AN ANALYSIS OF ROMANTICISM IN VICTOR HUGO’S LES MISERABLES A Thesis By Yayang M. Naibaho Reg No. 020705038 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATRA MEDAN 2008 UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Praise, honor, and glory to the Lord who has given me a great opportunity to study in University of North Sumatra and helped me to accomplish this thesis. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors, Dra. Martha Pardede, MS, and Dra. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M. Hum, for their constructive critics and suggestions in supervising this thesis. I would also thank all lecturers in the Faculty of literature of University of North Sumatra. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude and love to my family: T. br Sitohang (grandmother), Asiah (mother), G. Naibaho (Uncle), D. Naibaho (Aunt), Martina Samosir (cousin), and my lovely sister Lina Naibaho. Thank you for every support, care, encouragement, advice, and love. I would like to thank my friends in small group “Metanoia-Megumi” (K’Selly, K’Fristianty, Timbul, B’Rudi, Luther, Maringan, K’Anna, K’Astri, K’Mega, and K’Melda). It is a blessing for me to have you in my life! Thank you also for my sisters in small group “Wonderful Grace” (Ane, Asna, Emmy, Pink-Pink, Putri, and Swarni). Thanks for the warm friendship and wonderful time we spend together. Thank you for lots of friends in KMK FS that I cannot mention all here, especially for K’Novi (Thanks for not give up in encouraging me to accomplish this thesis), Ika, Era, Juwita, Lely, Lita, Juleo, Ganda, Hotman, Febri, Shera, Mona, Ivan, and Santa. i UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA Finally, I realize that this thesis is still far from perfect. I welcome all critics and suggestions to make this thesis better. May this thesis will be useful for every one who would like to read or analyze the subject matter that related to this thesis’ analysis. Medan, June 2008 Yayang M. Naibaho ii UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA ABSTRAK YAYANG M. NAIBAHO. An Analysis of Romanticism in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan. 2008. Skripsi yang berjudul An Analysis of Romanticisim in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables ini adalah suatu studi analisa Romantisme dalam sebuah novel berjudul Les Miserables. Novel tersebut merupakan karya seorang sastrawan besar Prancis, Victor Hugo. Romantisme pada dasarnya merupakan reaksi penolakan terhadap norma-norma dan aturan-aturan dalam Klasikisme dan Neoklasikisme, serta rasionalisme dari periode Pencerahan. Romantisme memiliki banyak ide, ciri khas, konsep atau pemikiran, dan unsur-unsur yang beragam. Dalam skripsi ini, unsur-unsur romantisme yang dikaji dibatasi pada lima unsur saja, yaitu: kepercayaan akan sifat dasar manusia yang baik, penekanan pada perasaan, kesukaan akan melankolisme, ketertarikan pada orang biasa atau orang kebanyakan, dan perayaan cinta romantis. Dalam menganalisa unsur-unsur romantisme yang terdapat dalam Les Miserables, penulis memakai metode deskriptif, yaitu: penulis membaca novel, memilih dan menyeleksi data berupa kutipan dari novel, menginterpretasi dn menganalisis data, serta membuat kesimpulan. Pada bab 1 skripsi ini diperkenal- kan latar belakang permasalahan, permasalahan, batasan permasalahan, tujuan analisis, teori analisis, manfaat analisis, dan ulasan dari beberapa referensi yang dipergunakan. Bab 2 adalah penjelasan teoritis tentang Romantisme, baik defenisi, perkembangan, dan unsur-unsur dalam Romantisme. Pada bab 3 dijelaskan mengenai metode analisis yang dipakai dalam melakukan analisa/penelitian. Pada bab 4 dijabarkan analisis dari lima unsur Romantisme yang terdapat dalam novel Les Miserables. Bab 5 merupakan bagian penutup, dimana kesimpulan hasil analisa dan saran dibuat. iii UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..............…………………………………………… i ABSTRAK …………………………………..………………………………... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………….……………………………… iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Background of the Study ………..……………………………. 2 1.2 The Statement of the Problem ………...…………………………… 3 1.3 The Objectives of the Study …..…………………………………… 5 1.4 The Scope of the Study ………………………….………………… 5 1.5 The Significance of the Study ………………………...…………… 5 1.6 Theoretical Approach ……………………………………………… 6 1.7 The Review of Related Literature ……………………………….… 6 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL REVIEW 2. 1. Definition of Romanticism …………………………………….….. 8 2. 2. The Development of Romanticism ……………………………..... 11 2. 3. Elements of Romanticism …………………………………..…… 18 CHAPTER 3: THE METHOD OF THE STUDY 3. 1. The Data Collecting Procedure ……………………………..…… 21 3. 2. The Data Selecting Procedure ………………………………….... 21 3. 3. The Data Analyzing Procedure ……………………………..…… 21 iv UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA CHAPTER 4: THE ANALYSIS OF ROMANTICISM IN VICTOR HUGO’S LES MISERABLES 4. 1. Belief on The Human Good Nature ………………………..……. 22 4. 2. Emphasis on Emotion ……………………………………….…... 28 4. 3. Predilection for Melancholy ……………………………………... 29 4. 4. Interest in The Common Man ………………………………….... 34 4. 5. Celebration of Romantic Love ………………………………..…. 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 5. 1. Conclusion ……………………………………………….............. 43 5. 2. Suggestion ………………………………………………..……… 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF VICTOR HUGO PLOT SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL LES MISERABLES v UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Literature will always be worth to be discussed and learned. As a work of art (Wellek and Warren 1962: 3), literature provides not only satisfaction on reading it, but also much wisdom. Literature is able to make us aware about the truth concerning with human life. Richard Taylor (1981:2) states it : “A Work of literature does not necessarily give us accurate information about the way of life is actually lived (although it may do so as a secondary consideration), rather that it causes us to recognize the truth about human existence through the direct presentation of selected experiences.” Though some people might argue whether the ‘truth’ presented in literature is really correct or not, but however, comparing with scientific analysis literature is much more effective in influencing the readers. Literature plays important roles in human life. The complexity of human life tends to make people neglect the most important things in life itself. People trapped in bustle, daily routines, and all kind of activities. They are stirred by numerous ambitions, achievements, and goals, without even realize whether those things are worth enough to be considered. As an example, in modern life many people drowned in the spirit of materialism and hedonism. They focus their attention on gathering money and material wealth. People measure another based on someone’s appearance, property, and social status. Emily Dickinson’s critical view is appropriate to describe this condition, since most people can only honor the ‘somebody’ person, means every one who has good looking, having much 1 UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA money, success, or social status, while ignore the others who have none of those qualities. “I’m nobody who are you? ................... ................... .................. How dreary to be somebody How public like frog To tell your name lifelong day To an admiring bog” (Pardede 2005:11) Pleasure becomes the highest priority, while science and technology development support it by inventing more instruments to create comfortable living. Many people do not realize that there are greater values and greater act of living comparing with the paradigm of materialism and hedonism. Here, literature can be a means to reinvent the values of humanities and other most essential things in life. Literature can challenge people’s view on how they should perceive life properly. Literature can also encourage people reflecting their thoughts and subtly persuade them to have better values of life. 1. 1. The Background of the Problem Romanticism is one of the unique literary movements in the history. Lasting from the end of eighteenth century unto the mid of nineteenth century, it can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism and Neo Classicism at the time (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: 160). Even, many experts considered romanticism as a movement of counter enlightenment (Renaissance). It can be 2 UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA proved, whereas the thinkers of the enlightenment emphasize the primacy of deductive reason, romanticism emphasized intuition, imagination, and feeling. Romanticism was begun firstly in England in 1798, signed by the publishing of Lyrical Ballads of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Since the time, spirit of romanticism had broadened to embrace the literature of almost all European countries. One of the great figures in romantic literature is Victor Hugo, a poet, novelist, dramatist, and an important writer from French. In his country, French, Victor Hugo was considered as one of the greatest poets, but he is better known abroad as novelist, especially because of his novel Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Les Miserables. Hugo started to write Les Miserables /lā-mē-za-‘rābl/ in 1845, but the novel could be finished and published firstly in 1862. However, Les Miserables become one of the great classic novels, that continued to be widely read long after Victor Hugo has passed away. Soon after the novel has been published, it was quickly translated into many languages. The novel’s name means ‘the