THE IMPORTANCE OF INNER BEAUTY IN EDITH WHARTON’S THE

AGE OF INNOCENCE (1920):

A CULTURAL APPROACH

RESEARCH PAPER

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Getting Bachelor Degree of Education in English Department

by:

RIA TRISNAWATI

A320122002

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

SCHOOL OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF SURAKARTA

2016

ii

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this research paper titled “The Importance of Inner Beauty

in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence (1920): A Cultural Approach”

submitted to the Department of English Education, Muhammadiyah University

of Surakarta is a record of original work done by me under the guidance of Mr.

Dr. M. Thoyibi, MS.

The information and data shown in this research paper is authentic to the best of my

knowledge. This research paper is not submitted to any other university or

institution for the award of my degree, diploma or fellowship or published any time

before.

Surakarta, May 25, 2016

The Researcher

Ria Trisnawati

iii

THE IMPORTANCE OF INNER BEAUTY IN EDITH WHARTON’S THE

AGE OF INNOCENCE (1920):

A CULTURAL APPROACH

RESEARCH PAPER

by:

RIA TRISNAWATI

A320122002

Approved to be Examined by the Consultant

Consultant

Dr. M. Thoyibi, MS.

NIK. 410

vi

MOTTO

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

(Napoleon Hill)

Books are the mirrors of the soul. (Virginia Wolf)

If only we’d stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.

(Edith Wharton)

Don’t waste your time with explanations, people only hear what they

want to hear. (Paulo Coelho)

Beauty attracts the eyes, but personality captures the soul.

(Unknown Author)

There is no progress will be without the process standby.

(The Author)

vii

DEDICATION

I dedicate my research paper to my lovely family and friends. A special

feeling and gratitude to my beloved parents, Murdoko and Sri Paryanti, their

supports in advices and financial which always make me never want to disenchant

them both. My lovely older brothers, Ilham Nugroho and Sigit Handoko, who

never stop to suppport in each of my condition and they both are very special.

I dedicate this research paper and give special thanks to my gorgeous best

friend since I was young, Dhita Putri. Moreover, my beloved friends in English

Education Department 2012.

I also dedicate this paper to my dear future spouse. Wherever you are now,

I’m still waiting for you to show you this research paper someday.

The Researcher

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank to:

1. The God of everything, my Great Allah SWT.

2. Mrs. Mauly Halwat Hikmat, Phd. as the chief of English Education

Department.

3. Mr. Dr. M. Thoyibi, MS. as a literature lecturer and great consultant, thanks for

your sincerity and guidance, so I can finish my research paper.

4. My beloved parents, Murdoko and Sri Paryanti. I never stop thanking to you for

everything you have done. Starting from raising me well, from I know nothing

to already I now, teaching me about the meaning of life in this world,

supporting whatever I choose with your advice exactly, and helping me in

financial without any complain.

5. My lovely older brothers, Ilham Nugroho and Sigit Handoko. Thanks to support

me and be my second parents in each of my condition. I learn so many from

you both in being the useful person and not easily to surrender.

6. My special one, in my time of waiting for you, you give me more chances to be

a better person, to learn more lessons, before we meet someday.

7. My pretty bestfriends, Dhita Putri and Sherly Oktaviana, thanks for

accompanying me since we were youth.

8. My beloved ex-roommates Gitti Febriani and Whenny Trijay, I thank you so

much. Thanks for taking care of me. So grateful for every moment we have

spent and share together. It was memorable moment spending a year in the

same roof with you.

9. My close friends Nina, Khasa, Ida, Arga, Restu, Armes, Satya, Wahyu, Etika,

Siti, and Galih thanks for cheering me up, supporting, accompanying,

motivating, and remembering me without any tired.

ix

10. My dear friends in English Education Department 2012, thanks for every

moment we already shared.

11. My whole friends who cannot be mentioned here one by one, thanks for

motivating and supporting me.

With Love,

The Researcher

x

ABSTRACT

This research aims to analyze the value of beauty inside the women called

inner beauty based on Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence, to identify the types of

beauty in a woman, to analyze the characteristics of outer and inner beauty of May

and Ellen, and to reveal the reason Edith Wharton emphasizes the story on her novel

about the inner beauty by means of Cultural approach. The type of this research is

descriptive qualitative. The researcher gets the data from the novel includes the

narration, monologue, and dialogue between each characters. The techniques of

collecting the data are reading the data repeatedly, taking notes, underlying the

important words, arranging the data, selecting the data, and drawing conclusion. The

technique of data analysis is descriptive interactive which comprises three

procedures, namely: data reduction, data display, and conclusion. The results of this

research show: 1) the type of beauty in women reflected in The Age of Innocence

novel. 2) the characteristcs of the inner and outer beauty. 3) the importance of inner

beauty in women which is illustrated by Edith Wharton through her novel.

Keyword: beauty, characteristic, Cultural approach, Edith Wharton, The age of

innocence, type

xi

ABSTRAK

Karya tulis ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis nilai kecantikan dari dalam diri wanita

atau inner beauty berdasarkan novel dari Edith Wharton yang berjudul The Age of

Innocence, untuk mengidentifikasi tipe-tipe kecantikan dalam diri wanita, untuk

menganalisis karakteristik dari kecantikan luar dan dalam dari sisi May dan Ellen,

dan untuk mengungkapkan alasan Edith Wharton menekankan cerita dalam novelnya

tentang inner beauty dengan menggunakan teori Cultural Approach. Karya tulis

ilmiah ini menggunakan deskriptif kualitatif. Peneliti mendapatkan data dari novel

meliputi narasi, monolog, dan dialog antar tokoh. Teknik pengumpulan data dengan

cara membaca berulang-ulang, membuat catatan kecil, memahami kata-kata penting,

menyusun data, menyeleksi data, dan membuat kesimpulan. Teknik data analisis

adalah deskriptif interaktif yang terdiri dari tiga prosedur, yaitu: data reduction, data

display, and conclusion. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan: 1) tipe kecantikan

dari diri seorang wanita yang terdapat dalam novel The Age of Innocence. 2)

karakteristik dari kecantikan luar dan dalam. 3) pentingnya inner beauty dalam diri

wanita yang direfleksikan oleh Edith Wharton melalui novelnya.

Kata kunci: beauty, characteristic, Cultural approach, Edith Wharton, The age of

innocence

xii

PREFACE

In order to reveal the attractive things inside a woman, there is a beauty which

can and cannot be seen in naked eyes. Beauty means different in this world, so many

types of beauty in a woman. The attractive things that can be seen through the

perception of others can be used to reveal a beautiful woman. The women’s beauty

deals with their characters, looked from their minds, attitudes, manner, and how they

appreciate each other. Every woman has her own characters of beauty to be kept in,

that characters can be built by the values and culture of society. Inner and outer

beauty are the characteristics of the truly beautiful women. This paper will discuss

the importance of inner beauty by using Cultural approach.

The researcher still needs critiques and suggestion for this research paper that

may not perfect yet. It will help the writer in writing a better thing for the next

occasion. By reading this paper, I hope you can take your understand. Happy

reading!.

The Researcher

xiii

Content TITLE ............................................................................................................................ i

DECLARATION ......................................................................................................... ii

ACCEPTANCE...........................................................................................................iii

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................ iv

TESTIMONY ............................................................................................................... v

MOTTO ...................................................................................................................... vi

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................ viii

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. x

PREFACE .................................................................................................................. xii

CONTENT ................................................................................................................ xiii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1

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

B. Problem Statement ........................................................................................... 5

C. Objectives of the Study .................................................................................... 5

D. Limitation of the Study .................................................................................... 6

E. Benefit of the Study ......................................................................................... 6

F. Paper Organization ........................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER II. LITERARY REVIEW.......................................................................... 8

A. Previous Studies .............................................................................................. 8

B. Underlying Theory ......................................................................................... 10

1. Notion of Cultural Theory .............................................................................. 10

2. Beauty ............................................................................................................. 11

a. Notion of Beauty ...................................................................................... 11

b. Characteristics of Beauty ......................................................................... 13

1) Outer Beauty........................................................................................ 14

2) Inner Beauty........................................................................................ 15

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHOD ................................................................... 18

A. Type of the Study .......................................................................................... 18

B. Object of the Study ........................................................................................ 18

C. Type of the Data and the Data Source ........................................................... 18

D. Technique of the Data Collection ................................................................. 19

E. Technique of the Data Analysis ..................................................................... 19

xiv

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .................................................... 20

A. Main Finding ..................................................................................................... 20

1. Beauty ............................................................................................................. 20

a. American Beauty........................................................................................ 21

b. European Beauty........................................................................................ 24

2. Characteristics of Beauty ............................................................................... 30

a. Beauty Characters of May.......................................................................... 30

b. Beauty Characters of Ellen........................................................................ 38

3. The Importance of Inner Beauty .................................................................... 54

B. Discussion..........................................................................................................59

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION .............................................. 61

A. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 61

B. Suggestion ...................................................................................................... 64

C. Pedagogical Implication ................................................................................. 64

BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................................................65