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FEMINISM VALUES IN EMILY DICKINSON’S SELECTED POEMS
THESIS
Submitted to the Board Examiner
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement
For Literature Degree at English Literature Department
By:
FERA RAMADANI
AI 150296
ENGLISH LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
ADAB AND HUMANITIES FACULTY
THE STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SULTAN THAHA SAIFUDDIN JAMBI
2019
i
ii
iii
iv
MOTTO
Meaning:
And the believers, men and women, are protector one of another; they enjoin what
is just, and forbid the wrong, they observe regular charity, and obey Allah and His
Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy; for Allah is exaltedin power,
Wise.
(Q.S At-Taubah:71).1
Artinya:
Dan orang-orang yang beriman, bahwa lelaki dan wanita, sebagian mereka
menjadi penolong bagi sebagian yang lain. Mereka menyuruh (berbuat) yang
makruf, dan mencegah dari yang munkar, melaksanakan sholat, menunaikan
zakat, dan taat kepada Allahdan Rasul-Nya. Mereka akan diberi rahmat oleh Allah
swt. Sungguh Allah Maha Perkasa lagi Maha Bijaksana
(Q.S At-Taubah:71)2
1 The Noble Qur’an. (2016). Qur’an.com Retrieved from https://www.quran.com
Accessed Date: November 9th 2019 at 10.00 PM
2 https://quran.kemenag.go.id/ Accessed Date: November 9th 2019 at 10.15 PM
https://www.quran.com/https://quran.kemenag.go.id/
v
DEDICATION
In the name of Allah SWT most gracious and merciful
I thanks to Allah SWT who has blessed and strenght on me so I can accomplish
this thesis. Shalawat and salam to prophet Muhammad SAW who brought
human’s life to a better life and to a beautiful word.
This thesis writer dedicated to my beloved father and mother who have taught me
to be an full of spirit person and independent person to lead this life and to finish
this thesis in appropriate time, they have guided me and given me all that I need
from the beginning to the end of my study. I am sorry because I could not bring
that things back to you, Iam promise I will be best daughter of you have ever had.
I am also dedicated this thesis to my best sisters, my sweet brother, my cool
brothers in law, and my strong future husband that always support me in whether
conditions. No words that meaning in worldwide, and also I dedicated this thesis
to people who have never left me alone. May Allah’s blessings abound for us all.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Fristly, the writer wants to say Alhamdulillahirobbil Alamin, all the pries
belong to Allah SWT. the lord of all creatures, for his blessing from starting
session of my study until now the end of my study. And then, sholawat and salam
be upon to our massager, the son of Abdullah, Prophet Muhammad SAW for the
gaudiness and strengthens. Hopefully we will get his syafa’at later as the last day.
Secondly, the writer would like to say thanks to people who helped the writer in
writing this thesis. The writer wants to say thank to my parents and my
supervisors: Ulfatmi Azlan, SS,MA and Tira Mariana, SS,M.Hum who has
helped, guided, supported, suggested, and advised me. And also I want to say
thanks for all suggestion and supporting that help the writer in direct or indirect
cases to finish this last study program.
To accomplish this thesis, the writer had been given one great deal to many
people. So this present writer would like to say thanks for their contribution, they
are:
1. Prof. Dr. H. Suaidi, MA, Ph.D. as a rector of State Islamic University of
Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi.
2. Dr. H. Fadillah, M.Pd, as the third rector of State Islamic University of
Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi.
3. Prof. Dr. Maisah, M.Pd.I as the dean of Adab and Humanities Faculty.
4. Dr. Alfian, M.Ed as vice dean of academic Dr. H. M. Fadhil M.Ag as the
vice dean of finances and Dr. Raudhoh M.Pd.I as the vice dean of University
Student of Adab and Humanities Faculty.
5. The Head of English Literature Department Ulfatmi Azlan, SS., MA.
6. The Secretary of English Literature Department Dian Mukhlisa, MA.
7. All the lectures and staffs of Adab and Humanities Faculty, the
contribution and assistance during studying In UIN of Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin
Jambi.
8. The head and officers of the library of UIN and public library of Jambi
Province.
9. All of my BSI B and BSI A friend
vii
10. The last but not least, to my beloved parent, sister and brother who gave
supporting and love to the writer sincerely.
This thesis is far from perfection, the writer needs some critics and
suggestion, so that the writer can be better in the future. Finally, the writer hopes
this thesis will give positive contributions for readers, especially for the students
of English Literature Department of Adab and Humanities Faculty.
Jambi, November Th 2019
The writer
Fera Ramadani
AI. 150296
viii
ABSTRACT
Fera Ramadanni. 2019 : Feminism Values in Emily Dickinson’s Selected
Poems. The Students of English Literatur Department,
Adab and Humanities Faculty, University of Islamic
Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi.
Supervisor I : Ulfatmi Azlan, SS, MA
Supervisor II : Tira Mariana, SS, M.Hum
Feminism, belief in social, economic and political equality of both sexes.
Although mostly from the west, feminism is manifested throughout the world and
represented by various institutions committed to activities in the name of woman
rights and interests. The author is interested in discussing feminism because one
of the interesting thing about feminism is that patriarchy has failed to oppress
women in science. Many female scientists have made significant discoveries and
provided knowledge with interesting new facts. The objectives of this study are:
(1) to describe the categories of feminism, (2) to find out the historical
background of poetry.
In this study , the authors use the kind of feminism by Abbott & Wallace as
major theories and Rosmarie Tong’s theories as supporting theories to answer
research problems. Author also use biographycal approuch by Wellek & Warren
to help answer the problem in this study. This research is a qualitative research
that focuses on qualitative research by Hill Way in Kaelan and uses descriptive
method by Surakhmad.
. The author found in the research that: (1) there are five kinds of feminism
values contained in Emily Dickinson’s chosen poetry, namely liberal feminism,
radikal feminism, marxis feminism, materialist feminism, and dual-system
feminism, (2) in her work, Emily tells a lot about her life and the events around
her became the connection between the background of Emily’s poetry.
Keywords : feminism, Abbott and Wallace, poetry
ix
ABSTRAK
Fera Ramadani, 2019 : Feminism Values in Emily Dickinson’s Selected
Poems. Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Adab dan Humaniora,
Universitas Islam Negeri Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi.
Pembimbing I : Ulfatmi Azlan, SS, MA
Pembimbing II : Tira Mariana, SS, M.Hum
Feminisme, kepercayaan pada kesetaraan sosial, ekonomi, dan politik dari
kedua jenis kelamin. Meskipun sebagian besar berasal dari Barat, feminisme
dimanifestasikan di seluruh dunia dan diwakili oleh berbagai lembaga yang
berkomitmen untuk kegiatan atas nama hak dan kepentingan perempuan. Penulis
tertarik untuk membahas feminisme karena salah satu hal menarik dari feminisme
adalah patriarki telah gagal menindas perempuan dalam sains. Banyak ilmuwan
wanita telah membuat penemuan signifikan dan memberikan ilmu pengetahuan
dengan fakta-fakta baru yang menarik. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah: (1) untuk
menguraikan kategori feminisme, (2) untuk mengetahui latar belakang sejarah
puisi.
Pada penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan jenis-jenis feminisme dari Abbott
& Wallace sebagai teori besar dan teori Rosmarie Tong sebagai teori pendukung
untuk menjawab masalah penelitian. Peneli juga menggunakan pendekan biografi
dari Wellek and Warren guna membantu menjawab masalah dalam penelitian ini.
Penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif yang berfokus pada penelitian kualitatif
oleh Hill Way di Kaelan dan menggunakan metode deskriptif oleh Surakhmad.
Penulis menemukan pada penelitian bahwa: (1) ada lima jenis feminis yang
terdapat dalam puisi terpilih Emily Dickinson yaitu liberal feminis, radikal
feminis, marxis feminis, materialis feminis dan dual sistem feminis (2) dalam
hasil karya nya, Emily banyak menceritakan tentang kehidupanya dan kejadian
yang ada disekitarnya yang mana ini menjadi hubungan antara latar belakang
kehidupan Emily dengan hasil karya nya.
Kata kunci: Feminism, Abbott and Wallace, Puisi
x
TABLE OF CONTENT
PAGE OF TITLE
APPROVAL ……………………………………………………............... i
LETTER OF RATIFICATION ………………………………............... ii
ORIGINAL THESIS STATEMENT…………….…………….............. iii
MOTTO ………………………………………………………................. iv
DEDICATION …………………………………………………............... v
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ……………………………………….............. vi
ABSTRACT ....…………………………………………………............... vii
ABSTRAK ……………………………………...…………….................. viii
TABLE OF CONTENT ………………………………………................ ix
ABBREVIATION……………………………………………….............. x
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Problem ………………………….................... 1
B. Formulation of the Problem ……………………..……………….. 4
C. Limitation of the Problem …………………..…………………..... 4
D. Purpose of the Problem ………………..………………………..... 5
E. Significance of the Problem ………..…………………………….. 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Feminism Theory...………………………..……………………… 6
B. Definition of Feminism ………………..…….…………………… 6
C. History of Feminism ..……………..……………..……………… 7
D. Kinds of Feminism …………………..…………………………… 8
E. Biographical Approach …………...……………………………… 18
F. Poetry …………………………...………...............……………… 19
G. Review of Related Research ……...…………..………………….. 20
CHAPTER III: METHOD OF THE RESEARCH
A. Design of the Research ………………………………....………... 24
xi
B. Source of Data Collection …………...……………...……………. 25
C. Technique of Data Collection ………......………....……………… 26
D. Technique of Data Analysis ……………...…....………………….. 27
CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND ANALYSIS
A. Kinds of Feminism …………………………....….….…………… 29
B. Emily Dickinson’s Background …………....……….……………. 36
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
A. Conclusions ……………………………………………....………. 40
B. Suggestions …………………....……………………....…………. 40
REFERENCES
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
APPENDIX III
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Problem
According to Wayne Shumaker3, poetry is “the idea or mind of the poets are
flowing as a media to express a certain kinds of perceptions, feelings, and
thoughts”. Poetry is one of the literary works which has characteristic. The
characteristics which make it different from another literary work. Poetry is
written in different ways. Poetry is the result of human creativity that is
manifested through the arrangement words which have meaning. Poetry is also
composed of diverse elements variety. These elements include a form of words,
shapes, patterns of rhyme, rhythm, ideas, or issues gained significance in the life
of the poet and life to be conveyed to the reader, listener, through techniques and
specific aspects. The language which uses in poetry is also different. The poem
reader cannot understand the meaning of the poem easily because every person
will have different understanding about one poem.
For poets, a poem is a media to express their feelings based on the situation,
condition, and imagination. All poets have their own characteristic in written.
Some of them usually use nature as the object of their poem. Some of them also
use love, affection, and friendship as the object. On the other hand, there are some
poets who use their life experience in their written. Whether it is good or bad
experience in their life. The poets sometimes use poem as the social criticm in the
society in that era. In this study, the researcher chooses poetry to be analyzed
because poetry is a literary work full of imagination which is very entertains.
Nowadays, there are so many poems which is written by using
discrimination and segregation as the subject because of the condition which
appears in the society. Besides, there are some women poets who write poems by
using feminism touches. For example, the image of woman in the society, the
position of women among the men, and the discriminations which occur in the
3 Shumaker. W. (1965). An Approach to Poetry. United States of America: Pretince-Hall,
Inc. Englewood. Cliffs. N. J. P.10
2
women’s life. Some people try to describe that theme by using feminism
perspective.
In 19th century era, women’s activities were limited. They could not give
their opinions or reveal their feelings. In that era men in the family were the one
who had the control. Then for the daughter in the family, she must obey her father
without any conflict, she should do what the father said and asked her to do. It
means that women are passive ones and men are active since women were
considered as the second gender after the first gender which was men. This makes
women want to have equal liberty, so that they can choose anything in their lives.
By having equal liberty between men and women, women can life their live by
choosing their own decission.
After the feminist movement, in this era the situation that happened in the
nineteenth century, when the society used patriarchy system, rarely happens, the
social system in which women are inferior, today in many case women are
superior. Most women already have their freedom to choose their life, it is the era
when the gender equality exists, in which men and women are in the same
position and have the same right to express themselves. They have the same
opportunity of life, and they already have individual autonomy. Yet not all women
in this era already have the same opportunity with men. There still existing of
female descrimination. The reflection of the equality between men and women
can be found or reflected in literary works. One of the literary works that can
reflect feminism perspective in Emily Dickinson’s poem.
Emily Dickinson is one of America’s greatest and most original poets of all
time. She took definition as her province and challenged the existing definitions
of poetry and the poet’s work. Born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst,
Massachusetts, Emily Dickinson left school as a teenager, eventually living a
reclusive life on the family homestead. There, she secretly created bundles of
poetry and wrote hundreds of letters. Due to a discovery by sister Lavinia,
Dickinson's remarkable work was published after her death—on May 15, 1886, in
3
Amherst—and she is now considered one of the towering figures of American
literature.4
Talk about feminism, Dickinson’s wrote many poetry where tell about
feminism. Dickinson’s tell how it has been started from how the feminism was
formed, until the problematic on it, including pro and contra of the people in
figuring out the feminism itself. Begun by sympathy on the assumption that
women physically are weak, but everyone have the awareness and softness. In
other hand, men have stronger physic, and rationality. Based on this
consideration, it causes the division of role. Dickinson as a women try to explain
how suffering from a woman when she cannot fulfill her wishes.
This this one of the example of Emily Dickinson's poems that show the power of
her life and woman:
“I’m “wife”-I’ve finished that
That other sate-
I’m Czar-I’m “woman” now-
It’s safer so-
How odd the Girl’s life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse-
I think that Earth feel so
To folks in Heaven-now-“5
Based on the example above, "I'm wife, I’ve finished that” it showed the
woman’s difference of freedom when they are married and do not married yet. It
is not amazing if this poetry is connected to feminist. Based on these lines above,
Dickinson presents a very intricate approach to marriage. Although everybody
knows that Dickinson had not married yet, she can show how the situation of both
of them. Dickinson did not marry, but what perhaps is most poignant and really
more the issue is not her ignorance and bitterness towards the married state but
after girlhood, there is only marriage, and since she is not married. The line "it's
safer so" shows she is in flux having never been married and never having a
4 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.biography.com/.amp/writer/emily-dickinson.
Accesed Date: March, 20th 2019. 01:00 PM 5 DiYanni Robert. (2006). Literature. English:McGraw-Hill Education. P.830
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.biography.com/.amp/writer/emily-dickinson
4
domineering male force in her life, except her constant issue with her
religion/faith, of course, dominated by men then.
According to her biographical this poetry was made on the 19th century, the
condition where she lived did not see women as individual thinking beings, but
rather as someone who derives he identity initially from her parents and later from
her husband her poem reflects a woman's experiences of identity troubles and her
desire to free herself from the clutches of male-dominated society.
Hence, the writer would analyze this research for some reasons. Firstly, Emily
Dickinson’s poems, because Emily Dickinson was the important female poet after
Sylvia Plath in American literature. As a popular poet in American literature,
Emily Dickinson made an influence in her era. Secondly, it is important to study
feminism in order to understand the poem properly because it give us knowledge
about the struggle and power of women, and the ability of women which is can be
same event more than man.
Based on the explanation above, the writer analyzed feminism in poems entitled
Feminism Values in Emily Dickinson’s Selected Poems.
B. Formulation of the Problem
In this research, the writer formulates the problem of this research into the
following questions:
1. What are kinds of feminism portrayed in Emily Dickinson’s poems?
2. How does Emily Dickinson’s background influence her poems?
C. Limitation of the Problem
The writer limits this research on five selected poems entitled: I’m ‘Wife’,
I’ve finished that-, She rose to His requirement, Title divine- is mine!, I asked no
other thing, and Rearrange a ‘Wife’ affection! the writer focused to discuss only
on the kinds of feminism by Pamela and Claire’s theory and Emily Dickinson’s
background influence based on biographical approach Jacob Sumardjo and Saini
K. M’s theory.
5
D. Purpose of the Research
1. To find out the kind of feminism exist in Emily Dickinson’s poems
2. To find out the Emily Dickinson’s background that influence her poems
E. Significant of Research
In this research, the writer will find the feminism values in selected poems
of Emily Dickinson. The writer expects the result of this research will provide the
reader some knowledge about feminism values, the reader can know the struggle
and power of women, to inform readers about the ability of women which is can
be same event more than man, and to inform how equality of rights belongs to all
human beings so with the hope that after reading this thesis the social life can
understand that no human can become God just because their can rebuke other
people’s live.
At the end of this research, the result of this research can give contribute to
the literature field, this research will be used as the reference for other studies in
the case of feminism. Furthermore, the writer hopes this research can contribute to
the literary field, especially in the English Literature Department.
6
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Feminist Theory
1. The Definition of Feminism
Etymologically feminist comes from the word femme, meaning a female
who seeks to fight for the rights of women (plural) as a social class. In this
connection, it is necessary to distinguish between male and female (as aspects of
biological differences, as nature), masculine and feminine (as aspects of
psychological and cultural differences). In other words, male-female refers to sex,
whereas feminism is referring to sex or gender, as he and she6. Thus, feminist
objectives are a balance, gender interrelation in the broadest sense, feminists are
women's movements to reject everything that is marginalized, subordinated, and
demeaned by dominant cultures, both in politics and economics and social life in
general. Wilfred al Guerin said Feminism has often focused upon what is absent
rather than what is present, reflecting concern with the silencing and
marginalization of women in patriarchal culture, a culture organized in the favor
of men, feminism is an overtly political approach and can attack another approach
for their false assumption about women".7
In a narrower sense, that is in literature, feminism is associated with ways of
understanding literature both in terms of both production processes and
receptions. The Emancipation of women is thus one aspect in its relation to
equality of rights. In contemporary social sciences better known as the movement
of gender equality in reality only sex, as male-female is determined by nature,
biologically. In contrast, genes derived from gender and masculine-feminine are
culturally determined as a result of the reorganization of the material and
ideological superstructure. Therefore, femininity is a cultural psychological
understanding.
6 Kutha. Nyoman Ratna. (2015). Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar. P. 184. 7 Wilfred I. Guerin, et.al. (2005). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature Fifth
Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. P.222
7
So many researchers of Feminism theory, but in this research writer will use
Pamela Abbott and Claire Wallace. Pamela Abbott and Claire Wallace say how
important education for women and the role of women in the country as educators
of children and male companions. In her book An Introduction to Sociology
Feminist Perspectives also emphasizes that women are human beings who are
entitled to basic rights as men.
2. History of Feminism
As a modern movement, early born-century feminism pioneered by Virginia
Woolf. Very rapidly, as one aspect of the contemporary cultural theory, occurred
in 1960.8 The analysis model is very diverse, highly contextual, related to social,
political, and economic aspects. Feminist is the belief that women should have an
equal right to men. In consequence, the feminist movement fights for equal rights
and opportunities for women. Feminist theory is a major branch of theory within
sociology that is distinctive for how its creators shift their analytic lens,
assumptions, and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience.
In early 1872, there was a major intervention by Gloria Steinem, the
doyenne of American feminism for nearly four decades, who in an incendiary
New York Time op-ed de-fending Hillary declared that “gender is probably the
most restricting force in American life” -another highly question-able
generalization.9 So many movements against the defense of women at that time
that showed this is not absolved young men from their duty to behave honorably.
Hooliganism cannot be tolerated. But we must stop seeing everything in life
through the narrow lens of gender. If women expect equal treatment in society, the
must stop asking for infantilizing special protections. With freedom comes
personal responsibility.
8 Camille Paglia.(2008) Feminism Past and Present: Ideology, Action, and Reform. Harvard
University. P.2. 9 Camille Paglia. Feminism Past and Present: Ideology, Action, and Reform. P.3
8
3. Kind of Feminist
We have identified seven feminist perspectives: liberal/reformist, marxist,
radical, dual-systems, postmodernist/post-structuralist, materialist and Black
feminist.10
1. Liberal/Reformist Feminist
Historically, liberal feminism has been concerned to argue for equal
rights for women – for women to have the same citizenship rights as men.
Equal Rights feminists have fought against laws and practices that give
rights to men and not women, or which are designed to ‘protect’ women.
Recognizing that mere formal equality is insufficient, they have also
advocated the passing of laws to outlaw discrimination against women and
to give women rights in the workplace such as maternity leave and pay.
Women, they argue, are human beings; they have the same
inalienable natural rights as men. A woman’s sex is irrelevant to her rights;
women are capable of full rationality and therefore are entitled to full human
rights. However, in Western industrial societies women are discriminated
against on the basis of sex; that is, certain restrictions are placed on women
as a group without regard to their own individual wishes, interests, abilities
and needs. Women are denied equal rights with men, and as a group are not
allowed some freedoms that men as a group are permitted to enjoy.
Furthermore, while men are judged on merit as individuals, women tend to
be judged on their accomplishments as females – that is, they are denied the
same right as men to pursue their own interests.
In sociology, liberal/reformist feminists have been concerned to
demonstrate that the observable differences between the sexes are not innate
but a result of socialization and ‘sex-role conditioning’.11
10 Abbott. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. (2005). An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist
Perspective. Routledge: London and New York. P.24 11 Abbott. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.24-25
9
2. Radical Feminism
Radical feminists argue that women’s oppression is primary and
fundamental. Patriarchy, an elaborate system of male domination which
pervades all aspects of culture and social life, is seen as trans-historical. All
women are oppressed irrespective of historical, cultural, class or racial
differences. The family is seen as a key instrument of the oppression of
women, through sexual slavery and forced motherhood – through male
control of women’s bodies. Radical feminists do not, on the whole, deny
biological differences between men and women, but they challenge the
meanings given to them. Women’s oppression is seen as rooted either in
women’s biological capacity for motherhood or in the innate, biologically
determined aggression of the male, as manifested in rape.
The central tenet of radical/revolutionary feminists is that gender
inequalities are the outcome of an autonomous system of patriarchy and that
gender inequalities are the primary form of social inequality. They argue
that there has always been a sexual division of labour underpinning and
reinforcing a system of male domination. Patriarchy is a universal system in
which men dominate women. Radical feminism is primarily a revolutionary
movement for the emancipation of women. Its exponents argue that no area
of society is free from male definition, and consequently every aspect of
women’s lives currently accepted as ‘natural’ has to be questioned and new
ways of doing things found. Theory, they argue, is not a separate area of
activity, carried out by an elite, but is an integral aspect of feminist practice.
Theory arises out of practice and is continually measured against experience
and continually reformulated. The revolution, for radical feminists, begins
here and now, by women taking positive action to change their lives and to
remove oppression.
Radical and revolutionary feminism is not a unified area. There are
three major issues within it:
10
a. The relationship between feminist politics and personal sexual
conduct – a key question being whether women can continue to live
with men, or whether separation is essential;
b. Whether sex differences are biologically or socially constructed;
c. The political strategy that should be adopted – withdrawal or
revolution.
Radical feminists do, however, reject the view that women’s
subordination is anything to do with their biological inferiority. They
reject the idea that the victim (woman) is to blame. Those who do argue
for a biological explanation argue that male biology is to blame: men are
naturally aggressive and use their aggression to control women (as, for
example, in rape). Mary Daly, in Gyn/Ecology: the metaethlcs of radical
feminism (1978), documents the horrors of the ways in which men have
used aggression to control women. She cites Indian suttee, Chinese foot
binding, African genital mutilation, European witch hunts and American
gynecology as examples of ways in which men have abused women and
used violence to control them (and continue to do so).
These feminists encourage women to create a new identity for
themselves founded on ‘true’ femaleness, based in the biological nature of
women which has been distorted by patriarchy. Women are encouraged to
celebrate a new female creativity, based on sisterhood and self-
identification. They reject androgyny because they argue that the most
valuable qualities are those that are specific to women. Also, because men
dominate women even in the most intimate of relationships, women must
live separately from men. The ideal, they argue, is for women to live freed
from patriarchy, which divides and mutilates them.
Radical feminism has uncovered the ways in which even the most
intimate and personal relationships are political – that is, are power
relationships. Also they have documented the universality of patriarchal
relationships. However, they have failed to explain adequately the ways in
which women are subordinated and exploited by men. They fail to take
11
sufficient account of the different forms that patriarchal relationships have
taken in different societies. They also tend to discount the differences that
exist in the experiences of women from different social classes. Radical
feminist biological explanations, while very different from those
developed by male stream theorists, are equally reductionist and fail to
take account of ideology and culture. Also they give the opportunity for
sociobiological theories to be developed as a counter to the feminist ones –
ones that argue that women’s role as presently constituted is naturally
determined. However, not all radical feminists accept biological theories,
arguing that they are developed to justify the subordination of women and
that it is necessary to challenge the argument that there are two
biologically determined sexes.12
3. Marxist Feminism
Marxist feminism has developed out of the attempts by women to
develop Marxist theory so that it provides an adequate explanation for the
subordination and exploitation of women in capitalist societies. Marxist
feminists recognize that Marxism is inadequate as it stands and needs to be
developed in order to explain adequately why women are excluded from the
public sphere and are the main unpaid workers in the domestic sphere. They
have also had to deal with the ‘fact’ that women did not become
subordinated under capitalism but were subordinated already, and with the
strong suspicion that the overthrow of the capitalist mode of production
would not result in the emancipation of women. However, while they
recognize that the struggle between the sexes is not reducible to the class
struggle, they give primacy to the latter. For Marxist feminists the defining
feature of contemporary society is capitalism, within which women are
subject to a special form of oppression which is mainly the effect of their
exclusion from wage labour and of their role in the domestic sphere
reproducing the relations of production. That is, women’s unpaid work in
12 Abbott. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.25-27
12
caring for the labour force and raising the next generation of workers
benefits capitalism and is essential to its continuation. The main beneficiary
of women’s unpaid labour is capitalism, although individual men also
benefit to some extent.
The key to women’s oppression, she suggests, is the
‘family/household’ system, a complex which includes a social structure and
a given ideology – familialism. The household is made up of a number of
people, usually biologically and legally related, who live together and share
domestic arrangements. Familial ideology defines the nuclear family as
‘naturally’ based and universal, and specifies a ‘natural’ division of labour
such that the man is seen as the provider of economic resources and the
woman as the carer and provider of unpaid domestic labour. This
family/household system is not an inevitable aspect of capitalist society but
has come to form a historically constituted element of class relations. It was
not inevitable, but emerged through a historical process in which an
ideology that maintained that a woman’s natural role is as a domestic
labourer – that is, as a wife and mother – became incorporated into capitalist
relations of production. This ideology came in part from pre-capitalist views
of a woman’s place, but mainly developed because it fitted the way in which
bourgeois family relations had become established with the emergence of
industrial capitalism. This ideology, Barrett argues, became accepted by the
organized working class in the early nineteenth century. The
family/household system became established in the mid-nineteenth century
as a result of an alliance of craft unions and capitalists, both arguing that
women should be excluded from the labour force and that man should earn a
family wage. Thus the male fight for a family wage and protective
legislation passed by the state eliminated the low-waged competition from
women in the labour market and forced women into the domestic sphere.
While the family/household system was in the short-term interests of
men, it was not in their long-term interests because it split the working class
so that working-class men and women came to have different interests. It
13
was in the long-term interests of capital because it divided the working class
and women came to provide a pool of lowly paid workers who could be
used as a flexible, disposable extra work force. Women’s oppression did not
have a material basis in the period in which it was formed but has now come
to acquire one. It has come to form an essential element in the relations of
production, in the sexual division of labour in paid work and between wage
labour and domestic labour. The oppression of women is necessary for the
reproduction of the capitalist mode of production in its present form.
The major problem with Marxist feminist theory is that it fails to
place sufficient emphasis on the ways in which men oppress women and the
ways in which men benefit from their unpaid domestic labour. While
Marxist feminists have recognized that it is necessary to allow the
importance of patriarchal relationships and how these are intertwined with
capitalism, they see them as unchanging and fail to recognize that there is no
necessary and inevitable congruence between the interests of patriarchy and
the interests of capital. Barrett, for example, fails to explain why it is in
capital’s interests to exclude cheap female labour, given its concern to
maximize profit. Marxist feminism tends to reduce explanations to the
categories of Marxist theory. It fails to take account of patriarchal
relationships in societies other than capitalist ones, nor fully to consider the
specific location of Black or Third World women. It also tends to be
abstract and far removed from the everyday experiences of women in their
relationships with men.13
4. Materialist Feminism
Women, then, according to materialist feminists, form a class in
opposition to men. Women are exploited by men and therefore all women
share common interests in opposition to those of men. Patriarchal structures
are fundamental to our form of social organization, and therefore it follows
that the main axis of differentiation in our society must be gender. While
13 Abbott. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.27-30
14
housewives may differ in their standard of living because their husbands are
in different social classes, they share a common class position because they
are exploited by another class (husbands) – their domestic labour is
expropriated (taken away from them, in the same way that the goods
produced by male manual workers are taken away from them).
Materialist feminists such as Christine Delphy, Monique Wittig
(1979) and Colette Guillaumin (1995) have argued that to give birth is not a
biological process, a natural given, but a social-historical construction of
‘forced production’. They argue that it is birth that is planned and women
are socially programmed (socialized) to give birth. Women are forced to
behave in ways that are seen as natural, and this has resulted in the creation
of two discrete biological sexes, but this division falsifies the reality of
human variation – the wide variety of sexual characteristics – because an
over-gendered society has evolved. Society is structured around the belief
that there are two polar opposite sexes, male and female.
Biological theories of sex differences are social constructs which,
they argue, serve the interests of the socially dominant group. Women are a
class in themselves because the category ‘woman’ (as well as the category
‘man’) is a political and economic one, not an eternal, biological category.
What is necessary is to eliminate the sex distinction itself. Wittig argues that
Our fight aims to suppress men as a class not through a genocidal but a
political struggle. Once the class ‘men’ disappears, women as a class will
disappear as well, for there are no slaves without masters.
Because some women are appropriated and constructed as female,
all females become appropriated and designated by their female genitalia as
women. Women thereby come to form a sex–class – not a class based on
biological sex, but one where ‘sex’ operates as a signifier, acting to identify
a group constituted in the context of a social relationship of appropriation.
15
‘Sex’, however, articulates with other social relations to produce a
multiplicity of positions and overlapping categories of women.14
5. Dual-Systems Feminism
‘Socialist’ or ‘dual-systems’ feminists argue that what is necessary is
a dual analysis that articulates Marxist class theory with the feminist theory
of patriarchy: a theory that takes account of what unites all women –
oppression by men – as well as the class divisions between them. While
Marxist feminist theory continues to give primacy to class analysis, dual-
systems feminists take as their question the relationship of women to the
economic system as well as the relationship of men to women. The key
question for dual-systems feminists is the cause of male exploitation and
domination of women.
6. Postmodern Feminism
Postmodern feminists argue that it is not simply that we live in a
postmodern world – the postmodern condition – but that postmodernism is
itself a style or a way of theorising. Postmodern theory abandons
explanatory goals and argues that there is no power outside discourse
(Baudrillard, 1988). There can no longer be any attempt to describe,
analyse or explain reality in an objective or scientific way. The boundary
between theory and entertainment has broken down – theory has no
superiority over common-sense thinking. Theorising in the modern world
is play – playing with fragments, with pieces and making superficial
generalisations.
Postmodern feminists reject, then, the idea of substituting feminist
theories for malestream ones, because they reject the possibility of true
knowledge and argue that there is a multiplicity of truths. They argue
instead for the need to deconstruct truth claims and analyse the power
effects that decisions as to truth entail – to recognise that knowledge is a
part of power. It is necessary to focus on knowledge as opposed to truth,
14 Abbot. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P. 30-31
16
not only because there is no Truth, but because there is no reality ‘out
there’ that can be the arbiter between competing truth claims. There is no
one truth, no privileged knowledge or producers of knowledge. All
knowledge is historically and culturally specific, the product of particular
discourses. The discourses that create knowledge also create power – the
power that constitutes subjects and objects and the mechanisms whereby
subjects are subjugated. The power of the discourse depends on the extent
to which its truth claims are successful – the extent to which the
knowledge it produces is accepted as true.
B. Biographical Approach
The biographical approach is biographical criticism uses details about an
author personal life to analyze the author’s works15. It relies on autobiographies,
correspondence, and other primary materials about the author and is a form of
historical criticism. Critics doing biographical analysis carefully examine
incidents in the lives of authors and try to identify events, settings, objects,
buildings, people, etc. found in the novels with the historical source.
Wellek and Warren said the biographical approach is one of old approach,
the biographical approach is a systematic study about the creative.16 It means that
the biographical approach is one of old approach and creative activity of human
being from their imagination, develop and through to become an artist.
Social culture of the way of life of certain time periods gives the reader a
greater knowledge based on which to draw a conclusion and better to understand
the story. Discovering detail about author's life and time also provide similar ways
to further develop the idea about the story, so biographical approach explains
about the author’s, his creative, his carrier, his activity, and his personal life.17
Biographical regarded as the oldest approach. The biographic approach is a
systematic study of civic processes. The subject of the creator is regarded as the
15 Great Beddows High School.Biographical Approach. http://www.slideshare.net, P. 2. 16Wellek and Warren in Nyoman Khuta Ratna (2013).Teori, Metode dan Teknik penelitian
sastra.Pustaka Pelajar.P.56 17Jakob sumardjo dan Saini K.M.(1986). Apresiasi kesustraan.Jakarta : Gramedia.P.22
http://www.slideshare.net/
17
origin of the literary work, the meaning of a literary work thus relative to the
intentions and even the author's important documents, photographs, and even
direct interviews with authors. The literary work, in turn, is identical with the
biography, the author's claim is considered truth, the biography subordinates the
work. Therefore, the biographical approach is actually a part of historical writing,
as historiography.
C. Poetry
Poetry is the literary work that has connotation words with poetry, people
can express all their experiences. So many authors make the poetry from his
experience in his life, after reading the poetry it is not only a purpose to look for
and to enjoy the story intensively, but also usually it will be asking the question
what the significant meaning that the author wants to show through her story. The
theme of a poet can be an experience of Author life and the Author.
Poetry is one of the literary work whick has characteristic. The characteristic
which make it different from another literary work. Poetry is written in different
ways. Poetry is the result of human creativity that is manifested through the
arrangement words which have meaning. Poetry is also composed of diverse
elements variety. These elements include a form of words, shapes, patterns of
rhyme, rhythm, ideas, or issues gained significance in the life of the poet and life
to be conveyed to the reader, listener, through techniques and specific aspects.
The language which uses in poetry is also different. The poem reader can not
understand the meaning of the poem easily because every person will have
different understanding about one poem. According to Wayne Shumaker , poetry
is “the idea or mind of the poets are flowing as a media to express a certain kinds
of perceptions, feelings, and thoughts”.18
Poetry can be classified as narrative or lyric. Narrative poems are stress
story and action, and lyric poems are stress emotion and song. Each of these types
has numerous subdivisions: narrative poetry includes the epic and ballad. Lyric
18 Permatasari Indiani Eka.(2006) An analysis of feminism in Maya Angelous poem By
Using Historical and Biografical Approach.JIBS. Vol. 3, No.2, P.152
18
poetry includes the elegy and epigraph, sonnet and sestina, Aubade and
villanelle.19
D. Review of Related Literature
There are some researchers that have discussed poetry, the theme of poetry
or feminism values in poetry. Thohiriyah, a student of Kesusastraan dan Budaya
Faculty, University of Muhammadiyah Semarang, wrote a thesis entitled "The
Concept of Death in Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop for Death".20
His researched explains that Emily Dickinson utilized figurative speech to
elucidate the concept of death. In addition, the employment of figurative speech is
to illustrate what happened in the United States in the era of Puritanism. By using
the concept of semiotics theory, the analysis shows that the poem demonstrates
the passive protest over the organized religion that is being promoted by Puritan
in Massachusetts, a place where the author was born and dies. Dickinson
highlights the Puritan fierce rules which lead to female's total submission.
Beside that there is another research about poetry, Indiana Eka Permatasari ,
a student of Language and Literature Faculty, University of Malang, wrote a
thesis entitled “An Analysis Of Feminism In Maya Angelou’s Poems By Using
Historical And Biographical Approaches”.21 His research explains about
discrimination toward black woman which appears in Maya Angelou's poems.
In this case, the researcher chose three poems of Maya Angelou. Those are
"Still I Rise", "Phenomenal Woman", and "Caged Bird". In other to discover
them, the study was conducted by using feminism theory and also historical and
biographical approaches. It focuses on words, lines, and stanzas of the poems. The
research design o’f this study is a descriptive qualitative method because the
researcher does not use statistical numerical but it requires a descriptive analysis
19 DiYanni Robert.(2006). Literature.English:McGraw-Hill Education. P:682 20 Thohiriyah. (2004).The Concept of Death in Emily Dickinson’S Because I Could Not
Stop for Death. Semarang. Vol 7, No 1.P.70 21 Indiani Eka Permatasari.An Analysis of Feminism in Maya Angelous Poems by Using
Historical and Biographical Approaches. Vol 3, No 2. P.152
19
of the object. The research is conducted by descriptive qualitative because the
result of the data is word, sentence, and language.
Based on the research questions mentioned, the results of the study are as
follows. First, the researcher concludes that the dominant type of feminism in
Maya Angelou's poem is Radical Feminism because discrimination toward black
women is related to the bad history of black people. Second, the reasons for using
feminism perspective by the poet are the image of her bad life experiences. The
last result is the image of a black woman in Maya Angelou's poems which shows
the discrimination toward a woman in her era. The result of the study can be used
as a reference in the research literature itself in educational institutions and so on.
It also expected to be useful in several ways. This study gives significance to the
researcher to understand and provide more knowledge about feminism. The study
may be expected to give significance to the future researcher who conducts
studies about literature focusing on feminism or on poems or in using biographical
and historical approaches.
In another research, there are Hu Chuyan, a lecture of Language and
Literature studies, School of Foreign Languages, Northeast Petroleum Institute,
Daqing, China, wrote a thesis entitled “Eco-Feminism in Emily Dickinson’s
Poetry”.22 His research through the study of Emily Dickinson's life and her works
as well as the comments on her, the thesis is intended to find out that how Eco-
feminism influences her works and life deeply, and the perspective of
Ecofeminism in her poetry.
This thesis begins with the fundamental introduction of Emily Dickinson
and Eco-feminist criticism. Based on the former researches on Dickinson and her
poetry, this paper further discusses Dickinson's Eco-feminism, mainly exploring
Dickinson's rebellion and challenge on the religious belief, literary trends and
social tradition in the nineteenth century. After that, this thesis analyzes the
themes and styles of Dickinson's poetry from Eco-feminism. Through the Eco-
feminist reading of the themes and styles of Dickinson's poetry, Dickinson
22 H U Chunyan.(2015). Eco-Feminism in Emily Dickinson’S
Poetry.CSCanada:Canada.Vol 10, No 3. P.63.
20
research not only means to make a detailed description and analysis of her life and
poetry but also means to provide new interpretive methods and appreciating
perspectives.
In the first chapter of this essay, the writer just explain the Eco-feminism idea in a
whole way. The reflection of Eco-feminism to Dickinson's life and her poems
writing are discussed in the second and third chapters. In the last chapter, I mainly
analyze the Eco-feminist style in Dickinson's poems.
The last related research is from Dewi Artika Puspita Sari about Liberal
Feminism Values seen Through The Main Female Character in Kinberg’s Mr and
Mrs. Smith.23 In Her thesis Dewi say Feminism is a movement that bring
differences towards the way people think and act. Feminism is a movement that
has several branches all with the same focus on women’s equality. One of the
branches of feminism is liberal feminism. Liberal feminism focuses on the
freedom of women.
To find the feminism values in Jane’s character, there are two problems
formulated in this thesis. The first problem is to find out the characteristic of Jane
Smith through her characterization. The second is to identify liberal feminism
values through Jane’s Characterization. The analysis in this thesis used the
feminism approach because the aim of this thesis is to find out liberal feminism
values. As the object, Jane Smith will be analyzed through her characteristics.
Then, by looking at the characteristics, the liberal feminism values hat are
reflected through Jane’s character.
In the researh of Thohiriyah, she had talk about concept death in Emily
Dickinson’s Poem, Indiana talk about feminism also but in Maya Angelo poem,
Chuyan also talk about feminism in Emily Dickinson’s poem but only
ecofeminism values, and the last is Dewi- she had talk about feminism values too
but the object was different with the writer. Different from previous research, in
this research the writer is going to study on feminism values in poem, and in this
research, the writer will focus the analysis on the kind of the feminist value of
23 Dewi Artika Puspitasari. (2016). Liberal Feminism Values seen Through the main
Female Character in Kinberg’s Mr and Mrs. Smith. Sanata Dharma University:Yogyakarta. P.3
21
Emily Dickinson poems and correlated with her biography. The poems will be
used in this research are: I’m ‘Wife’, I’ve finished that-, She rose to His
requirement, Title divine- is mine!, I asked no other thing, and Rearrange a ‘Wife’
affection!.
22
CHAPTER III
METHOD OF RESEARCH
A. Design of Research
In this research, the writer applied qualitative descriptive method which is
suitable with the aims of this research. Qualitative research is a type of social
science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to
interpret meaning from these data that help us undestand social life through the
study of targeted populations or places. Vibha Pathak says qualitative research is
the research that focuses on understanding a research query as a humanistic or
idealistic approach. When the researcher uses qualitative research, the researcher
uses their comprehension, experience, research that will be cover in descriptive.
Merriam in Patricia Duff’s book stated that the qualitative case study can be
defined in terms of the process of actually carrying out the investigation, the unit
of the analysis (the bounden system, the case) or the end product.24 Furthermore,
Nyoman Kutha Ratna explained that kualitatif dianggap persis sama dengan
metode pemahaman atau verstehen.25 It means that qualitative research is a way
that aims to understand the phenomenom of what is experienced by the subject of
research such as behavior, perpection, motivation, action, and others.
In this research, the writer used the qualitative method, because the
qualitative method can be defined as a problemsolving procedure investigated by
describing the state of the subject or object in the study. Methodology is a process
of the procedure used kinds of approach to find the problem and solving it. In
writing this proposal, the writer uses qualitative research and the analysis will be
explained in a descriptive way that is suitable with the aim of this research.
Bogdan and Taylor in Password and Suwandi say:
24 Patricia A. Duff. (2012). Case Study Research in Applied Linguistic.New York and
London: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.P.22 25 Nyoman Kutha Ratna. (2019). Teori,Metode, dan Teknik Penelitian Sastra. Yogyakarta.
P.47
23
“Metodologi kualitatif sebagai prosedur penelitian yang menghasilkan
data deskriptif berupa kata-kata tertulis atau lisan dari orang-orang dan
perilaku yang dapat diamati”26.
It means that the qualitative method is one of the researches that produces a
descriptive in the form of written words or oral from an object. Qualitative
method deals with everything that can be counted and studied, which has an
impact on the qualitative descriptive is a way of working in the research that
emphasizes aspects of the deepening of the data. It also help the writer collecting
the data to interpret and report in order to get the result of the research. In short
descriptive method deals with everything that can be counted and studied, which
has an impact on the lives of the people it deals with. It can be concluded that the
qualitative descriptive method is a way of working in the research that emphasizes
aspects of the deepening of the data. It also helps the writer collecting the data to
interpret and report in order to get result of the research.
B. Source of Data
One of the considerations in choosing a matter of research is the availability
of the source of data. Source of data is the subject of research where the data stick.
The source of the data can be in the form of motion, human, book, narration,
script, etc. And source data in this research were:
1. Primary Data
Primary data is the data that only summer data taken from the research. The
primary data of this research are, the writer looks at the source of data from Emily
Dickinson's poems. The title of Emily Dickinson’s entitled are I’m ‘Wife’, I’ve
finished that-, She rose to His requirement, Title divine- is mine!, I asked no other
thing, and Rearrange a ‘Wife’ affection! . This five-pages poem is a poem
composed in nineteenth century. The data are taken from the book: Poems by
Emily Dickinson edited by Mabel Loomis Tood and Tw Higginson, 1901.
26 Baswori and Suwandi.(2008) Memahami Penelitian Kualitatif .Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
P.21
24
2. Secondary Data
Secondary data is the data supporters in research. The secondary data are
from Emily Dickinson bibliography, a movie about Emily Dickinson the title is
Passion Quite, several books, and some website from the internet that relate to the
subject that can suppor this research.
C. Technique of Data Collecting
In research, there is some technique of collecting data that can use to get
information. Creswell says, "The data collection procedures in qualitative research
involve four basic types: observation, interview, documentation, and visual
image".27 Based on this research, so many techniques that can be writer use to
help the writer to find the answer of writer research.
The technique of data collecting, the writer will use the documentation
technique. According to Arikunto, “ Documentation is a method that searches data
about things or variables like notes, transcriptions, books, newspapers, magazines,
agendas, videos". 28 The technique of data collecting data will use by the writer
are
a. Find the Data
The first step that the writer does to collecting data is, the writer finds the
data. In this research, the writer finded Emily Dickinson's poems in Emily
Dickinson’s Poetry book that has edited by Mabel Loomis Tood and Tw
Higginson, year 1901.
b. Reading Repeatedly
To collecting the data, the writer read and understand whole the text of
selected poems. In this step, the writer did not read the text only once time. But
the writer read more than once in order to make sure that the writer understands
and implied meaning.
c. Marking the Data
27 Creswell, John W.(1994)Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
Approach. the United States of America.P.148 28 Arikunto.(2009) Prosedur Penelitian: Suatu Pendekatan Praktik.Jakarta: Bumi Aksara.
P.10
25
The writer marks the important word or sentence that has feminism values in the
poems, then make a note of the data to make doing this research.
d. Identifying the Data
After the writer finding the data, write will identify and analyze all data,
after that the writer will arrange the thesis.
D. Technique of Data Analysis
After collecting the data, the writer will analyze the data. The purpose of the
technique of data analysis is to answer the formulation of the problem. The writer
will analyze and answer this research base on the problems. In the process of
analysis of the data, the writer will use a content analysis approach to finish the
feminism values of the poems. Content analysis is a research tool used to
determine the presence of certain words or concepts within text or sets of texts.
According to Nawawi:
“Metode deskriptif dapat diartikan sebagai prosedur pemecahan masalah
yang diselidiki dengan menggambarkan dan melukiskan keadaan subjek
atau objek penelitian (novel, drama, cerita pendek, puisi) pada saat
sekarang berdasarkan fakta-fakta yang tampak atau sebagaimana
adanya”.29
The quotation above explained that the descriptive method is the way to find
out the solving problem. The described method can help the writer to solve the
problem from the data. The technique of analyzing uses steps as follows:
1. Identifying
The writer identifies the data which has correlated with an object of research
and made the problem was found after collecting the data.
2. Classifying
The next step is to classify the data. Classifying is an activity to classify all
data into their categories or classification. In this research the writer classifying
some important words from poetry. The writer analyzed the data based on some
theories related to the research.
29Siswantoro. (2010).Metode Penelitian Sastra.Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pengajar. P.54
26
3. Describing
The next step in the analysis the data is describing the data. The writer
describes the data based on the research question and related the theory.
4. Analyzing
After describing, the writer analyzes the data by applying the theory and
method that is used.
5. Conclusion
The writer concludes all of the materials analyzed based on the theory after
the whole of data has been analyzing.
26
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
This chapter are consists of two part, they are findings and analysis.
Findings are as the answers of the problem statements before and then analyses
are as the explanation of findings that contains evidences and analysis.
From five selected poems entitled; I’m ‘Wife’, I’ve finished that-, She rose
to His requirement, Title divine- is mine!, I asked no other thing, and Rearrange a
‘Wife’ affection! by Emily Dickinson used as the source of data, the writer can
find five kinds of feminism based on theory by Pamela and Claire’s theory; they
are They are 9 (nine) data of Liberal/Reformist Feminism, 14 (fourteen) data of
Radical Feminism, 2 (two) line of Marxist feminism, 3 (three) data as Materialist
Feminism and 2 (two) data of Dual-System Feminism.
In this research, there are 30 data which contains kinds of feminism, there
are 6 (six) data in I’m ‘Wife’, I’ve finished that- poem, 5 (five) data in She rose to
His requirement poem, 7 (seven) data in Title divine- is mine! poem, 4 (four) data
in I asked no other thing poem, and 8 (eight) data in Rearrange a ‘Wife’ affection!
poem.
A. Kinds of Feminism Portrayed in Emily Dickinson’s Poems
It has been stated that feminism means a female who seeks to fight for the
rights of women (plural) as a social class. In the 19th century the movement for
women's emancipation took its name from the movement to abolish slavery. In the
20th century women's liberation took its name from the movements against
colonialism around the world. 21st century women's liberation has to fight to
change the world and to end the class society which created oppression and
exploitation in the first place.30 Based on theory by Pamela and Claire’s theory;
the writer found five kinds of feminism that existed in five selected poems by
30 http://socialistreview.org.uk/340/21st-century-feminism . Accesed Date: Oct, 30th 2019.
05.00 P.M
http://socialistreview.org.uk/340/21st-century-feminism
27
Emily Dickinson, they are; Liberal/Reformist Feminism, Radical Feminism,
Marxist Feminism, Materialist Feminism, and Dual-System Feminism.
1. Liberal/Reformist Feminism
Liberal/reformist feminism has been concerned to argue for equal rights for
women – for women to have the same citizenship rights as men. Equal Rights
feminists have fought against laws and practices that give rights to men and not
women, or which are designed to ‘protect’ women. Here are the analyses of
liberal/reformist feminism:
She rose to His Requirement—dropt
The Playthings of Her Life (Line 1,2. She rose to His Requirement, 732)
In the line above entitled She rose to His requirement, the poem excerpt
above is part of liberal feminism. Where the word “His Requirement” is written in
capital letters, usually “His” which is in the middle of sentence and written in
capital letters referring to God. There clearly shows gender that on the line of
poetry above, the writer implies that society at that time created a situation where
men are ‘God’. This is had an impact on woman’s dream that she had as a young
girl. In the second line, the word “Playthings” also written in capital letters which
can be interpreted as a woman’s dream before she get married, because after she
get married society deny women the same rights as men to pursue their own
interests.
It is said to be liberal feminism because liberal feminism show that observed
differences between the sexes are not innate but are the result of the socialization
and conditioning of the sexes from the moment of birth. Men and women are
treated differentially, so that this prevents women from developing their full
potential as human beings.
Other liberal feminism can be seen in the first two lines of the last stanza of
the poem entitled I’m “Wife”, I’ve finished that below:
This being comfort — then
That other kind — was pain —
28
(Line 9,10. I’m ‘Wife’. I’ve finished that, 199)
In the line above explain that a married woman bears her own burden. She
cannot share his deeper thoughts, feelings, and opinions with anymore. Only she
is aware of the thoughts, feelings and memories that are in her. In the first line, it
said that the marriage at other side will being comfort as pointing out that the
natural progression of a girl’s life from willfulness to marriage. Almost like a girl
see marriage as a shelter from pain, but pain is other kind. That pain is come from
the reality of household. How a man and a woman will unite their want. But the
problem is occasionally the one will dominate the other. In this case, we are
always seeing that the woman is the oppressed side.
I’m Czar-I’m “Woman” now-
It’s safer so-
(Line 3,4. I’m wife I’ve finished that, 199)
Line above show in Western industrial societies women are discriminated
against on the basis of sex; that is, certain restrictions are placed on women as a
group without regard to their own individual wishes, interests, abilities and
needs.31 Liberal feminism here seen in the way the societies treated the women
different as the men. The women have not their place to share everything, what
societies wants is the woman only focus of men.
2. Radical Feminism
Radical feminists argue that women’s oppression is primary and
fundamental. Patriarchy, an elaborate system of male domination which pervades
all aspects of culture and social life, is seen as trans-historical. All women are
oppressed irrespective of historical, cultural, class or racial differences. The
family is seen as a key instrument of the oppression of women, through sexual
slavery and forced motherhood – through male control of women’s bodies.32 Here
the analyses of radical feminism:
31Abbot. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.25 32 Abbot. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.25
29
Born — Bridalled — Shrouded —
In a Day —
(Line 10,11. Title divine-is mine, 1072)
In the poem entitled Title divine — is mine!, Born — Bridalled —
Shrouded — shows psychological death in traditional matchmaking and
termination of life. Therefore, it means of controlling a horse or draught animal
through a metal bit in its mouth. This is evokes the infamous scold’s bridle, a
medieval form of punishing unruly, garrulous women, by ‘branking’ them.
`Radical feminism also seen in the second poems entitled “I asked no other thing”
below:
I asked no other thing —
No other — was denied —
(Line 1,2. I asked no other thing, 621)
In the line above, the “thing” means asks for remains unnamed. It takes the
form of two negative statements; the ”thing” cannot be substituted for any other
thing. It denied it seems to negate the value and singularity of everything else on
offer - the “no other”. Perhaps then the “thing” is anti-conceptual and pre-
linguistic; an affective state happiness, joy, pleasure, love or a spiritual one;
blessedness, graces.
It was said before that radical feminism states that oppression of women is
the main thing. in the first poem we can see that patriarchal society really dictates
the life of a woman. starting with giving birth to a woman and getting married is
the culmination of her life before death comes. in fact, the invisible people have
actually killed their daughters since the first day of marriage. where for a woman
or feminist point of view, marriage is never a pleasant thing. because of the
dreams of their dreams after marriage. this is supported by the existence of a
second line of poetry that tells the story of a woman's dream to buy Brazil but
society refuses women to pursue their dreams.
I’m “wife”- I’ve finished that-
(Line 1. I’m wife I’ve finished that, 199)
30
I’m in line above show how position of writer. The author wants to show
that now he has become a wife, but with the word “wife” who are quoted. Is
important from the word wife a kind of meaning that the wife is an unpleasant job.
Taking girlhood is the wrong thing. Because being a girl will be better.
3. Marxist Feminism
Marxist feminism has developed out of the attempts by women to develop
Marxist theory so that it provides an adequate explanation for the subordination
and exploitation of women in capitalist societies.33 In the Emily Dickinson’s
poetry entitled Title divine — is mine!, Marxist exists. Here is the analysis of
Marxist feminism:
“My Husband” — women say —
(Line 13. Title Divine-is mine, 1072)
In this line, be interpreted as buyer or seller. It is creating transactions
images; customers who buy products, rather than men who marry women. The
poem does not only describe poetry as a form of degradation. Women are no
longer human, but as a cargo, surrender to the husband will means losing identity
as a human. This line of poetry is related to the previous line of poetry;
Born — Bridalled — Shrouded —
In a Day —
Tri Victory
(10,11,12. Title Divine-is mine, 1072)
Women are reduced to Tri Victory related to husbands, because men use
religion to marry women. Women are considered to be physiologically weaker
than men, even though they are spiritually stronger. Marxist feminism here can be
seen in way the society reject the notions of morality, justice and equal rights.
4. Materialist Feminism
Delphy argues that while sociologists have regarded occupational class
inequalities as primary, their own research demonstrate that sexual inequality is
primary and more fundamental than occupational inequality. Thus women’s
oppression cannot be regarded as secondary to, and therefore less important than,
33 Abbot. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
p.27
31
class oppression.34 Women then according to materialist feminist, form a class in
opposition to men. Here the analyses of materialist feminism in the Emily
Dickinson’s poetry entitled I asked no other thing:
Brazil? He twirled a Button —
Without a glance my way —
(Line 5,6. I asked no other thing,621)
In the line above, word “Brazil?” is a condensing translation of
indeterminate “thing” that was asked for. Brazil is an absurd “thing” to ask for in
the context of an empirical, or even a more abstract, commercial exchange. If it
were to imaginatively entertain notion of “buying a nation”, we might observe that
nations are not bought and sold in one fell swoop but built through violent and
ongoing political struggles.
However, in this materialist feminism some feminists argue that women
have shared interests because they are all exploited and oppressed by men. In this
poetry, Dickinson might show us how the idea of a God who has what we need
corresponds to a deeply felt human desire.
Other materialist feminism can be seen in the Emily Dickinson’s poetry
entitled Title divine — is mine! Below:
Betrothed — without the swoon
(Line 6. Title Divine-is mine, 1072)
In this line of poetry, it can be interpreted that woman has her own dream.
Including in a marriage a woman even wants everything in accordance with what
is in her expectations. In this poetry also can be seen that a woman described in
the poem is trying to compare to become a heavenly bride with what is on earth.
Acute Degree-conferred on me
Empress of Calvary!
(Line 3,4. Title Divine-is mine,1072)
34 Abbot. Pamela and Wallace. Claire. An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspective.
P.30
32
In this line of poetry, it can be the woman who will make her own class.
Empress show how the women if be a leader of Calvary, the women can do the
same thing as men do. Because Calvary in here intended is a God.
Materialist feminism is shown in the line of poetry above where women
have the same interests as men but they are exploited by men. while housewives
may differ in their standard of living because their husbands are in different social
classes, they share the same class position because they are exploited by their
husbands.
5. Dual-System feminism
Dual-System is the one of feminism where women think that emancipation
will only occur if there is a division of labor classes. And the development of the
economic system and women are inseparable. There are example of dual-system
feminism in Emily Dickinsons selected poem:
If ought She missed in Her new Day,
Of Amplitude, or Awe—
(Line 5,6. She rose to his requirement,732)
The two lines of poetry above sate about how a woman experiences a
drastic change in herself before and after marriage. Shows how her dream must be
buried deep because of his demands to be a ‘wife’ resulting from patriarchal
society. There, a woman who was married does not discuss the things she is awed
by; neither does she mention her future expectation from her new life.
Dual-system feminism applies dual analysis that articulates Marxist class
theory with the feminist theory of patriarchy. Where, Marxist feminist theory
continues to give primacy to class analysis. Dual-systems feminist take as their
question the relationship of women to the economic system as well as the
relationship of men to women. This is a powerful poem of protest on the way
women were perceived by society. The poet, in an interestingly indirect way
makes her objections heard.
I offered Being — for it —
(Line 3. I asked no other thing, 621)
33
In the poetry above, it states about women who offer themselves for
something they want. The woman tries to show that she is able to be in any
position to be recognized. Encouraged by the same interest held by men, he
assumed that there should not be any disturbing differences.
But in fact, the dual-system feminism which combines the two theories is
precisely one of the theories of gender blindness and the oppression precedes
capitalism. So that it was never received well from the public about women. Dual
systems feminist is dual systems that articulates marxist class theory with the
feminist theory of patriarchy: a theory that takes account of what unites all
women-oppression by men-as well as the class divisions beteween them.
B. Emily Dickinson’s Background That Influence Her Poems
I’m “wife” — I’ve finished that —,199
I’m “wife” — I’ve finished that — is the 19th poem of Emily Dickinson.
Dickinson implies here a whole theoretic of quotation. The words of her poem
become at once hers and not hers. She invokes a social language without fully
making her its own, importing accepted usages and meaning into her text, where
she can then complicate them.
I’m “wife” — I’ve finished that —
That other state —
I’m Czar — I’m “Woman” now —
It’s safer so —
How odd the Girl’s life looks
Behind this soft Eclipse —
I think that Earth feels so
To folks in Heaven — now —
This being comfort — then
That other kind — was pain —
But why compare?
I’m “Wife”! Stop there!
(The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson)
There are several things that affect Emily Dickinson’s poems, that are:
34
1. Father-daughter Incest
The ordinal position of siblings is another factor in father-daughter incest,
with the oldest daughter receiving the highest probability of abuse. While the
ordinal position of a daughter is significant for victimization in general, it is a
decisive factor in father-daughter incest. Here, Emily Dickinson was the oldest
daughter in the Dickinson family.35 If Edward Dickinson had any inclination
toward incest, his daughter Emily would have been the victim.36 This incident had
showed in line I’m “wife” — I’ve finished that —(line 1). I’m “Wife”! Stop
there! (line 12) explain about his insecurity again, in this line Emily showed after
being a victim, a woman still has to look for her identity, and seek protection as
the people who are considered weak-who alsobstrong in line To folks in Heaven
—now —(line 8) This being comfort — then (line 9) so that no one else can
damage the right of women to continue their live.
The most powerful support for the contention that Dickinson was a victim
of sexual abuse, particularly incest, lies in an interpretation of the “Wife” poems.
The “Wife” poems are a group of six poems, in which Dickinson seems to
imagine that she is married by calling herself a wife. These poems are 199 “I’m
“wife” — I’ve finished that —”, 461 “A Wife —at Daybreak I shall be —”, 463
“I live with Him —I see His face —”, 732 “She rose to His Requirements”, 1072
“Title divine —is mine!”, and 1737 “Rearrange a ‘Wife’s’ affection! The
significance of these poems is that in trying to interpret what Emily Dickinson
may have meant by the word “wife”, the reader is forced to reevaluate Emily
Dickinson’s relationship with her father.37
2. Never Married
Based on the example above, "I'm wife, I’ve finished that” it showed the
woman’s difference of freedom when they are married and do not married yet. It
is not amazing if this poetry is connected to feminist. Based on these lines above,
Dickinson presents a very intricate approach to marriage. Although everybody
35 Biografi.com. Update: Apr 13, 2019. Accesed Date: Nov 9, 2019. 09:09 P.M 36 Hirschhorn Nobert.(2019).A Bandaged Secret: Emily Dickinson and Incest. APA
Psyc:Washington. P.1 37 Violence and Women’s Writing (1997) Creating Safe Space. England. P.101
35
knows that Dickinson had not married yet,38 she can show how the situation of
both of them. Dickinson did not marry, but what perhaps is most poignant and
really more the issue is not her ignorance and bitterness towards the married state
but after girlhood, there is only marriage, and since she is not married. The line
it's safer so (line 4) shows she is in doubt having never been married and never
having a domineering male force in her life, except her constant issue with her
religion/faith, of course, dominated by men then. I think that Earth feels so (line
7) But why compare? (line 11) this line also show Emily had doubt of wife
condition, indirectly Emily still has doubt about the depiction of being a wife
because it is not experinced directly.
According to her biographical this poetry was made on the 19th century, the
condition where she lived did not see women as individual thinking beings, but
rather as someone who derives he identity initially from her parents and later from
her husband her poem reflects a woman's experiences of identity troubles and her
desire to free herself from the clutches of male-dominated society.
It is also possible that the “wife” (line 1) poems may relay attitudes about
marriage or wifehood that she observed in other married women such as her
mother or her sister-in-law, Susan.39 Not need to get married, Emily can explain
quite well about the suffering of having a job as a wife. Therefore Emily also
believes that women do not need men while she can do everything. Like Emily
notes I take my strenght in my hands and go against the world.40
Title divine—Is mine!, 1072
Title divine-Is mine is Emily’s poem to 1072. This poem was made in the
19th century and was published by his friend Mr. Higginson.
Title divine — is mine!
The Wife — without the Sign!
38 Biografi.com. Update: Apr 13, 2019. Accesed Date: Nov 9, 2019. 09:59 P.M 39 Tw Higginson & Mabel Loomis Todd .(1901). Poems by Emily Dickinson. Little, Brown,
and Company: Boston. P.2 40 Sharequotes.com. Accesed Date: Nov 9th 2019. 10:43 PM
36
Acute Degree — conferred on me —
Empress of Calvary!
Royal — all but the Crown!
Betrothed — without the swoon
God sends us Women —
When you — hold — Garnet to Garnet —
Gold — to Gold —
Born — Bridalled — Shrouded —
In a Day —
Tri Victory
“My Husband” — women say —
Stroking the Melody —
Is this — the way?
(The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson)
1. Mr. Bowles’s Admir