REPRESENTATION OF GENDER STEREOTYPING IN LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITLLE WOMEN: ENDORSEMENT OF TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES

NABILLA RAHMADHIYA E, Mala Hernawati, S.S., M.A.

2018 | Skripsi | S1 SASTRA INGGRIS

Penelitian ini membahas tentang karakter-karakter dalam novel Little Women karya Louisa May Alcott yang menunjukkan dukungan pada stereotipe peran gender tradisional yang berlangsung pada akhir abad ke-19 di Amerika yang nilai-nilainya bertolak belakang dengan kenyataan yang ada saat itu karena banyak perempuan yang memprotes ideologi separate spheres. Penelitian ini menerapkan pendekatan sosiologis untuk mengungkap hubungan antara karya sastra dan kondisi sosial pada zaman itu, didukung pula dengan teori sastra anak. Data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini diambil dari novel berjudul Little Women karya Louisa May Alcott dan beberapa data pendukung yang diambil dari beberapa jurnal akademik. Data yang diambil fokus pada tindakan-tindakan dan dialog karakter March bersaudara yang menunjukan perilaku submisif, yang tidak menggambarkan keadaan wanita yang bersusah payah berupaya memprotes keberlangsungan ideologi separate spheres pada zaman itu yang berujung ketidaksetaraan. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan bahwa novel Little Women ditulis sebagai sebuah karya yang mereproduksi nilai-nilai gender tradisional, sedangkan hal tersebut bertolak belakang dengan apa yang perempuan Amerika pada era itu perjuangkan.

This research discusses how the characters in the novel Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott eventually submit themselves to the stereotypical role of women in the late 19th century when in reality women were protesting the ideology of separate spheres in accordance to the traditional gender stereotype that they faced. The research applies the sociological approach to uncover the connection between the literary work and the social condition of the era and to find out how the gender roles affect the characters of the March girls, supported by the theory of children literature. The data used in this research is Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and some supporting data taken from academic journals. The research focuses on the characters of the March Girls' actions and dialogues that shows submissive behavior, in contrast to the efforts and movement of the women during that era who were protesting the ideology of separate spheres that resulted in inequality. The result of the research concludes that Little Women seems to be written only as a reproduction of traditional gender values, this matter contradicts with what the American women in the late 19th century struggled for.

Kata Kunci : gender stereotype, gender roles, separate spheres, American women