crisis. Every aspect of his lives comes into question, and he is horrified by

much that is revealed. Moreover, he is full of recrimination against himself and

others. He cannot go on as before, but need time to choose a new path or modify the

old one. However, to modify the old one he needs to pass a period that is known as

Mid-Life Transition.

2.1.2.3 Factors Influencing Middle Age Women’s Personality Development

According to Hurlock (1974: 352), there are two kinds of factor that

influence one’s personality in the family. Those are the direct and indirect influence.

In direct influence, the role of parents is to transmit attitude and values by

telling their children how they should feel and behave in different situation.

Furthermore, communication is a direct method of personality transmission by which

family member try to influence the personality development of other members.

While in indirect influence, the more significant a family member is to an

individual, the greater will be his influence on the person’s mirror image.

Furthermore, a child who believes that his mother disapproves of him because she


17

constantly criticizes the way he behaves and talks will develop an unfavorable self-

concept from his association with her.

Furthermore, the climate of the home directly influences the person’s

characteristic behavior and his characteristic adjustment to life. If the home climate is

favorable, the individual, the individual will react to personal problems and

frustrations and in a calm, philosophical manner.

Those theories present that family has a strong influence to ones personality

development. Family is a strong factor that can alter or form a child personality.

An individual is part of the society, his ability to interact and to contribute

something in his social life can influence his existence in the society. The way an

individual behaves also influence the society approval to him. Therefore, social life

determines one’s existence in his social life.

According to Hurlock (1974: 232), a person whose behavior comes up to

social expectations and who tries to play the social role prescribe for him by the

group can be assured of reasonable approval and acceptance.

2.2 Criticism

In analyzing Sue monk Kidd’s The Mermaid Chair, this study needs supports

from some critics to reveal Sue Monk Kidd’s work. Many readers say that this novel

is a novel that is a woman’s coming-of-middle-age novel. Therefore, this novel is

very suitable for middle-age woman.

Fortunately, Sue Monk Kidd gives a space in her website to place some

critics about her works (www.suemonkkidd.com). Therefore, it will be easier for the

reader to know the quality of her work.


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Time magazine stated, “Her writing is so smart and sharp, she gives new life

to old midlife crises, and she draws connections from the feminine to the divine to

the erotic that a lesser writer wouldn’t see, and might the guts to follow”

The critic comes from Fort Worth Star-Telegram., it says that the novel is a

well- told tale about marriage, mystery and mermaid. It also says that Kidd at a

deeper emotional level fabulously popular Bees. In this novel the character are more

tormented, more complex, in their process of coming unwound and then healing.

Furthermore, it also states that in the novel there is a quite powerful feminist

statement on the basis of Kidd’s beautiful use of language.

While according to Philadelphia Inquirer, The Mermaid Chair is a woman’s

coming –of-middle-age novel. It says that Kidd can really turn a phrase and her

descriptions of nature’s archetypal element are magnificent.

Booklist is also adding that Kidd’s second offering is just as gracefully

written as her first and possesses an equally compelling story. It should appeal to the

many readers who mad her first novel a hit with book clubs. Publisher Weekly

starred review states that “rewarding second novel by the author of the bestselling

Secret Life of Bees. Writing from the perspective of conflicted discontented Jessie,

Kidd achieves a bold intensity and complexity that was not possible in The Secret

Life of Bees, narrated by teenage Lily. Jessie’s efforts to cope with marital

stagnation, Whit’s crisis of faith and Nellie’s tormented reckoning with the past will

resonate with many readers. This emotionally rich novel, full of sultry, magical

descriptions of life in the South, is sure to be another hit for Kidd.”

From the statements and also the critics that come from many source, it can

be seen that Sue Monk Kidd is a good author and many people know about her


19

works. Her first famous novel The Secret Life of Bees attracts many people to read

her another novel. It shows that her works is stunning and enjoyable to read.

2.3 Theoretical Framework

There are some theories that are reviewed for references to help to analyze

the novel. The theory of character by Abrams (1993: 24) helps to analyze Jessie’s

character and people around her. The theory of characterization by (Holman and

Harmon, 1968: 81) and M.J Murphy, Understanding Unseen (1972: 161-173) are

used to get better understanding about the personalities and characters in the novel.

By applying this theory, the reader will be more easily to understand how the

characters are analyzed.

Furthermore, in understanding Jessie’s personality development this study

applied some theory about personality and psychology. Hurlock’s theory is used to

analyze Jessie’s personality development Hurlock (1976: 108). The theory of human

development is by Murray (1981: 165). Furthermore, the theory of minor character

that influences Jessie’s personality development is based on the theory of Milligan

(1983: 195). By understanding the definition of minor character, it gives the reader a

picture of the main character itself and its role in the novel

The theories of Pikunas (1976: 68) and Floyd L.Ruch (1963: 111-112) are

used to get better understanding in analyzing Jessie’s personality. The theory of Mid-

Life Transition will help the study to figure out Jessie’s personality development.

The aim of these theories is to strengthen the Hurlock theory about personality

development. These theories will help to analyze how the transition can effect one’s

personality development of a mid-life adult.


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CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes three sections. The first section is Subject matter, the

second is Approaches and the third is Procedures. The object of the study states that

the work to be discussed with its physical description. The approach deals with the

approach that is used to analyze the novel. The procedures are concerned with the

research steps taken, starting from reading up to report writing. It also deals with

where to gather data and what aspects of the topic include.

3.1 Subject Matter

The subject the matter of the study is a novel written by Sue Monk Kidd,

published in 2005 by Viking Penguin, a member of penguin group (USA) Inc. It

consists of 403 pages. This novel is about Jessie’s, a middle age women, experience

in her married. It tells from the time she lived happily with her husband and daughter

than she got an affair with a monk until she realized her mistake and came back to

her husband, Hugh. In this novel, there are characters that influence Jessie’s

personality. They are Jessie’s husband (Hugh), Jessie’s mother (Nelle), The Monk

(Whit). The story will also deal with Jessie’s effort to figure out the mystery behind

her mother’s severe sickness. The conflicts in Jessie’s character are dealing with

these characters.

Jessie is the main character in the novel, therefore; the study focuses on

Jessie’s personality development. The study will also focus on the Jessie’s

personality development from the beginning of the story until the end of the story.


21

Jessie’s personality development is mostly influenced by family and people around

her.

3.2 Approaches

This study uses psychological approach to get an easy understanding about

the novel. The description of the approach can be read through this part.

The psychological approach helps us to analyze from the point of view of

human being. The approach relates with the human being’s behavior patterns and

unconscious thought. Jessie’s personality development in this novel is effected by

her psychological factor. In order to understand the development of Jessie’s

personality, this study analyzes it from the psychological point of view.

Automatically, this study analyzes Jessie’s personality from psychological field. In

this case the psychological field will not only help this study to understand Jessie’s

personality but also how her personality is influenced by other characters.

3.3 Procedures.

This study was done through reading and analyzing a novel. Therefore, we

call this study as a library research. In order to be easier in analyzing this novel, this

study uses some books concerning with psychology and literature as references.

This study uses primary and secondary sources. The primary source was the

novel The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. The secondary sources are books of

literature, psychology and some sources from the internet. The literature book is

about character and characterization, while the psychology books are on personality

development.


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In order to conduct this study, this study used some procedures. Some steps

are taken to answer the problem.

The first step was reading the novel for several times. It was done in order to

get more understanding on the novel. Some necessary notes were made while reading

the novel, the notes were focusing on the personality development. Some dialogues

which illustrated the development of Jessie’s personality and the influence of other

characters were also taken into account.

The second step was reading some references related to the theory of

literature relate to personality development. Furthermore, finding the criticisms about

Sue Monk Kidd on the internet was also taken.

The third step was making notes of character detailed explanation. This part

was also related to definition of Jessie’s appearance, attitude and personality.

The fourth step was observing the main character’s personality development

by applying psychological approach. The study focused on Jessie’s personality

development. It used the theory of psychology.

The last step was investigating the values that people can get from Jessie’s

journey in finding the true longing. In this step, some phenomena and lessons about

middle age married women were revealed. Hopefully, this study will give good input

to people who read this study.


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CHAPTER 4

ANALYSIS

This chapter analyzes the minor characters’ personality and Jessie’s

personality development which are described in the novel. The first analysis will be

the minor characters that influence Jessie’s personality development. Furthermore, it

will also analyze Jessie’s personality development.

4.1 The Minor Characters’ Personalities

There is a factor that influences Jessie’s personality development which is

minor characters. Minor characters are characters which appear as the complement of

the story. Therefore, in this study I would use Murphy’s theory of characterization.

This theory is used to analyze each minor character’s character.

Jessie lives with her beloved husband and her only daughter. Jessie’s friends

describe Jessie’s family as a perfect family. She has a handsome, kind and

dependable husband and an amazing daughter.

Jessie’s family is described as a family that can give Jessie happiness and

composure.

When I came down stairs, Hugh was making breakfast. I heard the hiss of Jimmy Dean Sausage before I got to the kitchen. ‘I’m not hungry,’ I told him. ‘But you need to eat,’ he said. ‘You’re not going to throw up again, Trust me.’ (p. 24) Before coming downstairs, he’d booked me a one-way ticket to Charleston and arranges to cancel his early- afternoon patients so he could drive me to the airport. (p. 24) Jessie’s husband really cares about her and really loves her. She feels that

Hugh is very perfect and sometimes she is jealous at him.


24

Hugh’s aging seemed more benign, his handsomeness turning ripe, but it wasn’t that so much as the combination of intelligence and kindnesses in his face that drew people. I had captured me back in the beginning. (p. 25)

He said, ‘I hardly know anything about you, but I love you’. And from that moment his commitment had been unyielding. Even now he rarely went a day without telling me. (p. 28)

Not only her husband but also her daughter loves her. The way her daughter

makes fun of her mother shows how she loves her. Jessie usually responds to her

daughter’s joke with another ridiculous joke.

The ‘Rapuzel tower’. She’s always teasing me about it. ‘Hey, Mom, When are you gonna let your hair down?’ that’s Dee being playful, being Dee, but we both knew what she meant- that I’d become to stuffy and self- protected. (p.8)

This past Christmas, while she was home, I’d posted a Gary Larson cartoon on the refrigerator with a magnet that proclaimed me WORLD’S GREATEST MOM. In it, two cows stood in their idyllic posture. One announced to the other, ‘I don’t care what they say, I’m not content.’ I’d meant as a little joke, for Dee (p. 8)

Those conditions describe that Jessie is very lucky to have such a family, a

lovely husband and a great daughter. However, Jessie still feels that she needs to do

something to excite her routine.

On the other hand, she has a brother and a mother who live in the Egret Island.

Jessie was raised in a quite religious family. She has a brother named Mike;

furthermore, Mike and she have a strong family relation. When she was a child, it

was only Mike who always accompanied her to play around. She also has a very nice

father, who always spoiled her. He named his boat after Jessie and he always had

stories to tell to Jessie. He usually told the story and sat Jessie on his lap.

It is described in the novel after her father died everything turns to be unstable.

The unstable condition also happens to her mother. Nelle’s attitude is weird. Nelle’s


25

silence and her action of cutting her hand are the example. Moreover; Jessie keeps

blaming her self for her father’s death. She speculated that the boat explosion was

caused by the pipe that she gave to her father in the father’s day. Jessie’s and her

mother’s condition show that losing a father’s figure in the family affects much in

one’s personality.

4.1.1 Nelle (Jessie’s Mother)

Nelle is Jessie’s mother. This character is also considered as a character who

influences Jessie’s personality. Nelle’s sickness makes Jessie aware of life and the

relation between mother and daughter.

4.1.1.1 Sensitive

According to Murphy’s theory of characterization, a character can be analyzed

through reaction. This character is considered as a sensitive character. It can be seen

from her attitude toward other people. Once, Nelle’s relationship with Jessie is fine

but after Jessie’s father died, their relationship turns bad. The condition is getting

worse after Jessie’s marriage. Nelle seems to lose everything, she lost her daughter as

well as her husband. She becomes a very sensitive person. One day, Jessie is visiting

her mother. She buys her a silk pajama with a Chinese dragon embodied on its top.

Her mother does not like it, so she throws it away. Jessie is angry and she packs her

clothes. Since that moment, she has never come back to home to visit her mother.

When she got like that, no one could reason with her. She’d hurled the pajamas into the trash can, and I’d packed our bags. The last time I’d seen my mother, she was standing on the porch, shouting, ‘If you leave, don’t come back1’. And Dee, poor Dee, who only wanted a semiformal grandmother, crying. (p. 16)


26

Since Nelle is very sensitive, she feels that she is abandoned, but she never tells

about her feeling and condition to Jessie that she is lonely. After her husband’s death,

her mother’s attitude becomes strange. Jessie as her child feels that the cause of her

mother’s strange attitude is her. Her relationship with Jessie has never been fine

since the boat’s explosion. The worst thing is that Jessie has never come to visit her

mother for five years more. ‘I do believe our little island could sink into the sea, and

it wouldn’t faze you’. Kat said. ‘What’s it been? Five years, six months, and one

week since you set foot here. (p.16)

Because of Nelle’s attitude to her daughter, Jessie feels that she is not expected

by her mother. Nelle’s five years of silence influences Jessie’s thought that she does

not have a mother. Nelle’s attitude makes Jessie do not want to visit her mother.

Furthermore, Jessie thinks that her mother does not want her. ‘My excuse,’ I said, ‘is

that she does not want me there, She’s_’. (p.18)

Unconsciously, Nelle makes Jessie have a sense that she killed her own

father. Nelle’s silence and her strange behavior left thousand accusations to Jessie’s

thought that she is guilty.

‘I almost laughed. I could no more pretend I didn’t have a mother than the sea could pretend it had no salt. My mother existed for me with a vengeance. Sometime her voice would come piping through my bones and practically lift me off my feet.’ (p.18)

Knowing her mother’s illness, Jessie tries to throw away her negative feeling

about her mother. She tries to understand her mother’s position. She might do the

same thing if she were her mother. However, her mother’s attitude affects Jessie’s

feeling and thought as a woman. Sometimes she feels afraid if she becomes just like

her mother. She is frightened by her past and her marriage. Those are two things that

make her weak. She keeps trying to maintain her emotion although sometimes she

feels like she is not that strong enough to face her problems.


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4.1.1.2 Reclusive

In chapter two, there is a part that describing that Nelle is a reclusive woman.

It is analyzed by using character as seen by others. This character is described as a

character who always does everything alone. Although she looks strange, the monks

in the monastery really miss her existence in the monastery. It is proven from other

monks who really miss her when she gets sick. Moreover, she is also considered as a

mother who does not have any sense of humors. She is very different from Jessie in

this case. She can be considered as a very serious religious woman. She sees things

in a very serious way. Moreover, after her husband’s death, she becomes someone

who really cares of the benediction monastery.

Mother had always been what you’d call fervent, making me and Mike drop pennies into empty milk jars for pagan babies’ and every Friday lighting the Sacred Heart of Jesus candles in the tall glasses and going to her knees on the floor in her bedroom. Where she said all five decades of the rosary, kissing the crucifix on which Jesus had been rubbed down to a stick man from all the devotion. (p.20)

Nelle becomes very religious and silent after the ship explosion. Her

husband’s death affects her to devote herself to the monastery. Her attitude makes

Jessie think that her mother is crazy. Jessie thinks that her mother is abnormal.

Moreover, after her mother severely cuts her own finger without reason.

Even then, though, I’d thought of her as normal-crazy, just a couple of degrees beyond fervent. When she wore so many saints’ medal pinned to her bra that she clinked, when she started cooking at the monastery, behaving as if she owned the place, I’d told myself she was just an overextended Catholic obsessed with her salvation. (p.21)

From other characters’ opinions, she is too serious in devoting herself to the

monastery. And her seriousness somehow leads other characters to think that she is

crazy.


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4.1.1.3 Silent

Nelle is considered as a very silent character and it is analyzed by using

character as seen by others. Her silence makes her daughter hard to understand her.

Nelle’s strange attitude is simply a form of self blaming of her husbands’ death. She

cuts her fingers twice and put those two fingers into the mayonnaise jar. This strange

attitude really spends Jessie’s thought and feeling. Moreover, this character keeps

Jessie in her guilty feeling toward her father’s death. She keeps thinking that her

father is killed because of the pipe that she gave. Nelle never tells her the cause of

Jessie’s father’s death. I had an overwhelming impulse to shake Mother awake and

ask why she’d let me grow up believing that my pipe had been the cause of

everything. (p. 98)

However, Nelle finally tells the truth about her husband’s death to Jessie.

Although it is hard for Jessie, Nelle is trying to convince Jessie that the unwanted

condition is not Jessie’s fault. She just wants to keep it all for herself, she does not

want Jessie to feel sad to hear the true story about her father’s death.

‘I slid forward and reached out of her touch. I wanted her. I wanted my mother. I wanted to bend over and kiss her injured child. My love for her was such rubble.’ The rosary fell onto the floor. She began talking to my father as if he were sitting in the room with us. ‘Don’t ask me to do this, Joe. Please don’t ask me. I’ll walk on my knees across the island if I have to. I won’t eat. I’ll sleep on the floor, on the dirty ground. I’ll make God hear me. Jesus and Mary. Don’t ask me to do this.’ (p. 337)

From the statement above, it is proven that this character is analyzed by a

theory about character’s reaction toward something. This part shows Jessie’s reaction

toward her mother’s confession. She is surprised that she never sees her mother both

awkwardly and openly like that before. On the other hand, Nelle’s confession about

the secret makes Jessie understand her mother’s feeling and burdens. She realizes


29

how she really loves and wants her mother much. She realizes how much her mother

loves her father. She finds that her accusation to her mother about her mother’s affair

with Father Dominic is totally wrong.

The novel proves that Nelle’s silence is for the sake of her daughter’s

goodness. Unfortunately, she does not realize that her silence keeps Jessie in her

guilty feeling.

4.1.2 Hugh (Jessie’s Husband)

4.1.2.1 Responsible

This character is analyzed by using the theory of character as seen by others.

Jessie, who plays as other characters, leads the reader to have a picture about

Hugh. For Jessie, Hugh is a very good man. She feels so lucky to have Hugh as

her husband, a very dependable husband. He works for the family, he gives Jessie

a very nice daughter, he knows how to cook and above all he is handsome. It

would take million pages to describe how perfect Hugh is. People would be

gladly saying that Jessie is the luckiest wife in the world, Hugh really loves

Jessie. However, those perfections make Jessie live in a very ordinary life. She

feels that everything is set and she cannot do anything that makes her different

from others.

Hugh is definitely a handsome husband, the older he is the more handsome

he becomes. Even Jessie feels jealous at him.

Instead I found myself staring at him. People were always staring at Hugh-in the restaurant, theater lines, and bookstore aisles. I would catch them stealing glimpses, mostly women. His hair and eyes had that rich autumn coloring that reminds you of cornucopias and Indian corn, and he had a beautiful cleft in the center of his chin (p. 25)


30

As a husband, Hugh has already given a good role for the family. He earns

money for his family. Moreover, he loves her daughter very much. They are as close

as friend, even Dee wove a bracelet for him and he wears it. Furthermore, He likes

keeping things that have memory about people he loves. He keeps all those things in

his drawer. It shows that Hugh is a loveable person. He would give his deep attention

to people he loves. Moreover, it is kind a rare for a man to keep memorable thing in

his drawer. He is considered as man who shows his affection to his family.

‘….., while putting away the laundry. I came upon Hugh’s jewelry case in the back of his underwear drawer. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I at on the bed and went through it. It held all Dee’s baby teeth, tiny and yellowed like popcorn kernels, and several drawings she’d done on his prescription pad. There was his father’s Pearl Harbor pin, his grandfather’s pocket watch, four pairs of cuff links I’d bought him for various anniversaries….(p.28)

4.1.2.2 Caring

A character can be analyzed from reaction to other people. This character is

analyzed from Hugh’s reaction toward his wife and his family. Hugh is a very caring

character. He cares not only his family but also his wife’s family. Even, he would not

be sorry to cancel all his appointment in order to put attention to her wife. Hugh

would prepare all the things that Jessie needs. He also knows what he should do

when Jessie’s emotion is uncontrolled.

When I came downstairs, Hugh was making breakfast. I heard the hiss of Jimmy Dean sausage before I got to the kitchen. ‘I’m not hungry.’ I told him. ‘but you need to eat,’ he said. ‘You are not going to throw up again. Trust me.’ Whenever a crisis of any kind appeared, Hugh made these great big breakfasts. He seemed to believe in their power to revive us. (p.24) Hugh very concerns to his wife because everything seems to have already

been done by him. She does not have to think about her journey to the island, how


31

she will go and who will take her to the airport. Sometimes Hugh’s affection is really

amazing for Jessie, but this treatment is sometimes too much for Jessie. She feels not

free because of Hugh treatment. Therefore, Jessie needs something to excite herself.

Before coming downstairs, he’d booked me a one-way ticket to Charleston and

arranged to cancel his early afternoon patients so he can drive me to the airport

(p.24)

Considering Hugh’s attention to Jessie, it is proven that Jessie is being

spoiled by her husband. Therefore, Jessie insists that she needs something to alter her

life. Hugh puts too much attention to her and it is bothering her. As I descended the

stairs, the years between us seemed accumulated everywhere, filling the house, and it

seemed strange to me, how love and habit blurred so thoroughly to make a life.

(p.34)

His love to Jessie is above all things in the world. He could even cry for

Jessie. The fact that Jessie has an affair with a monk leaves a very deep scar in Hugh.

Hugh is known as a very patient and strong husband. However, there is a condition

when Jessie’s mistakes change him into someone who is weak and impatient.

However, he is trying to handle his condition.

She went on calling him for unbearable amount of time. When she finally left, tears shot up behind his eyes. He sat on one of the twin beds, trying to choke down the urge to cry. He wouldn’t have Jessie hearing him cry. He needed to get hold of himself. (p. 331)

Although Hugh is considered as a wonderful man, still, he cries for his wife’s

leaving. The good thing is he would never let his wife know if he is crying. He is

crying alone, he keeps and holds all his emotion alone. He would never let other

people feel his sadness. We can analyze it by using his reaction when he faces his

marriage problem. Hugh cries loudly alone in a room, it describes his reaction toward


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Jessie’s confession. We can see the evidence from the quotation from the novel

above.

4.1.2.3 Merciful We can analyze this character by using other people’s opinion about this

character. Hugh is in a very big problem when it is about his marriage problem.

However, Hugh is considered as a person who is merciful. Although Hugh has

known the fact, He still does not believe that Jessie has done an affair. He believes

that he knows Jessie and he trusts her much. Hugh believes that their marriage is

perfect, he has done as perfect as he can for the sake of a perfect family.

When he’d first seen the image and the crazy idea had seized him, he’d stood there for several minutes, then thought, No. it was preposterous to think Jessie capable of that. Preposterous. He’d always trusted her. Without question. (p. 312)

Hugh is not stubborn. He forgives Jessie or her mistakes. Jessie goes back to

Hugh, hoping he will forgive her. Jessie believes that Hugh will forgive her.

However, she is not too sure. She has been hurting him that much.

Part of it was pure, cowardly fear, but it was also the hope that I might catch him off guard, and in those one or two moments he would forget what I’d done, and his heart would fill with so much love it would override every justified reason to send me away. That was my foolish, unreasoned hope. (p. 365)

Jessie is making a big mistake but deep inside Hugh’s heart has forgiven Jessie.

His love to his wife is very deep. He understands that it was just a mistake and he

believes that Jessie will come back. He starts to understand Jessie’s situation.

‘I missed you,’ he said to me, leaning close to my ear. I clutched his hand almost fiercely, pulling his fingers to my face, touching them with my lips. There would be no grand absolution, only forgiveness meted out in these precious sips. It would well up from Hugh’s heart


33

in spoonfuls, and he would feed it to me. And it would be enough. (p. 370)

The quotation above shows that Hugh is always a good husband for Jessie.

4.1.2.4 Patient Hugh’s patience and love conquer Jessie’s ego and selfishness. She finally comes

back to Hugh. Hugh is the one she calls when she needs help. Hugh is the one she

depends on. Hugh is the real love she has had. Hugh was the most patient person,

always the champion of letting things settle, run their course ,come slowly to a head-

all pet phrases of his. (p.244)

This character is analyzed by using other people’s opinion about this

character. It is shown from Jessie’s opinion about her husband. Hugh is a person who

is always sure what he believes and he will wait patiently to reach the result.

Yes, I’m coming back, Hugh. When I die, it will be your face I see hovering over me, whether in flesh or in memory. Don’t you know? What I want is you. What I want is the enduring. The beautiful enduring. (p. 377)

Because of his patience, he is able to lure Jessie. He waits and finds Jessie

come back home. Because of his patience he can make Jessie realize her mistake of

abandoning him for another man.

Actually, his patience is also affected by his job as a psychiatrist. He really

understands how to face people. He also knows that he cannot force something or

someone to do something. Moreover, He believes he knows his wife, that is why he

waits patiently for his wife. Sometimes, he cannot handle the problems alone but his

love to Jessie is very deep. He understands that his wife does not mean to hurt

anyone. He keeps all his pains alone but he stands tough to face those problems. For

Hugh, Jessie is everything.


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4.1.3 Whit (The Monk)

4.1.3.1 Tough

Jessie believes that she needs something to excite herself, in her boring

activities as a mother who always stays at home and takes care the house. Her return

to her hometown for her mother takes her to one condition, in which she meets a

junior monk and learns about life, things that she has never undergone before.

Whit is a junior monk at forty-four with his temporary vow. His depression of

losing his wife and his child on a car accident takes him to the benediction to devote

him to the religion. His past keeps haunting him but he hangs tough.

His name is Whit O’ Conner. He had been a successful attorney in Raleigh

thwarting developers and industrial pollutants on behalf of various conservation

environmental groups. He had a wife whom he loves much. Everything changes after

his wife and his unborn child’s died in a car accident. It takes his attention and life.

Firstly, the author describes him as a person who lives in his own depression

and a person who tries to find life. He left his job and chose the Benedictine for his

life. Later in chapter 6 the author describes him as a tough person. His sense of

abandonment had been bottomless not just by Linda and his promise of family but by

God, whom he’d actually believed in. this kind of believing one does before

immense suffering. (p.55)

Even in his days in the Benedictine, he is still not sure what he is doing in

that place. What he feels is a deep depression of losing something. He is not only lost

his beloved family but also his faith to God. He doubts the existence of God.

However, he is not standing still regret his life but he keeps searching what is

missing besides his life.


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4.1.3.2 Persistent

According to the author, Whit is a person who is rather difficult to trust to

certain belief or people. He has his own belief in judging something. Therefore, the

author states that Whit is someone who is searching for faith. The novel explains that

Whit has less faith to religion. He does not really understand about God’s existence.

The main reason he comes over to the Benedictine because he wants to leave his

past behind. He doubts God. Perhaps he would find there had never been God or he

would lose one God and find another. He didn’t know (p. 59)

Since he does not know exactly about his coming to the Benedictine besides

his intention to leave his past life, he spends most of his time writing in his note

book. He writes down every doubt, sad feeling into his note. This character is

analyzed based on Murphy theory which is analyzing character by using direct

comment (1972: 170). In this novel the author explains Whit’s character through the

author’s direct comment.

…..and he’d written them all down. Question about evil and whether it could exist without God’s collusion, about Nietzsche’s claim that God is dead, even theories that God is not being in heaven but merely some guiding aspect in human personality. (p. 59)

He believes in something that is quite mythical; such as, a certain belief about

Senora the Mermaid Saint that always hears and helps people in the Egret Island. The

Saint is symbolized as a chair and it is called Mermaid chair. From the moment he’d

seen the mermaid chair, he’d loved Senora, not just for her mythical life but how

supposedly she’d heard the prayer of Egret. (p. 60)

Whit’s belief in Senora sometimes influences his thought about the existence

of God. The author’s direct comment, it is proven that Whit believes in something

that is quite mythical, such as the mermaid chair and Senora.


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4.1.3.3 Decisive

The good point in Whit is that he is daring enough to make a choice about his

life. When he knows Jessie and he falls in love with her, he doubt whether he would

take his Solemn Vows or not. He cannot think clearly, his head is fulfilled with

Jessie. However, he is bold enough to tell the truth about what he feels about God

and his condition right now. Although at the first time he chooses Jessie over his

vow but later in the end of the story he chooses his own freedom.

‘I can’t because I don’t know if the desire of my heart is God’ (p. 259)

This character is analyzed by analyzing the reaction of the character in facing

a situation, Murphy (1972: 168). In the novel, Whit is asked to do the solemn vow

but he refuses that vow. He does not want to lie to himself that his desire in that

moment is not God but Jessie. I leave the monastery February 1st. I took solemn

vows last august, hut, ironically enough, decided at Christmas that I would not stay

after all. (p. 376)

After some considerations, Whit decided to leave both the solemn and his

feeling about Jessie. He accepts the reality that Jessie is another man’s wife and is

still engaged in marriage. Moreover, he realizes that he is a man who looks for

peaceful heart not merely a relationship. He has tried to find it in the monastery but

he cannot find it. Finally, he decides to leave the monastery and starts a new life. It is

shown from his letter to Jessie.

4.2 How Jessie’s Personality Develops

This part describes Jessie’s personality and its development after she is

influenced by other characters. Furthermore, this part also discusses how those

people make Jessie aware of her dominant character, which is selfish.


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Jessie is a middle age married woman. She feels something is missing in her

happy marriage and she feels it more after she arrives at her home land, Egret Island.

Egret Island is located along the coast of South California. Egret Island is a place

where she spent her childhood and a place where she tried to leave her past about her

father’s death. In the story, Jessie returns to her hometown to take care of her mother,

who is suffered from strange mental attitude. Her mother deliberately cuts her own

finger. In her days in her hometown, she meets a monk who opens her mind and she

is falling in love with him.

In Egret island there is a holy spot named the mermaid chair. The people

there believe that the chair is very sacred. It protects the people in Egret Island who

mostly work as fisherman. Mermaid chair is a holy chair that represents oppression

and freedom. Mermaid chair is a metaphor of Jessie life, mermaid chair is

symbolized as freedom because it is part of the sea. In the novel, Jessie is described

as a woman who is searching freedom from her monotonous daily life as a wife.

Jessie is a woman who needs to release her boredom as a housewife and

mother. She believes that she has to do something for her life, something that she

never dares to do. At forty-two I’d never done anything that took my own breath

away, and I suppose now that was part of the problem- my chronic inability to

astonish myself. (p. 2)

In reality, a woman in the age of 41-47 years old is the crisis that most

individual undergoes. It is called mid-life crisis or mid-life transition. For example,

in a real life, there are many broken marriages happen in the celebrity’s life. The

main problem is in each individual, which is an affair. Once again, the main problem

is in each individual personality.


38

Mid-life crisis is the condition in which an individual takes a big role to be

able to make a choice for his life. According to Daniel J. Levinson (1978: 191-192),

the Mid-life crisis also brings significant changes in the internal aspects of a man’s

life structure. In this study, Jessie as the main character of the novel is still trying to

live in her marriage crisis and to face the individual crisis.

According to Hurlock (1974: 19), an individual’s personality pattern is in the

product of learning during the course of social relationship with people both within

and outside his home. In the novel, there are three characters who influence Jessie’s

personality. Those characters are her mother (Nelle), her husband (Hugh) and the

monk (Whit).

The existence of those people influences Jessie’s way of thinking about life

and self awakening. Self awakening means Jessie’s encouragement to understand and

find her own life.

Her mother, Nelle is the most silent character; however, this character gives a

strong influence on Jessie’s character. In the novel Nelle is described as a good secret

keeper, she keeps the case about her husband’s death from Jessie for thirty three

years. Her silence results in Jessie’s depression. Jessie keeps blaming herself for

something she did not do, harmed her father.

‘It wasn’t the pipe that caused it,’ I said to her.’ It was never the pipe’ I stood up, shaking my head How do you suddenly revise images and understandings you’ve carried in the cells of your body for thirty- three years? (p. 339)

Her mother’s silence opens Jessie’s mind about telling a truth. She realizes

that her mother’s silence about her father’s death leaves a great impact on her life.

From her experience, Jessie learns that secret makes her suffer from self-blaming,

just like her experience. She understands that her husband is blaming himself for her


39

strange attitude. Jessie understands that she has to tell the truth to her husband about

her affair.

According to Murray (1981: 165), person’s personality develops against the

background of both their past history and their future goals. On the other hand, an

individual must understand where he has been and where he intends to go as a

person. This novel shows how a tangled and guilty feeling experience are haunting

Jessie for thirty- three years without clarification from anyone. This experience

teaches Jessie to live with guilty feeling for years, and she realizes that it is hard.

Therefore, she decides to tell the truth about her affair to her husband. His name is

Brother Thomas. She had said it with complete condor and matter-of- factness as if

she were telling him the name of her dentist. (p. 310)

Nelle really loves her husband. She even makes a sacrifice ritual for her

husband. She cuts her finger to show her sacrifice to return her husband. She lifted

her hand to Dad’s face in the photograph, and her eyes welled up. ‘I wanted to make

up for what I did. To undo it. I just wanted him back. (p. 349)

Jessie understands that her mother loves her father much, and her accusation

to her mother about the affair with father Dominic was wrong. She realizes that her

mother’s strange attitude was to end her guilty feeling of her husband’s death. Her

mother’s condition opens Jessie’s mind about her husband’s existence. She learns

about how precious her husband is for her life and for her daughter. I would sit

crossed- legged on the bed staring at the painting and listening to my tapes on the

Walkman, thinking what an ideal father Hugh had been, not just for Dee but to me.

God, to me, too. (p.351) .After all, Jessie realizes that her mother tries to keep a good

marriage and family. On the other hand, she ruins her perfect marriage with Hugh.


40

According to Murphy (1972: 164), there are two ways to analyze one’s

personality. There are by her speech and by her reaction (1972: 169). Jessie’s

personalities are analyzed based on those theories.

Jessie has just realized her husband’s existence after she is facing a problem.

Moreover, she is amazed by her husband’s kindness that can conquer her ego.

Egoistic is the most dominant character in Jessie’s personality.

It is described in the novel that Jessie is an ordinary married woman, who has

a perfect family with a great husband and a nice daughter. While for Jessie herself,

she is just a woman who needs freedom and something new in her life. She realizes

that she lives in a monotonous way in her marriage. Unfortunately, she chooses the

wrong option to free herself from her boring daily activities as mother and wife by

having an affair with a monk. The egoistic character is analyzed from her utterance.

The selfishness comes from her strict life and self protected. -That I’ve become too

stuffy and self- protected. Too conventional. (p. 8)

The novel tells that she is an egoistic one, she lives as if she lives in her own

world. She thinks her twenty years marriage is like a chain of monotonous days. She

even does not think about her husband and her daughter’s feeling when she makes a

promise to stay with the monk, Whit. However, she sometimes still doubts her

decision.

He reached for me, holding me almost painfully close. ‘We could live near Asheville,’ he said. ‘At the end of some dirty roads in the middle of nowhere. And the hike on the weekends. Or go to Malaprop’s Bookstore and sit in the café.’ I realized then that there would be small domestic details and a flow of days, of anniversaries. It was as if it had all somehow just become real to him. ‘I would love that’. (p. 270) Jessie’s selfishness influences her way of thinking all the time. Furthermore,


41

She knows that Whit is a monk who will take his vow but her passion to live together

with him is stronger than her sense to Whit’s condition. Jessie makes Whit play with

his imagination about his next life with her. On the other hand, she is not really sure

about what will happen between them. The reality is she still has a husband and a

daughter.

Personally, Jessie does not want to lose both her husband, Hugh and the

monk, Whit. She is afraid of being alone and abandoned. With Whit she finds a new

longing and with Hugh she is engaged. It is analyzed from her speech that Jessie

does not want to lose both of the men. It is hard for Jessie to make a decision for her

own life. This part shows how selfish Jessie is. What if I lose Hugh and Whit both?

What if I give up Hugh and only have Whit turn away? I’ll be alone and abandoned.

That was the deep, silent terror, wasn’t it? (p. 229)

On her age, forty-two years old, she knows that what she has done is

unthinkable. Actually, Jessie is afraid of what she has done but she is sure herself

that what she has done is the right way. However, she defeats all her doubt and keeps

doing what she thinks is right. Her ego does not allow her to think about her marriage

life, her only daughter and her husband who really love her.

I’d done something unthinkable, and yet I didn’t regret it. I felt pulled unaccountably, almost forcibly to Whit, and yes, there was transgression and betrayal and wrongness in it, but also mystery and what felt like holiness, an actual happiness. (p.229)

Jessie is blinded by her finding of a new longing, Whit. She believes that

Whit can fill the emptiness in her life. The worst thing is when surprisingly Hugh

comes to the Island to visit Jessie. Unfortunately, Jessie’s response is a little bit

harsh. It is analyzed from her reaction to the unwanted condition. Jessie tries to hide


42

her guilt by covering it with good reasons. In this case, Jessie’s reaction toward

Hugh’s coming is analyzed by using Murphy’s theory, analyzing character by

reaction.

‘You know what’s going on. I’m trying to deal with this situation with mother. And I told you I wanted to handle this by myself, so of course here you are- Hugh to rescue.’ ‘Look. It’s true that I don’t think you should be trying to deal with this by yourself, but I didn’t come all this way because of that.’ (p. 189)

Jessie does not want Hugh to come to visit her, moreover to help her with her

problem. She believes that she can handle this problem alone. This time Hugh is very

sad and confused of his wife’s attitude. However, Hugh tries to understand his wife’s

situation. Deep inside Jessie’s heart, she is afraid if Hugh realizes that she has an

affair with another man in the Island.

Hugh comes with a good intention that is to give her wife surprises. However,

Jessie’s egoistic response makes the surprises no longer meaningful. Hugh keeps

trying to understand his wife by giving a space to his wife. Patiently, Hugh treats his

egoistic wife.

I made reservations for us in Charleston, at the Omni. We’ll take the afternoon ferry and check in at the hotel. We can have dinner at Magnolia’s. It’ll be an evening just for us, and I’ll bring you back to the ferry in the morning.’ (p.189)

Jessie is not happy with her husband’s arrival, even she is not happy with the

surprises that her husband gives her. It is analyzed from Jessie’s response and

attitude to her husband’s visit. She cannot feel the chemistry between them anymore.

At that moment, she feels that she cannot go back to Hugh again. Jessie cannot

escape from her feeling to Whit. She cannot deny the fact that she is in love with

Whit. Those feelings are described in the way she responds her husband’s good

intention.


43

I didn’t look at him. I wanted to feel for him what I felt for Whit. I wanted to conjure it out of the air. I had a sudden panic moment as I realized I could not get back to the place I’d been before. ‘I can’t,’ I said. (p. 190)

Since she thinks that she loses the chemistry to Hugh, she asks for parting.

She wants to tell to Hugh that she does not feel the chemistry anymore but she is a

little bit afraid in conveying it. However, she told him that she needs a space for her

and her life.

Part of me wanted to catch him in my arms, say, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so horribly sorry, but I didn’t move. A strange, Novocained feeling was settling into my limbs. He grew smaller and smaller, a moth fluttering away. When I could no longer see him. I went and sat back down on the tree. (p. 191)

From the evidence, we can see how Jessie is trying to deny the situation and

trying to defend her ego to stay in the Island. She keeps her decision to stay in the

island and to live with Whit.

In Jessie’s eyes, Hugh is someone who is perfect, he has a good self

acceptance. Unlike herself, Jessie lacks of self acceptance, she never trusts herself.

Jessie does not have any guts to alter herself to be more meaningful.

On the other hand, Hugh does not realize about his wife’s situation. Hugh

thinks his wife is happy with their marriage while for Jessie this situation makes her

feel useless. She cannot actualize and show to her husband that she can do something

more. She understands that her husband cares about her but she needs existence.

Time to time, Huge is trying to understand his wife. He tries to hear his

wife’s opinions. He tries to make his wife feel exist.

‘What’s your gut say?’ ‘my gut? I was momentarily speechless. Hugh was asking me for a gut feeling, and on something about he was the expert. Before, he’d always brusquely given me his clinical opinion…. (p. 293)


44

This situation makes Jessie to be someone who exists. It is the very first time

she is asked by her husband to give opinions. At that time, she feels that she is not

only cared but also heard by her husband.

Hugh’s patience and forgiveness make Jessie think twice to leave him.

Moreover, Hugh loves Jessie very much. She understands there are only few

husbands who will forgive his wife for a mistake like she did. Hugh is one of them.

She realizes how selfish she is, leaving Hugh that way. There would be no grand

absolution, only forgiveness meted out in these precious sips. It would well up from

Hugh’s heart in spoonfuls, and he would feed it to me. And it would be enough.

(p.370)

Hugh’s kind heart brings Jessie home and let she stay beside Hugh. She

makes a promise to herself that she will never leave her marriage and her family

anymore. She starts her new marriage with Hugh and leaves her old marriage aside.

She realizes that she is a fool if she leaves Hugh for the second time.

On her second visit to Egret Island, she got a letter from Whit. She cries but

she believes that Whit will stay in her memory. Jessie keeps her promise and she

realizes that she is Hugh’s wife. She will not let Hugh down for the second time or

even more.

I look toward the window. I want to tell him, Yes, I’m coming back Hugh. When I die, it will be your face I see hovering over me, whether in flesh or in memory. Don’t you know? What I want is you. What I want is the enduring. The beautiful enduring. (p. 377) According to Daniel J. Levinson (1978: 191-192), Mid-Life Transition is a

time of moderate or severe crisis. Every aspect of their lives comes into question, and

they are horrified by much that is revealed. They are full of recrimination against

themselves and others. Jessie successfully passes the test of Mid-Life transition. She


45

keeps her promise to Hugh and she is coming back home. She leaves all the

memories about Whit.

From her husband, Jessie learns to let things go. Hugh does not discuss her

wife’s mistakes hundreds times. He just lets it go as a past story. Therefore, Jessie

also releases her moments with Whit. Those moments are just part of their past.

According to Hurlock (1974: 234) stated that one personality develops under

the influence of people around him and her. In the story the minor characters are her

family and her peer. After she meets Whit she learns to accept herself and try to be

less worried and decisive. She feels confidence that she is not just a wife but also a

woman who can do something for her life.

In the story the author presents Jessie as an anxious person. Her anxiety is

slowly decreasing by the time she meets Whit.

She often worries about what she has done. She is afraid if her decision will

bring a bad impact to herself. Even, she worries about her decision to leave Hugh and

to live with Whit. She is afraid of losing her moments with her old marriage. Jessie is

not ready if she has to face the truth if Whit cannot be the person she is expecting to

be.

After her decision to release Hugh, she feels she does the wrong thing. She is

haunted by her guilty feeling to Hugh. She is trying to fix the condition by calling

Hugh. I’d called him last night, twice. He hadn’t answered even though he’d had

plenty of time to get back home. I hadn’t known why I was calling, or what I would

say if he answered. (p. 194)

Jessie feels guilty and at the same time, she does not want to lose her

husband. She even does not know what she would have said if Hugh had answered


46

the phone. Unconsciously, she recalls all the memories about her family, her perfect

family. She can feel how sad Hugh is after her decision. She is not really sure about

her decision, her feeling to Hugh. Basically, she is afraid of losing of what she has

had. It is proven from her utterance and reaction to face her dilemma. What if there is

no more Hugh in my life? No more of these small antics, the moment we’d pieced

together to form a history? But were these habits of love-or love itself. (p.195)

Jessie is afraid of losing her family and her memories about Hugh and with

Hugh. Unfortunately, she does not realize it in the first place she meets Whit. Her

anxiety of losing her husband becomes deeper when Hugh did not answer her phone

calls. It is hard for Jessie to make a decision, whether she chooses Hugh or Whit.

Jessie also learns something from Whit. Whit’s decision to choose his life

over Jessie gives impact to Jessie’s life. Whit is considered as a very decisive person.

He is very sure in what he has chosen. Finally, Jessie makes a great decision to leave

Whit and comes back to Hugh.

In the novel, Jessie is described as an unconfident person. Although she is an

artist and she is graduated from Agnes Scott with a degree in art, she still does not

believe in her ability as an artist. She likes painting or making something artful but

she never gets satisfied with the result. She is not confident enough to show her

artwork to people. I’d just graduated from Agnes Scott with degree in art and inflated

ideas about selling my work, becoming a bona fide artist. No one, however, had

really looked at my art boxes all day… (p.26)

On the other hand, Whit is always sure in what he has done. This character

encourages Jessie to believe in herself. Whit’s encouragement changes Jessie’s

perception about her ability. Furthermore, Jessie learns many things from their


47

togetherness. She feels exist when she is with Whit.

Personally, Whit admires Jessie as a woman who has an extra ability beside

as a wife. He makes Jessie exist as an artist not only as a housewife. Moreover, Whit

treats Jessie as an important person in his life. It is shown from his attention to

Jessie’s stories. Patiently, Whit listens and responds to every detail of the stories. ‘so

you’re an artist,’ he said. I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever called me that before. Even

Hugh. (p.167)

According to Betty Freidan (1997: 80-81), women also has mind. They also

had the human need to grow. She could never grow up without asking the simple

human question, “Who am I? What do I want?” In the novel, Whit’s figure is able to

alter Jessie as an important person in her life. Therefore, this character is able to alter

Jessie’s personality from the unconfident woman into the confident one.

‘What medium?’ he asked. ‘I do- I used to do a watercolor-tableau thing. I don’t know how to describe it.’ ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Try’. I was surprised at how badly I wanted to tell him. I close my eyes, trying to say it as eloquently as I could. (p.168)

Whit’s attention to Jessie also alters her doubt about her existence as an artist.

Since she has met Whit, she is able to answer the question ‘Who am I’. She realizes

that she is not only a housewife but also an artist.

Whit is a person who can encourage himself to transform from the old him

into the new him. The old him is the condition in which he was in a very deep

depression of losing his beloved wife and her child to be. The new him is the

condition in which he tries to forget his past and decides to be a monk. Jessie is

amazed with his ability to transform himself.

My falling in love with him had had everything to do with his monkness, his loyalty to what lay deep within him, the self-containment of his solitude, that desire to be transform. What I’d


48

love in him most wad my own aliveness, his ability to give me back to myself. (p.358). The togetherness between Jessie and Whit makes Jessie feel about freedom

and being away from her boring activity as a housewife, it is a new thing for Jessie.

According to Betty Freidan (1997: 80-81), it was the need for a new identity that

start woman, a century ago, on a journey, misinterpreted journey away from home.

The theory justifies that woman needs a new atmosphere, which is away from home

for awhile. Jessie is away from her family and she meets Whit who is able to make

her aware about her existence. Whit also makes her confident enough to admit that

she is a great artist.

According to Murray (1981: 168), there are four sets of determinants to

describe how personality develops. In this novel, Jessie’s personality is influenced by

the last determinant, Situational Determinants. Situational determinants may include

things that have happened a thousand times as well as those that happen only once. It

plays an important part in helping shape the kind of person one becomes. Jessie’s

meeting with Whit makes her get used to being in a condition in which Whit always

puts her in an important person position. The more Jessie learns about Whit’s

monkness and loyalty, the more she falls in love with him.

Jessie realizes that their relationship will not end up happily. Fortunately, Whit

also realizes the same thing. He makes Jessie sure that their relationship is based on

the need of someone to fill the emptiness of the soul. ‘I don’t want you to be sorry,’

he said. ‘The thing is, I needed”- he reached out and touched my face, a place near

my jaw- ‘I needed to love you.’ (p. 359)

Whit’s sentence explains that Jessie’s existence in his life was as a person

whom Whit thinks could replace his wife. The fact is no one could replace his wife in


49

her heart. For Jessie, Whit is also a person who fills her emptiness in life. From this

condition, Jessie learns to accept the situation that they cannot be together for life.

Jessie also learns about accepting herself by not completing herself with

someone else. She realizes that she belongs to herself. She does not want to live in

someone’s shadow, which always protects her or gives her a great influence in her

life. She does not want to live behind the past about her father’s death, she does not

want to live because of her husband’s perfection, and she does not want to live

behind Whit’s monkness and loyalty. She just wants to belong to herself. All my life,

in nameless, indeterminate ways, I’d tried to complete myself with someone else-

first my father, then Hugh, even Whit, and I didn’t want that anymore. I wanted to

belong to myself. (p. 361)

Those three people, Nelle, Hugh and Whit are the persons who help Jessie to

develop herself into a better person. Those people alter Jessie from a selfish and

spoiled woman into a mature and confident woman. Those people are considered as

the minor characters which help Jessie to realize the important of accepting and

loving something that God gives to her. Moreover, it alters her into someone who is

able to accept herself. She does not depend on someone who she thinks is important

and gives a great influence to her life. From those people, she learns to trust herself

and forgive others.


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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part is the conclusions, I draw the

conclusion based on the problem formulation and the analysis. The second part is the

suggestion for teacher for the study in teaching learning activities and for the future

researcher.

5.1 Conclusions

After analyzing The Mermaid Chair, I can draw conclusions from this thesis.

I can analyze Jessie’s personality and its development based on the characterization

theory and personality development theory. Her personality development is

influenced by the minor characters. I analyze Jessie’s personality development and

her changes after she met certain people in her life. The people here are those who

have a strong influence to her personality.

As the main character of the story, Jessie gets a strong influence from the

other three characters, which are the mother, husband and the monk. Nelle, Jessie’s

mother has dominant characters that influence Jessie’s personality. She is considered

as a very silent mother. She is sometimes very sensitive and reclusive. Hugh, Jessie’s

husband is a responsible husband and father. His patience, care and mercy complete

him as a perfect father and husband. On Jessie’s journey, she meets a monk who can

show Jessie the meaning of existing. Whit is a young monk, he is tough, decisive,

and persistent monk.


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From the minor characters, she learns something that develops her

personality. From her mother she learns about loyalty to spouses and facing problem.

From her husband, she learns to forgive mistakes, being patient, and accepting an

unwanted situation. Jessie also learns something from the monk. She learns to

appreciate herself and to believe in her ability as an artist. From those people, she

learns to be someone better and tries to appreciate herself. She also learns to live

without her past experiences and past people’s influence. The main point is, Jessie

becomes someone who is more patient. She becomes more caring than egoistic. After

all, she becomes a tough and confident woman.

In conclusion, Jessie’s personality develops because of the other characters’

influence. The influence that is coming from people near her changes Jessie to be

someone better. That personality development results in Jessie’s ability to make a

decision about her next life. She takes the consequences for her mistakes. She is

ready for the chance that her husband might not forgive her mistake. She apologizes

and comes back to her husband. She decides to come back to her husband and will

not betray her husband anymore.

5.2 Suggestions

I divide this part in two sections. The first section is suggestion for the future

researcher who will take this novel as subject of the study. There are many elements

in the novel that can be explored. Character is one common problem that can be

discussed. In this thesis I take the main character as the object. However, there are

still other characters that are interesting to be discussed. The second part is

suggestion for teachers in implementing literature as a teaching subject.


52

There are advantages in implementing literature as a teaching subject. The

teaching learning activity will be achieved maximally, if the teacher is able to make

the student explore the content of the literary work well. On the other hand, literature

provides the reader with new knowledge, experience and value of life.

5.2.1 Suggestions for Future Researcher

In this thesis, I discussed the personality development of the main character.

Therefore, I focus the study in the main character’s personality before and after she

gets the influence from the minor characters. I also define the minor characters as

people who have a strong influence to the main character. From this study, I also

learn about people personality and factors that influence the personality

development.

The Mermaid Chair is such an interesting novel to discuss. It is about

forgiving and facing the unwanted condition in one’s life. This novel focuses on the

woman problem in her middle age marriage. My analysis is limited on the main

character’s personality development and the minor characters that influence the

personality. There are two interesting characters that can be discussed. Jessie and her

mother have interesting character to discuss. However, there are some elements in

the novel that can be discussed. Analyzing about the social life for a middle age

woman will be an interesting topic to discuss. The researcher can relate the

discussion with what is happening in the real life.

I suggest for the future researchers to consider Sue Monk Kidd’s work, since

she provides the reader with good novel and its relation with the real life. Moreover,

she is able to put a value that can be learned by the reader.


53

5.2.2 Suggestions for English Teacher

Literature deals with reflection of real life and experience. Moreover,

literature is dealing with the value of life. It is a good suggestion to implement

literature as a teaching material, since literature can be considered as an access to

cultural background, an encouragement to language acquisition and encouragement

for students to develop an understanding about exploring literary work.

According to Norbert Patcler (1999: 214-215) literary work provides a

cultural aspect of a certain country. For example, after reading the mermaid chair, the

readers will get a picture about the history of the mermaid chair itself. Through

literature readers can experience different views and appreciate other tradition and

belief different from our own.

Moreover, the most special aspect in literature is that literature speaks to

heart. It engages the reader’s emotion and imaginations. For example, a love affair,

not every person has the same interpretation and response about a love affair.

Therefore, through literature the student can challenge the reader to have their own

interpretation. Furthermore, by reading literature, students can find pleasure because

it is fun and it is not far from every day’s life.

By combining pleasure in reading and language knowledge, the students will

get advantages in developing their skill in reading and exploring a literary work.

Since the students are getting used to explore a literary work, it will give advantages

for students in understanding a simple reading. Moreover, the students will be able to

develop their sensibility to recognize a content of a literary work. Thus, I suggest the

mermaid chair as the reading material.


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5.2.2.1 The Teaching Extensive Reading by Using The Mermaid Chair

Basically, reading is an essential element in teaching learning activity.

Through reading, people are able to broaden their knowledge. According to JA

Bright GP McGregor (1970: 52), that even in literate society it is hard to imagine any

skilled work that does not require the ability to read. Professional competence

depends on it. Thus reading becomes an important element in teaching learning

activity.

According to Paulson and Bruder, there are two kind of reading, extensive

and intensive reading. The main focus in intensive reading is its language while in

extensive reading it focuses on student’s improvement in their knowledge to the

related topic.

I choose extensive reading because it is not only developing student’s

language skill but also knowledge about literary work. Moreover, it will also

challenge the student’s to give interpretation and idea about the story.

I would like to suggest the procedures to present the teaching – learning

activity in Extensive Reading class by using The Mermaid Chair The teacher asks

the students to form a group consist of four people.

1. The teacher distributes the passage to the students.

2. The teacher asks the students to work on the vocabulary list from the

teacher regarding to the passage.

3. The teacher asks the students to answer the question by discussing it

in the group.


55

4. The teacher asks the students to present the results of the discussion

and answer other students’ questions

5. The teacher gives the evaluation on the result

The example of teaching learning activity is using the passage from The

Mermaid Chair. It is provided in the Appendix 4.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abrams, M. H. 1981. A Glossary of Literature Terms. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winstom Inc.

Allen, H.B and, N.R. Cambell. 1972. Teaching English as A Second Language. New

York: McGraw-Hill, Inc Bright J.A. and G.P McGregor. 1970. Teaching English as a second language.

London Longman. Curry, Dean. 1988. Highlight of American Literature. Washington, DC: English

Language Program Division- USIA. Curry, Dean. 1988. Mind Speaks to Mind. Washington, DC: English Language

Program Division- USIA. Daniel, J. Levinson. 1978. The Season of a Man Life. New York: Alfred.A. knopt. Freidan, Betty. 1997. Feminine Mystique. New York, N.Y : W.W. Norton and

Company. inc Foster, E.M. 1974. Aspect of the Novel. Harmondsworth: Penguin Book Ltd. Holman, C. Hugh and Harmon, William. 1986. A Handbook to Literature. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. Hurlock. Elizabeth B 1974. Personality Development. New York : McGraw- Hill, Inc. Kalish, Richard. A. 1973. The Psychology of Human Behavior. Brooks and Cole

Publishing Co.

Gordon W. Allport. 1981. Personality and Social Encounter. United Stated of America: University of Chicago Press.

Milligan, Ian.1983. The Novel in English: An Introduction. London: The MacMillandPress.Ltd.

Murphy, M. J. 1972. Understanding Unseen: An Introduction to English Poetry and The English Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.

Patcler, Norbert. 1999 .Teaching Modern Foreign Languages, Mew Fetter Lane, London: Routledge


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Paulson, Bratt, Christina and Bruder, Mary Newton. 1976. Teaching English as A 2nd Language: Technique and Procedures. Toronto: Lottle, Brown and Company, Inc

Rohrberger, Mary; Woods, Samuel H. Jr. 1971. Reading and Writing about Literature. New York: Random House, Inc.

Ruch, Floyd L. 1963. Psychology and Life. Chicago: Scott Foresman.

Scull, Sharon. 1985. Critical Reading for Advanced ESL Student. New Jersey:

Prentice hall Inc.

The Internet Sources:

Http: //www.healthofchildren.com, accessed on July 04, 2007 at 10:57pm

Http: //www.Humanitiesweb.org, accessed on July 06, 2007 at 8:05 pm

Http: //www. Suemonkkidds.com


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Appendix 1

The Summary of The Mermaid Chair

By Sue Monk Kidd

This novel is about love, forgiveness and self existence in Jessie Sullivan life

journey. She is a very happy mother and wife but she feels she loses something in her

life. In her forty-two, she has a picture- perfect marriage, a very dependable husband

and a nice daughter called Dee. She was an artist, but now she is only a wife with a

perfect family.

Jessie’s journey begins in the winter of 1988 when she receives an early

morning call from her mother close friend, Kat. Kat is calling to ask Jessie to return

home to take care for Jessie’s mother. Nelle, Jessie’s mother, has deliberately cut her

own finger and done acts of self- violence. At first Jessie does not believe in Kat, but

she has a strong reason why she refuses to go home. The reason is her mother. Jessie

believes that her mother does not want her to come. The tragedy of the ship

explosion becomes the main reason of her refusal. She believes that the explosion

was caused by the pipe that she gave to her father in the father’s day. Jessie believes

that her mother has a deep revenge on her. However, Kat keeps persuading her to

visit her mother. Eventually, Jessie returns home to visit her mother.

As she arrives in the Egret Island, her home town, she recalls the memories

about her childhood. Her coming also reminds her about an Abbey. In Egret Island

there is an abbey called St Senora Abbey. There is a famous unique chair in the

Abbey. The chair is in the shape of a mermaid. Actually, the chair is a replica of a

very old famous chair in the abbey’s mother house. The chair is very special for


59

Jessie. When Jessie was still child, she used to play around the Abbey with her

brother Mike. Jessie and Mike were good partner. They like pretending to be

someone else when they played together. Jessie is very happy with those wonderful

memories. On the other hand, there is one memory, which keeps haunting her. It was

her father‘s death. She really loved her father, but she is assured that the cause of her

father’s ship explosion was the pipe that she gave to her father.

Jessie was spoiled by he father when she was child. Even, her father named

ship with Jessie’s name. He was the one who very loves Jessie. He used to sing a

song and tell a story to Jessie. Jessie used to sit on his lap to hear a story from him.

Her father was a figure that Jessie respects much.

Finally she arrives on Egret Island, her hometown. She comes home and

meets her mother, Nelle. Nelle is still cold as usual. She even asks Jessie why she

comes home. Actually, Nelle feels that she has been ignored by her two children for

five year. Jessie never visits her mother after her marriage and Mike is busy with his

family. Nelle lives alone, she is only accompanied with her best friend, Kat and

Hepzibah because of her loneliness, she devotes herself to the benediction. Nelle

cooks for the monks in the benediction.

After her husband died, Nelle becomes very silent and emotional. She is not a

humorous mother whom Jessie knew. Nelle’s strange attitude amazed Jessie. She

thinks that her mother is crazy, but she understands that it is just a hard pressure of

life that her mother faces. However, Jessie senses that it is related to her father’s

death. Even, Jessie has never communicated well with her mother since her father’s

death.


60

On her days in the Egret Island, she fills those days with taking care of her

mother and finding out the reason of her mother’s erratic behavior. In her mission to

figure out her mother’s secret she meets Whit. Whit is a monk who is about to take

his final vow. Jessie feels a strong chemical reaction in her heart. She sees Whit as

someone perfect and she adores every part of Whit. She adore the way he dresses,

the way he speaks even the way he treats her. She has the desire to meet Whit for the

second time.

Eventually, she meets and talks to Whit. They share things and they have a

chemical reaction. Jessie senses it is love. Suddenly, Jessie forgets her intention in

her hometown. She realizes that she is falling in love with a monk. Whit is someone,

who admits her existence as a woman. He is willing to hear Jessie’s opinion and

suggestion. Jessie never finds that kind of willingness in her husband. Then, Jessie

decides to live together with Whit. Jessie’s idea is disturbing Whit’s mind. He is torn

between his vow and his feeling to Jessie. Eventually, he decides to postpone his

vow.

On the other hand, Jessie also feels the same way as Whit. She is confused by

her dilemma. She does not want to lose both Hugh and Whit. Jessie asks for

separation and some times to be alone. Hugh cannot tolerate Jessie’s attitude, he is

very mad at Jessie. Jessie’s attitude does not make any sense. She never calls Hugh

and now she is asking for separation. However, Hugh tries to understand her wife

and he lets Jessie thinks about her decision. After Jessie’s confusion, she finally

explains her strange attitude to her husband. She admits that she has an affair.

Knowing the fact, Hugh feels so broken and depress. He cannot believe that he is

being hurt by her wife. He leaves Jessie and cries alone in his room.


61

Jessie is being faced with two problems, which are her marriage and her

mother strange behavior. One night, her mother suddenly cut her own finger for the

second time. Jessie is so confuse then she takes her mother to the hospital. Hugh

comes to accompany Jessie. They have a long talk, although it is weird but they are

trying to communicate each other. Surprisingly, it was the first time for Jessie hears

her husband asks her opinion. Suddenly, she recalls every memory with her husband

then she realizes that she does not want to lose him.

Days by days her mother recovers and she tells the truth about her erratic

behavior. The strange attitude is caused by her husband’s death. She does penance on

her husband’s death. She cuts her finger because she symbolizes fingers as a plant

that is used to kill her husband. Jessie’s father died is not because of the pipe, it is

because of her father’s sickness, which is called Dementia. It attacks the brain and

slowly kills the person. Her father does not want Jessie knows about his sickness, so

he decides to commit a suicide. He explodes the boat and has some people to help the

suicide.

Jessie is so mad with her mother because she lets Jessie to blame herself for

many years. She thinks that she is the murder of her father. The reality is that she is

not the one to blame. This condition opens Jessie’s mind. She could she how her

mother loves her father. Her accusation about her mother affair with father Dominic

was wrong.

On the other day, Jessie comes to see Whit. She tells him that she cannot

leave her husband. She closes her eyes and who she sees is her husband. She believes

that her feeling to Whit is just the feeling if needing. Whit also has the same opinion,

he believes that what he feels is a lone and Jessie comes on the right time. Jessie


62

needs someone to understand her existence and Whit needs someone to occupy the

absences of his wife. In fact, they cannot replace someone who is with them now

with someone else.

Eventually, Jessie comes back to Hugh. There is always Hugh who can

forgive her big mistakes, not anyone. Jessie learns many things from her experience.

She learns to appreciate in what she has got.

.

Taken from The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd


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Appendix 2 A Biography of Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd was born and raised in the tiny town of Sylvester, Georgia, which is tucked among the pinelands and red fields of Southwest Georgia, a place she has lovingly referred to it as "an enduring somewhere." Her writing has been deeply influenced by place, and she mined her experiences of growing up in Sylvester as she wrote The Secret Life of Bees, her first novel.

Sue discovered her longing to be a writer when she was a child listening to her father’s imaginative stories. In adolescence, encouraged by English teachers who described her as a "born writer," she began writing her own stories, as well as keeping prolific journals that chronicled her experiences, both internal and external, a practice she has continued throughout her life. Two books which she read at the age of fifteen- Thoreau’s spiritual memoir, Walden and Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening- had a deep impact on her and would foreshadow the course she herself would eventually take as a writer: writing spiritual memoir and novels.

Her hope for a career in writing was not without an early detour, however. In what Sue has called an "inexplicable twist that is partly due to a failure of courage and partly due to the cultural climate of the South in 1966," she chose a more traditional path when it came time to go to college. She majored in nursing and graduated in 1970 from Texas Christian University with a B.S. degree, then worked throughout her twenties as a registered nurse on surgical and pediatric hospital units and as a college nursing instructor. During that time, she married Sanford (Sandy) Kidd, a graduate student in theology, and they had two children, Bob and Ann.

Shortly before Sue turned thirty the pull to writing returned. She was living in Anderson, South Carolina where her husband Sandy was teaching at a small liberal arts college. She enrolled in writing classes with the intention of writing fiction, but was soon diverted to non-fiction when a personal essay she wrote for class was published in Guideposts Magazine and reprinted in Readers Digest. Wanting to help support her family, she began a career as a freelancer, writing personal experience articles, most of them inspirational and art of living pieces.

Sue found immediate success as a freelancer, becoming a Contributing Editor at Guideposts. It was there she claims to have cut her writing teeth, studying the craft of fiction- character, plot, dialogue, etc- in order to write her non-fiction narratives, and gradually finding her own unique voice and style. She published several hundred articles during her freelance days, primarily in Guideposts Magazine, but in numerous other publications, newspapers and journals.

It was during Sue’s thirties that she began to experience an intellectual and spiritual flowering. She embarked on a serious study of the classics of Western spirituality, philosophy, depth psychology and mythology, while also reading voluminous amounts of literary fiction. She became deeply influenced by work of the monk and poet, Thomas Merton and Swiss psychiatrist, C.G. Jung, which would impact her writing in the years ahead.

Her first book was a spiritual memoir describing her advent into contemplative Christian spirituality: God’s Joyful Surprise, published by Harper SanFrancisco in 1988. Her second book, When the Heart Waits, published by Harper


64

SanFrancisco in 1990, was met with critical acclaim and revealed a deepening of Sue’s voice. Rooted in contemplative spirituality, the memoir recounts her intense and vivid spiritual transformation.

Her most powerful awakening, however, still lay ahead of her. While in her early forties, Sue’s explorations and study took an unexpected turn into feminist theology. The result was The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, published in 1996 by Harper SanFrancisco. This bold and highly successfully memoir had a groundbreaking effect within religious circles, evoking an astonishingly passionate response. Another unforseen shift unfolded during Sue’s forties as her desire to write fiction returned. Feeling, by her own account, somewhat intimidated by the idea of pursing her original dream, she nevertheless took the leap, enrolling in a graduate writing course at Emory University, and studying at Sewanee, Bread Loaf and other writers’ conferences. She began by writing and publishing short stories in small literary journals. Soon she was garnering awards for her short fiction. (A list of Sue’s writing awards are compiled below)

In 1997 she began writing her first novel, The Secret Life of Bees, and worked on it for the next three and a half years. Published by Viking in 2002, it became a genuine literary phenomenon. A powerful story of coming-of- age, race-relations, the ability of love to transform our lives and the often unacknowledged longing for the universal feminine divine, the novel tells the story of a fourteen year old Lily, who runs away with her black housekeeper in 1964 in South Carolina and the sanctuary they both find in the home of three eccentric beekeeping sisters. The Secret Life of Bees has sold more than 3.5 million copies, spent over eighty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and been published in more than 20 languages. It was awarded the 2004 Book Sense Paperback book of the Year, nominated for the Orange Prize in England and chosen as Good Morning America’s Read This! Book Club pick. Taught widely now in college and high school class rooms, The Secret Life of Bees is fast becoming a modern classic. It has been produced on stage in New York by The American Place Theater and is being adapted into a movie by Focus Films.

Sue began writing her second novel, The Mermaid Chair in 2002, completing it in 2004. Published in the Spring of 2005, the novel explores a woman’s pilgrimage to self-belonging, the inner life of mid life marriage, and the little known region in the female soul where the sacred and the erotic intersect. Set on a South Carolina barrier island, it tells the beautiful and haunting story of 42 year old Jessie Sullivan, a married woman who falls in love with a Benedictine monk and the crisis and self- awakening this ignites.

Sue serves on the board of advisors for Poets & Writers, Inc. and works to support their efforts for the literary arts and their advocacy for emerging writers. She is Writer in Residence at Phoebe Pember House in Charleston. Today Sue lives beside a salt marsh near Charleston, South Carolina with her husband Sandy and their black lab, Lily. She writes in a book-lined, upstairs study where she can look out at the tidal creeks and marsh birds. She is at work on a new book.


65

Writing Awards

• 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year in paperback - The Secret Life of Bees. • Recipient of the inaugural Literature To Life award presented by The

American Place Theatre, New York, NY- 2004. • Nominated for the 2004 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

(Dublin, Ireland) for The Secret Life of Bees. • Winner of the 2003 SEBA Book of the Year for The Secret Life of Bees. • Finalist for the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Award for fiction -- The

Secret Life of Bees.

Finalist for the 2003 Boeke Prize in South Africa for The Secret Life of Bees.

• Nominated for the 2002 Orange Prize in England for The Secret Life of Bees. • Winner of the 1996 Poets & Writers Exchange Program in Fiction for South

Carolina. • 1993-1994 South Carolina Fellowship in Literature (Fiction) by the South

Carolina Arts Commission. • Citation in "100 Distinguished Stories" by Best American Short Stories 1994

for The Secret Life of Bees. • Citation in "100 Distinguished Stories" by Best American Short Stories 1996

for In the Graveyard of Afterbirth. • 1993 Katherine Anne Porter Second Prize in Fiction by the Nimrod/Hardman

Awards. • 1994 and 1996 South Carolina Academy of Authors Fellowships in Fiction

by the S.C. Academy of Authors. • 1993, 1995 and 1997 South Carolina Fiction Project Winner by the South

Carolina Arts Commission/ Charleston Post and Courier. • 1995 Bread Loaf Scholar in fiction, Bread Loaf Writers Conference,

Middlebury, VT. • Named to the 1994, 1995 and 1996 South Carolina Readers Circuit. • 1994 Isak Dineson Creative Non-Fiction Award.

1999 Literal Latte Creative Non-Fiction third prize. Adapted from: http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=820. accessed on November 11th 2007 at 4:07 pm


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Appendix 3

Syllabus of Extensive Reading II

EXTENSIVE READING II (KPE 315) 2CR/2CH.MKK.SEM IV

GOAL: students improve their reading skill through literary and works and scientific or journalism writings. TOPIC: Expository reading, literary works, text background, scientific writings, vocabulary LEARNING STRATEGIES: Reading exercise, discussion, individual/ group assignments EVALUATION: Quizzes, individual/ group assignment, mid-term test I and II, and final test. REFERENCES:

Curry, Dean. 1988. Highlight of American Literature. Washington, DC: English Language Program Division- USIA.

Curry, Dean. 1988. Mind Speaks to Mind. Washington, DC: English Language Program Division- USIA.

Scull, Sharon. 1985. Critical Reading for Advanced ESL Student. New Jersey: Prentice hall Inc.

(taken from Panduan Akademik Progran Studi Bahasa Inggris, p. 90)


67

Appendix 4

The Implementation of Teaching Extensive Reading

Material : The Mermaid Chair (pp.65-75)

Pre –reading Questions :

1. How much do you love your mother?

2. How is the relationship between mother and children nowadays in your

opinion?

Comprehensive questions :

1. From the text, how do you describe Jessie’s character?

2. Do you think that Jessie loves her mother? Prove it.

3. How is Jessie’s relationship with her mother?

4. In your opinion, how did Nelle treat her children when they were kid?

5. Do you think Nelle has a big influence toward Jessie’s way in treating her

children?

6. How do you describe the live of the monk there?

7. Who is Senara?

8. In page 74 there is a statement “if your mother says fish fly, just say, Yes,

ma’am, fish fly.”

Do you agree with that statement? Will you do the same thing as Jessie?


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LESSON PLAN

Subject : English Skill : Extensive Reading II Topic : Relationship between a mother and a daughter Level : 4th semester of English Department Student Material : The Mermaid Chair (pp 65 -75) Time Allocation : 2 x 50’

Basic Competencies

Achievement Indicators

Learning Experience Form of Evaluation

Reading - Comprehend

reading material and develop the critical thinking taken from a novel.

-Finding general ideas and information about the story. -Finding the specific information from the story. -Identifying the implied meanings in a story. -Discussing about the topic in a real life.

-The students read the passage given a week before. -The students make journal about the topic.

-The students answer the pre-reading questions, which focus them to the topic. -The students discuss the difficult words. -The students answer the question in a group. -The students discuss the answers with their friends. -The students read the answers aloud, then discuss the answers together with the lecturer -The students submit their answer sheets and the journal.

-Students’ participation and exercises.


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