KEMAL BASMACI S OBSESSIVE LOVE AS REFLECTED THROUGH HIS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN ORHAN PAMUK S THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE TITLE PAGE AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By: ANASTASIA MERYLIN DIMITRIA Student Number: 094214096 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2016
KEMAL BASMACI S OBSESSIVE LOVE AS REFLECTED THROUGH HIS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN ORHAN PAMUK S THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented As Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By: ANASTASIA MERYLIN DIMITRIA Student Number: 094214096 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2016
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis KEMAL BASMACI'S OBSESSIVE LOVE AS REFLECTED THROUGH IDS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN ORBAN PAMUK'S THE MUSEUM OFINNOCENCE Approved by ~A Dr. FX. Advisor aim. June 8, 2016 June 8,2016 ii
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis KEMAL BASMACI'S OBSESSIVE LOVE AS REFLECTED THROUGH HIS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN ORBAN PAMUK'S THE MUSEUM OFINNOCENCE By ANASTASIA MERYLIN DIMITRIA Student~urnber:094214096 Defended before the Board ofexaminers On June 20, 2016 And Declared Acceptable BOARD OF EXAMINERS Name Signature ~ Chairperson Secretary Member 1 Member 2 Member 3 : Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. : Dra. A. B. Sri Mulyani, MA, Ph.D. : Th. Enny Anggraini., M.A., Ph.D. : Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. : Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita AjL M. Hum. Yogyakarta, June 30, 2016 Faculty ofletters ata Dharma University Dean iii
STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any degree at any university, and that, to the best ofmy kriowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text of the undergraduate thesis. Yogyakarta, Anastasia Merylin Dimitria iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Sanata Dharma: Nama : Anastasia Merylin Dimitria Nomor Mahasiswa : 094214096 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: KEMAL BASMACI'S OBSESSIVE LOVE AS REFLECTED THROUGH HIS ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR IN ORHAN PAMUK'S THE MUSEUM OFINNOCENCE Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam betuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dati saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 7 Juni 2016 (Anastasia Merylin Dimitria) v
MOTTO PAGE There can be Miracles when you Believe MOTTO PAGE vi
DEDICATION PAGE I dedicated this thesis to those I share my heart and soul with vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My biggest gratitude belongs to The Higher Power of the Universe that blesses my life through the people and things I share my life with. I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis advisor, Dr. FX. Siswadi, M.A., as his guidance and patience greatly help me finishing this undergraduate thesis. I also thank Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, M. Hum for giving me valuable advice and suggestion to improve my undergraduate thesis. I sincerely also thank my academic advisor, Dr. Bernardine Ria Lestari, M.S for supporting me throughout my study. My special thanks go to all the secretariat staff and Self- Access Center staff as they help me daily during my time in the college. I would love to give a tribute to my family, especially my dad, my mom, and my sister, as they thoroughly and wholeheartedly love and support me during those happy as well as hard times. I thank the love of my life, Ka and my diversion, for the happiness we share. Without them by my side, my life will not be as fun. I also thank Maria and Sari for the smile they give in those short periods of time. To all 2009 girls and boys, especially those belong to the D class, I am thankful for the cooperation and friendship. Anastasia Merylin Dimitria viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE... i APPROVAL PAGE... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY... iv LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH... v MOTTO PAGE... vi DEDICATION PAGE... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... viii TABLE OF CONTENTS... ix ABSTRACT... xi ABSTRAK... xii CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION... 1 A. Background of the Study... 1 B. Problem Formulation... 4 C. Objectives of the Study... 5 D. Definition of Terms... 5 CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL REVIEW... 7 A. Review of Related Studies... 7 B. Review of Related Theories... 9 C. Theoretical Framework... 21 CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY... 23 A. Object of the Study... 23 B. Approach of the Study... 23 C. Method of the Study... 24 CHAPTER IV : ANALYSIS... 26 A. The Characteristics of Kemal Basmaci... 26 1. Weak-willed... 26 2. Irresponsible... 29 3. Dishonest... 31 4. Oversensitive... 34 5. Nostalgic... 37 6. Indecisive... 40 7. Passive-aggressive... 42 B. Kemal Basmaci s Attitude and Behavior That Reflect Obsessive Love... 44 1. Love at First Sight... 44 2. Exaggerated Fear in Relationship... 46 3. Dysfunctional Emotions... 52 4. Weak Personality Boundary... 56 ix
5. The Need to Create Drama and Excitement... 59 6. High Level of Tolerance for Suffering in Relationship... 64 7. Being Ruled by Libido... 68 8. Controlling Techniques... 73 9. Unhealthy Preoccupation... 77 C. The Causes of Kemal Basmaci s Obsessive Love... 82 1. Low Self-esteem... 82 2. Dysfunctional Family Background... 92 3. Chemical Imbalance... 101 4. Inadequate Role Model... 104 CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION... 109 BIBLIOGRAPHY... 114 APPENDIX... 116 x
ABSTRACT ANASTASIA MERYLIN DIMITRIA. Kemal Basmaci s Obsessive Love as Reflected through His Attitude and Behavior in Orhan Pamuk s The Museum of Innocence. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016. Obsessive love is a term to describe an unhealthy type of love, in that it is more of an obsession instead of love. In the novel titled The Museum of Innocence, the main protagonist named Kemal Basmaci is depicted to suffer from obsessive love as he clings to an unavailable woman for more than thirty years. To get a complete understanding in regards to Kemal s obsessive love, there are three problems that are analyzed. The first is the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci himself. The second is Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior that reflect his obsessive love. The third is the possible causes that lead to Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. Since this research tries to explain certain attitude and behavior patterns that reflect obsessive love, psychological approach is therefore the most suitable tool to be applied. As a library research, the writer uses theories that are relevant to the topic of the research. The theory of character and characterization are applied to determine the characteristics of Kemal. Next, the theory of the symptoms and causes of obsessive love are applied to prove that Kemal s attitude and behavior reflect obsessive love and also determine the background behind his obsessive love respectively. The research finds out that Kemal Basmaci is a person who is weakwilled, irresponsible, dishonest, oversensitive, nostalgic, indecisive, and passiveaggressive. In addition, he indeed suffers from obsessive love as his attitude and behavior match all the symptoms of obsessive love. Kemal s love is in fact merely an obsession as he has an all-consuming preoccupation and uncontrollable longing toward an unavailable woman. The research also finds out that there are four causes behind Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. The first cause is Kemal s having a low self-esteem. The second is Kemal s being raised in an unhealthy and inharmonious family in which he does not get sufficient amount of love. The third cause is Kemal s having chemical imbalance in his brain as a result of being an alcoholic. The last cause is Kemal s having an inadequate role model in his father since he is a depressed and an alcoholic person while also secretly suffering from obsessive love himself. xi
ABSTRAK ANASTASIA MERYLIN DIMITRIA. Kemal Basmaci s Obsessive Love as Reflected through His Attitude and Behavior in Orhan Pamuk s The Museum of Innocence. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016. Obsessive love merupakan istilah untuk menggambarkan suatu jenis cinta yang tidak sehat dimana cinta yang dimaksud lebih menyerupai sebuah obsesi. Di dalam novel berjudul The Museum of Innocence, sang protagonist Kemal Basmaci digambarkan menderita obsessive love karena terus melekatkan dirinya pada wanita yang tak dapat ia miliki selama lebih dari tiga puluh tahun. Untuk mendapatkan pemahaman yang menyeluruh tentang obsessive love Kemal, terdapat tiga permasalahan yang dianalisis. Yang pertama adalah karakteristik diri Kemal. Yang ke-dua adalah sikap dan perilaku Kemal yang mencerminkan obsessive love. Sedangkan yang ke-tiga adalah kemungkinan penyebab yang mengarah pada obsessive love Kemal. Karena penelitian ini berusaha menjelaskan sikap dan perilaku tertentu yang mencerminkan obsessive love, maka psikologi merupakan pendekatan yang paling tepat digunakan. Sebagai sebuah studi pustaka, penulis memakai berbagai teori yang sesuai dengan topik penelitian. Teori tentang karakter dan karakteristik digunakan untuk menentukan karakteristik tokoh Kemal. Selanjutnya, berturutturut teori tentang gejala dan penyebab obsessive love digunakan untuk membuktikan bahwa sikap dan perilaku Kemal mencerminkan obsessive love sekaligus menentukan penyebab dibaliknya. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Kemal merupakan sosok yang berkemauan lemah, tidak bertanggungjawab, tidak jujur, terlalu peka, suka mengenang masa lalu, peragu, dan pasif-agresif. Melalui penelitian ini juga tampak jelas bahwa Kemal menderita obsessive love. Hal ini dibuktikan dari sikap dan perilakunya yang identik dengan seluruh gejala obsessive love. Cinta yang Kemal rasakan sesungguhnya adalah obsesi mengingat ia merasakan hasrat yang tak terkendali dan begitu menyita waktu. Terdapat empat hal yang melatarbelakangi obsessive love Kemal. Pertama, sosok Kemal yang rendah diri. Kedua, Kemal dibesarkan di keluarga yang tidak sehat dan tidak harmonis dimana ia tidak memperoleh cinta. Ketiga, ketidakseimbangan zat kimia yang dialaminya sebagai seorang pemabuk. Keempat, Kemal memiliki ayah yang gagal menjadi panutan karena ternyata ia sendiri pun adalah sosok yang depresif, pemabuk, dan juga menderita obsessive love. xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Throughout lifetime there are many needs a human being requires. These needs can be classified generally as physical and non physical needs. Physical needs include food and living place while non physical needs include love and attachment with other people. Abraham Maslow stated that human needs can be arranged in a form of hierarchy, known as the hierarchy of needs. The needs Maslow listed are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. He suggests that people will try to fulfill their basic needs first, the so called physiological needs, before trying to fulfill the following needs (Petri, 1981: 302-305). In Maslow s hierarchy of needs, the first two needs can be referred to as physical needs. In order to live, the basic needs a human has to fulfill are food, water, and oxygen. Without these three aspects humans simply cannot live. On the other hand, the next three needs can be referred to as non-physical needs that include the need for love and belongingness. As the writer has explained above, people need the companionship of other people. This companionship can take some forms such as romantic relationship, family relationship, friendship, and so on. Each of these companionships serves as the source to gain support, affection, intimacy, and acceptance. 1
2 as follows Diane E. Papalia in her book titled Human Development 9 th Edition stated Intimacy includes a sense of belonging. The need to form strong, stable, close, caring relationships is a powerful motivator of human behavior. The strongest emotions-both positive and negative-are evoked by intimate attachments. People tend to be healthier physically and mentally and to live longer if they have satisfying close relationships (Papalia, 2004:501). From the above quotation, it is clear that intimate relationship might have great influence on one s life, as it can lead one having a fulfilling or a solitary life. As a result, many people try to search the love of their live, which is understandable. However, just as the above quotation has stated, love and intimate relationship can be said as double-edged sword as it can provoke both the positive and negative emotions. At its best, love is the most beautiful feeling one can experience, but at its worst love can be the creator of one s downfall. People will have many benefits by having a satisfying and healthy love, where it can bring profound happiness and self-development. However, an unhealthy love will have quite the opposite effect. An example of unhealthy love is obsessive love. It happens when love turns into obsession, either from the beginning of a relationship or as the relationship progresses over time. Eileen Bailey, the author of The Essential Guide to Overcoming Obsessive Love, in an interview published in www.healthcentral.com stated about the difference between love and obsession as follows: Obsessive love is a confusing term. It really doesn t have anything to do with love. Love, healthy love, is built on trust and mutual respect. There is no obsession, no jealousy, no possessiveness you want your partner to reach for and strive for their dreams and you are happy for their achievements. In an obsessive relationship, these dreams and achievements are instead a cause of insecurity; they are seen as a threat to
3 the relationship. That is because obsessive relationships are built not on love but on insecurity and fear. The above quotation suggests that obsessors, or people suffering from obsessive love, confuse the term between love and obsession. Obsessors perceive what they are feeling as love, while other people who are not an obsessor themselves know that what the obsessors are feeling is merely an obsession. Hence the term obsessive love is there to accommodate different interpretation between what is seen from the eyes of the obsessors and that of others. Officially, obsessive love is not yet regarded as mental illness or mental disorder by far, as shown in the quotation taken from Confusing Love with Obsession: Third Edition by John D. Moore below: Essentially what we will be exploring in this publication is a combination of what the American Psychiatric Association refers to in the DSM as dependent personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. While all of the behaviors of people who confuse love with obsession may not fit neatly into these DSM diagnoses, they closely reflect what we will be exploring (Moore, 2006: 4). The above quotation shows that the term obsessive love is not present in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM). However, the quotation implies that obsessive love is a mental condition that is close to personality disorder of the obsessors that make them behave in certain obsessive ways when dealing with love. The object of this study is a novel written by Orhan Pamuk titled The Museum of Innocence, in which obsessive love can be said as the main theme of the novel. It tells the obsessive yet long-standing love story of the main protagonist, Kemal Basmaci as the obsessor, toward his object of obsession
4 named Fusun. The novel uses the first person point of view, therefore the readers see the story from Kemal Basmaci s perspective. Obsessive love has the possibility to ruin the life of people involved. Ironically, obsessors do not realize that they suffer from obsessive love and that their behavior destructs their own life, their partner s life, and the relationship itself. This is the case in the story of The Museum of Innocence. Denis Haack, an author and a journalist, stated that Pamuk tells the story in The Museum of Innocence as a study in love and obsession, taking us into the mind and imagination of one lover as we watch the relationship develop, break apart, stall in a multi-year yearning for reconciliation, and then move to an inevitable tragic end. Pamuk s story also insists we ask questions as we read. Can something this obsessive be evidence of real love? (http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?aid=631&b=denis% 20Haack&TID=5). The quotation suggests that The Museum of Innocence is a study of love and obsession, therefore the novel is a suitable book to analyze topic about obsessive love. B. Problem Formulation There are three problem formulations made to get a better understanding on obsessive love depicted in the novel. 1. What are the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci? 2. What are Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior that reflect obsessive love? 3. What are the causes of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love?
5 C. Objectives of the Study The first objective is to find out Kemal Basmaci s characteristic by looking through his characterization. The second objective is to identify Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior that reflect obsessive love. The third objective is to analyze the possible causes of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. D. Definition of Terms In this part, the writer states some of the terms mentioned in the title and problem formulation to avoid any possible misunderstanding. Those important key terms are obsessive love, attitude, and behavior. 1. Obsessive love Obsessive love is a condition in which the person has a painful, all-consuming preoccupation with a real or wished-for lover and an insatiable longing either to possess or to be possessed by the target of their obsession. The target must have rejected them or be unavailable physically or emotionally and the unavailability or rejection drive them to behave in self-defeating ways (Forward, 2002: 6). 2. Attitude According to a book entitled Social Psychology (4 th Edition), attitude is defined as: A relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols (Hogg & Vaughan, 2005: 150).
6 3. Behavior In a book titled Psychology of Human Behavior, Richard A. Khalis stated that behavior is anything acted, performed, and done by the human (Khalis, 1973).
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies In this part, the writer provides some reviews on the same novel and topic. There were two articles previously done by other writers reviewing The Museum of Innocence and an article reviewing the topic of obsessive love. In the first review on the same novel, Maureen Howard wrote an article titled Lolita on the Bosphorus. In the article published in New York Times, he stated that The delight in The Museum of Innocence is Pamuk s storytelling; that he often makes use of genre. His 1998 novel My Name Is Red may be claimed as historical novel with an embedded mystery and a political story (Howard, 2009). From the quotation, it is understood that Orhan Pamuk has an interesting writing style and storytelling through the exploration of background stories. Just like in My Name Is Red, his most critically acclaimed book in which he explores the history of art, Orhan Pamuk explores the social, political, and religious view of the Turkish in The Museum of Innocence. Another review on the same novel is written by James Lasdun. In his article titled The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, he stated that As Kemal proceeds to drag himself through the increasingly painful stations of obsessive love, the book darkens from love story to study in florid pathology and psychological extremism (Lasdun, 2010). The quotation shows that Kemal Basmaci undergoes drastic life-changing mental state caused by the onset of his obsessive love. In the novel, Kemal Basmaci is described to be embarrassed about 7
8 his irrational obsessive love, as with most obsessors in the real world. This study explains why a high profile man from a bourgeois family with a very bright future ahead of him literally wastes his life and suffers from obsessive love. For the review on the same topic, the writer provides an article titled Obsessive Love written by Alina Johny. Discussing about the topic of obsessive love, she stated as follows. Obsessive love is a delusion that can lead to dangerous consequences such as stalking, rape, suicide or murder. Somerset Maugham s Of Human Bondage and Vladimir Nabokov s Lolita both describe and show many of the detrimental effects that obsessive love can have on a person s life. These effects can accumulate upon each other and range from devastating one s loved ones, diminishing one s money to destroying one s soul. Obsessive love is seen through the words and actions of the main characters within the two works, Lolita and Of Human Bondage. These intense feelings that they show for another person are barely, if at all, returned. However, different from normal couples who are in love with one another, these two men are so madly and obsessively in love with another person that the idea of the feelings not being returned is not most prominent in their minds (http://users.manchester.edu/student/arbigjohny/ ProfWeb/essay2.pdf ). In the study, Alina Johny made a research on obsessive love described by two main characters of two different works of literature; those are Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. From the above quotation, the writer sees clearly that obsessive love is very different from a healthy love. In a healthy love, people are able to be realistic in seeing the relationship. Therefore when their love is not reciprocated, they are willing to end the relationship for the sake of their life as well as their loved one s. On the contrary, people who are obsesssor do not care if their love is not reciprocated. They give little consideration for their object of obsession s unhappiness as they confuse love with obsession.
9 The writer s study differs from all of the above reviews as the writer elaborates Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love as reflected through his attitude and behavior, as well as analyzes the possible causes of his obsessive love. B. Review of Related Theories In this part, the writer provides theories needed to answer the three problem formulations. In general, the theories needed are theory of character and characterization as a tool to analyze the first problem formulation related to the intrinsic element and theory of obsessive love as a guidance to identify the symptoms and the possible causes of the obsessive love of Kemal Basmaci, which are the second and the third problem formulation respectively. 1. Theory of Character and Characterization Character is an important intrinsic element in literature. Without character, an author has no medium to present the story and the conflict to the reader. Therefore, as any other research in literature, the first thing needs to be done is analyzing the character as a primary intrinsic element in the work of literature. In his book titled A Glossary of Literary Terms (1993:23), Abrams defines character as The persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what they do-the action (Abrams, 1993: 23). Kate Grenville in a book titled The Writing Book: A Workbook for Fiction Writers stated that Characterization is all the things writers do to build up the characters they want. Characterization is the process that transforms real-life
10 people into characters in fictions (Grenville, 1998: 36). There are many ways to perceive the characteristics of a character in a work of literature. In Understanding Unseens by M.J. Murphy, there are nine ways to present a character s characteristics and thereby known as characterization (Murphy, 1972: 161-173): a. Personal Description To describe the character, the author explains the physical appearances of the character. The description often has relation to the character s psychological conditions. In other words, personality can be reflected from the external appearance. b. Character as Seen by Another Instead of a direct description, an author describes the character through the opinion of another character. Other characters might give an explanation about what the character is like. Other character s thought about a certain character can be a significant factor to build readers understanding of the character. c. Speech The author gives readers insight into the thought of a character through what the character says. Whenever a character is speaking, she /he is giving the readers a clue about the characteristics of the character. d. Past Life By learning about a character s past life, the author gives the readers a clue that can help determining the character s characteristics. The character s past life is always closely connected to the character s present life.
11 e. Conversation of Others The author gives readers clues to a character s characteristics through a conversation between a character with another character. Readers need to pay attention toward the conversation between those characters to be able to understand what is meant or what is implied from the conversation. f. Reaction The character shows her/ his characteristic from her reaction to various situations and events. g. Direct Comment This characterization is done by giving readers direct opinion about a character s characteristics. h. Thoughts Readers follow the inner life and the thinking process of a character and examine the character s ideas. i. Mannerism The author may describe the character s mannerism and habit that represents their characteristics. To analyze the characteristic of Kemal Basmaci, the writer applies five out of the nine theories by M.J. Murphy. Those five ways are character as seen by another, speech, reaction, thought, and mannerism.
12 2. Theory of Obsessive Love Obsessive love is a form of an unhealthy love that actually can not be categorized as love. While the core of love should be mutual respect, trust, friendship, and other positive elements, in the heart of obsessive love, there are fear, the need to possess, the desire to control, and other negative elements (Andersen, Lene. Overcoming Obsessive Love: An Interview with Eileen Bailey.http://www.healthcentral.com/rheumatoidarthritis/c/80106/48097/ love/). Due to the very different nature between love and obsessive love, obsessors always display certain attitude and behaviour that are not present in the case of love, thus serving as the symptoms of obsessive love. a. The Symptoms of Obsessive Love In this part, the writer explains about the theory on obsessive love, especially about the symptoms and its possible causes. The symptoms analyzed later serve as a way to answer the second problem formulation being the reflection of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love depicted in his attitude and behavior and the third problem formulation being the possible causes of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. As discussed in the first chapter, obsessive love is entirely different from love itself. In fact, it is driven by fear and it is merely an obsession either to possess an object of obsession or to be possessed by an object of obsession. Therefore, the obsessors exhibit some symptoms in the form of their attitude and behavior (Peabody, 2005: 37-55). i. Love at First Sight
13 According to Susan Peabody in her book titled Addiction To Love: Overcoming Obsession and Dependency in Relationships, obsessessor has inner compulsion, that is the need to connect with someone immediately (Peabody, 2005: 37). From the quotation it is understood that although human, as a social creature always feel the need to bond and to have a relationship with others, the need is different between healthy people to obsessors. Healthy people take time to build a relationship, while obsessors are impatient to be close to someone even though they do not really know the person. Obsessors often feel an immediate rapport with a complete stranger and confuse love with infatuation. Therefore, the so called love at first sight is actually a mere infatuation, lust, and attraction to other people, especially one s physical beauty and charm (Peabody, 2005: 37-38). ii. Exaggerated Fear in Relationship The core problem of obsessive love lies deep in the obsessors heart and mind. Obsessors almost always have tremendous fear related to their love relationship. This fear is mostly a result of childhood trauma, in that obsessors face loneliness, abandonment, rejection, and deprivation. The exaggerated fear may take some forms such as feeling terrified of breaking up, feeling afraid of being alone without a relationship, feeling unable to leave an unhealthy relationship, feeling as if they can not survive as an individual, and feeling overly anxious regarding the progress and continuity of the relationship (Peabody, 2005: 43-45). Feeling deeply
14 insecure in terms of relationship leads obsessors becoming prone to develop an abnormal suspicion, possessiveness, and jealousy. Their insecurity leads them to behaving possessively toward their object of obsession. The jealousy and possessiveness are often unreasonable. At this point, obsessors consider their object of obsession as merely possession. Abnormal jealousy can result in the obsessors being overly anxious when they are not with their object of obsession, constantly worrying about what their object of obsession are doing at any given time, and checking their whereabouts at illogical times such as at dawn and at midnight (Peabody, 2005: 45-46). iii. Dysfunctional Emotions Obsessors tend to build dysfunctional emotions that are characterized by having an overwhelming yet confusing feeling, being susceptible to fluctuate feeling, feeling afraid to express emotions with people (especially their object of obsession) out of fear that their emotions will drive people away, substituting one emotions for another, denying painful feeling, suppressing painful feeling rather than feeling it directly, anesthetizing painful feeling using addictive substances, and having a tendency to build polarized (all or nothing) feeling such as agony-ecstasy, euphoria-depression, and love-hate, and feeling an attack of rage (Peabody, 2005: 46-48). iv. Weak Personality Boundary
15 Most obsessors have weak personality boundary caused by low self-esteem coupled with their need for acceptance and approval from others. They find it difficult to have a sense of individuality. In general, obsessors who have a weak personality boundary will always absorb the feeling or the energy of their surrounding and people around them (especially their object of obsession) albeit unconsciously. Weak personality boundary might appear in various forms such as being unable to say no, losing a sense of individuality, being too easily affected emotionally to the point of having an exactly the same feeling, and giving up their own ideology/choice/hobby to match those of others to gain approval. (Peabody, 2005: 49-50) v. The Need to Create Drama and Excitement Unlike healthy relationship in which the persons involved try to build emotional stability and consistency, obsessors have the need to create drama and excitement similar to dramatic scene in romantic soap opera. Creating drama and excitement are meant to produce outburst sensation and adrenalin rush that help them to keep their excitement alive. To excite themselves, obsessors always try to turn an ordinary event into extraordinary one just to get the excitement and entertainment. Obsessors may try to create drama by dramatizing an event similar to a romantic scene, picking a deliberate fight, intentionally turning a small argument into a war, fantasizing excessively about romance, and interpreting other people s actions as well as events followed by creating signification based
16 on it. While creating drama may bring a sense of excitement, obsessors may also get disappointed by little setback from the drama itself (Peabody, 2005: 40-43). vi. High Level of Tolerance for Suffering in Relationships Obsessors often have a very high level of tolerance when they are faced with abuse and neglect by their object of obsession. They would rather befriend with any kinds of pain resulting from relationship with their object of obsession than face the possibility of separation or breaking up. The high level for tolerating can be traced back to their childhood. As a child, obsessors were powerless to change the neglect and rejection from their parents. Therefore, from then they had learned to adapt themselves by settling themselves familiar and comfortable with pain. They do not think that they deserve better relationship (Peabody, 2005: 50-51). vii. Being Ruled by Libido While some obsessors are more obsessed in attachment, bonding, and a fantasy to live happily ever after and therefore are ready to cling to their object of obsession even without sex, there are a great number of obsessors who is ruled more by their libido. In addition to having a tendency to eroticism, these obsessors often confuse lust with love, get dominated by sexual needs, become blinded by the sexual attraction of their object of obsession, and consider passion as the most important aspect in their relationship as opposed to commitment, communication,
17 honesty, and some other important aspects in a healthy relationship (Peabody, 2005: 54-55). viii. Controlling Techniques Due to their fear of losing their object of obsession, obsessors feel a strong need to keep and maintain their relationship with the object of obsession. They need to have the upper hand in the relationship to ensure its continuity. To have the control over the relationship as well as their object of obsession without risking losing them in the process, obsessors likely use manipulation instead of the more direct controlling techniques. (Peabody, 2005: 55). ix. Unhealthy Preoccupation Being preoccupied with a new lover in a new relationship is very common and it is not necessarily considered as obsessive love. However, when the preoccupation grows too strong and driven by obsession, it is likely the case of obsessive love. Obsessors will often neglect family, friends, and activities they used to enjoy just to focus their attention on their object of obsession. As time goes on, obsessor s world seems to get narrow (Forward, 2002: 9). The root of their withdrawal from the world is their own belief that they have found the person they have been looking for in their whole life. The belief often comes without reason. Susan Forward is quoted as saying: Obsessive lovers truly believe--sometimes without realizing it that their One Magic Person alone can make them feel happy and fulfilled, solve all their problems, give them the passion they ve
18 yearned for, and make them feel more wanted and loved than they have ever felt before. (Forward, 2002, 21) b. The Causes of Obsessive Love i. Low Self-esteem A person is not going to become an obsessive lover unless he or she has low self-esteem (Peabody, 2005: 31). Susan Forward states that rejection and abandonment of the parents sabotage the obsessors self esteem and self confidence to be independent and in the end it makes obsessors cling to their object of obsession (2002: 173). Obsessive lover is always an individual who has such a very low self-esteem. How much they have the self-esteem can be seen easily from the way they view themselves and the way they behave around other people. In her book titled Overcoming Low Self-esteem, Melanie J. V. Fennell mentions the list commonly had by people with low self-esteem, those are seeing themselves as invaluable, difficulty asserting needs and/or speaking out, avoidance of challenges and opportunities, bowed posture, hushed voice, hesitancy, anxiety, guilt, shame, fear, anger, frustration, uncomfortable body sensation, fatigue, low energy, tension, underachieve in school and work, self consciousness, oversensitivity to criticism, approval-seeking, eagerness to please, and not taking care of themselves by smoking and heavy drinking (2009: 10-12). ii. Dysfunctional Family Background In the case of a healthy family, parents will provide children with love, respect, approval, and sense of security that will develop the child s
19 self-confidence and courage to be emotionally independent without feeling abandoned. However, obsessors come from an unhealthy family in which the parents are unable to bring the sense of love, respect, approval, and protection. As a result, the child is timid about being emotionally independent while at the same time tries to gain the unfulfilled love and connection with the parents. To sum up, a person who is deprived of family love may end up growing up as an emotionally dependent adult with low self-esteem, an excessive hunger for love, and a tremendous fear of abandonment and separation, thus being the root of obsessive love (Forward, 2002: 172-175). Aside from the actual physical or emotional abandonment and rejection, there is another issue which left a person to feel unloved which is the characteristic of the parents themselves as is stated below There is another form of rejection that can hamper a child s selfesteem, sometimes overt sometimes not, that I find in the family background of a surprising number of obsessive lovers. This rejection results from parents who withhold approval, who have such unrealistic expectations that their children never stand a chance to measure up. These parents are invariably domineering, highly critical, and highly perfectionist (Forward, 2002: 180). iii. Chemical Imbalance Chemical imbalance in the body is gained as a result of excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol, especially, is thought to have effects on mood and temperament, while distort one s ability to think logically. Depression and feeling overly moody are also common effects on heavy drinking. Many obsessors have underlying addictive behavior that can worsen their obsessive love, as stated below.
20 In addition, many obsessors tend to be compulsive in areas of their lives outside of their love relationships. They often use drugs or alcohol to deaden their feelings. Alcohol and drugs impair judgement and perception, which seriously undermines the ability to deal effectively with obsessive behavior and thoughts (Forward, 2002:196). iv. Inadequate Role Models Parents are the role model of their children. Children will likely follow their parents behavior and define themselves by what they see, much like mirror reflection. Obsessors usually come from homes where at least one parent has addictive behavior and is emotionally unhealthy. Such parents will unconsciously project poor self image and set a poor example to follow, hence becoming an inadequate role model that plays a part in the development of the child s obsessive love (Peabody, 2005: 34, 94). 3. The Relationship between Literature and Psychology Literature and psychology are two disciplines influencing one another. Some similarities are also found in the two fields as both examining human experience as individual and as group. Literature can be regarded as an imitation of real life presented in a story. It is because in literature, readers are presented with characters in certain place and time setting reflecting particular part of life experience. Psychology has long been used as one of the many tools to analyze literary works. This is possible since both literature and psychology center on humans life experiences, albeit in literature the subject and experience are fictional. Fathali Moghadam in a journal titled From Psychology in Literature to Psychology is Literature : An Exploration of Boundaries and Relationship stated that Freud s
21 particular interpretation of the unconscious, and his psychosexual model of development more broadly, seem especially well suited to analysis intended to uncover the real motives behind literary text ( http://fathalimoghaddam.com/ wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1256623233.pdf). The quotation shows an example of how psychological theory can be applied to analyze literary works. By using suitable theory of the unconscious mind, readers are able to get the real motive of characters as to why they behave in certain ways in a story. Writing literary work in itself is a psychological process. To be able to write fictional story, authors must use their creativity and therefore elaborate their cognitive abilities. Louis Dudek in a journal titled The Psychology of Literature stated as follows A work of literature is a wonderful, complex, psychological entity. It has relation, first, to the private biography of the author. It is translated readily, usually by the author himself, into a statement about the problems of his own age, and of the worlds he lives in. It will be applied, later, to other times and other ages. It is never merely a literal statement or representation; it is always literary, that is an object of contemplation and communication ( http://canlit.ca/pdfs/articles/canlit72- Psychology%28Dudek%29.pdf). The above quotation suggests that literature and psychology are closely related and influence each other. Not only is literature a product of psychological process of the authors, but also it provides cultural and historical data that later can be analyzed by using psychological approach to reveal why and how it happened. C. Theoretical Framework The first problem in this study is an understanding about the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci. To get his characteristics, the writer uses theory
22 of characterization by M.J. Murphy. In his book, M.J. Murphy stated nine ways which need to be examined closely to get an understanding on a character s characteristics. By applying those nine ways of characterization, the writer is able to answer the first problem formulation. After the writer finding out the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci, the writer deals with the topic of this study, which is obsessive love. To answer the second problem related to the symptoms of obsessive love reflected through Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior, the writer uses theory of obsessive love symptoms written by Susan Peabody and Susan Forward. There are nine wellknown symptoms of obsessive love that can be seen and analyzed from Kemal Basmaci s daily life. Those symptoms serve as a proof that Kemal Basmaci actually suffers from obsessive love. After the symptoms of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love are explained, the writer uses theory of the causes of obsessive love stated by Susan Forward and Susan Peabody, with additional theory on low self-esteem from Melanie J. V. Fennell. There are four possible causes of obsessive love presented in the theory books. Those four causes are then used to closely examine the family background and other aspects in Kemal Basmaci s life in order to determine the cause of his obsessive love. Thus, the third problem formulation is answered.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The object of this study is a novel titled The Museum of Innocence written by Orhan Pamuk, a Turkish author. The novel is originally written in Turkish before being translated into English by Maureen Freely in 2009. The English version consists of 536 pages and is divided into 83 chapters. Orhan Pamuk is one of the most popular authors in Turkey. The museum of Innocence is his first novel since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel titled My Name Is Red. The Museum of Innocence is a tragic love story between the bourgeoisie Kemal Basmaci and his poor distant relation named Fusun. Social differentiation, family influence, and Fusun s marital status make the two unable to be together. Kemal Basmaci falls into deep depression and experience love that turns out to be obsessive for more than 30 years after opting to neglect his perfect life to cling to his long gone love. B. Approach of the Study In order to analyze a work of literature, certain approach is a necessity as a means of interpretative tool. The approach is determined by the theories used in the study. For this study, the writer uses psychological approach. In their book titled Reading and Writing about Literature, Mary Rohrberger and Samuel Woods state as follows. Psychological approach is the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns, but from a different body of knowledge that is psychology. This approach uses the psychological theories to explain 23
24 human motivation, personality, and behavior patterns written in literary objects (1971: 31). From the above quotation, it is understood that deploying psychological approach as an in interpretative tool means applying psychological theories to analyze a work of literature. The theories help the readers to better understand the characters in a work of literature as to what motivates them to act and behave in certain ways, or why they possess certain personal characteristic since psychological theories provide an insight to the character s unconscious mind. The psychological approach is suitable for this study as it focuses on analyzing Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior and the background behind Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. C. Method of the Study The type of this study is a library research. As for any other library research, there are two main sources used in the study. The primary source is the object of this study, a novel titled The Museum of Innocence. The secondary sources are some theory books used to analyzing the problems formulated. The most important theory books are Addiction to Love: Overcoming Obsession and Dependency in Relationship by Susan Peabody, Obsessive Love: When It Hurts Too Much to Let Go by Susan Forward, Overcoming Low Self-esteem by Melanie J. V. Fennel, and Understanding Unseen by M.J. Murphy. In doing the study, there are eight steps need to be done simultaneously. The first step was reading the novel closely and repeatedly to get a better understanding about the whole story. The second step was searching for reviews, article, and journal about the novel to get additional insight. The third step was
25 formulating the problems of the study. The next step was searching for theories for answering the problems of the study, especially the theory of character and characterization and the theory of obsessive love. After the writer finding the appropriate theory books on character and characterization, in the next step, the theory was applied to determine the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci. The sixth step was applying the theory of obsessive love in order to show that Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior being in line with the symptoms of obsessive love. The next step was revealing the causes of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love based on the theory of the cause of obsessive love. Finally, the last step was making a conclusion based on the whole study.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS In this chapter, the writer answers the three problem formulation presented in chapter I. Those three problem formulations are the characteristics of Kemal Basmaci, Kemal Basmaci s attitude and behavior that reflect his obsessive love, and the causes of Kemal Basmaci s obsessive love. A. The Characteristics of Kemal Basmaci Kemal Basmaci is the main character of The Museum of Innocence who suffers from obsessive love. Before elaborating his attitude and behavior that displays the symptoms of obsessive love, the writer analyzes his characteristics to get a better understanding of his personality. In order to analyze his characteristics, the writer uses M.J Murphy s theory taken from his book titled Understanding Unseen as the tool 1. Weak-willed In his book, M.J. Murphy states that a character s characteristics can be shown through the character s mannerism (1972: 173). The quotation below shows Kemal s weak-willed characteristic through the way he carries himself. Good. Stand up straight when you walk, all right? Everyone s watching you... Come on now, it s time for us to get going. (p. 104) You re very handsome, but you must learn to stand up straight, Sibel said, unknowingly parroting my mother. (p. 106) The quotation is about Kemal s mother and fiancée reminding him to stand up straight when walking and meeting the guests in his engagement party. Kemal s tendency to slouch implicitly suggests that he is a weak-willed person 26
27 who is not vibrant and spirited, even in his big day. Meanwhile, a person who is strong-willed will stand tall and upright. Another proof of Kemal s weak-willed characteristic can be seen in the way he responses to certain event, as M.J Murphy states that a character s reaction might serve as a tool to analyze a character s characteristics (1972: 168). I felt that I should get out of bed, distract myself, look for a way out of this predicament, or at the very least this room, but I just couldn t summon the will (p. 155). The day after Kemal and Sibel get engaged, Fusun suddenly disappears. She does not come to Merhamet apartment as she has promised Kemal before. Waiting in vain for weeks, Kemal must have known with each passing day that Fusun will never come again. However, it does not stop Kemal to come to the apartment each day, wait for nothing, and feel the growing pain. The quotation suggests that Kemal knows that what he does is not good for his emotional well being, but he is unable to even drag himself out of the room. The quotation shows that Kemal s reaction to Fusun s absence is him staying idle in the room. It is as though he does not have the energy to try to change and improve the situation. Another moment that depicts Kemal s weak-willed nature occurs in Fusun s family home in a poor neighborhood in Istanbul. Fusun lives there with her father, mother, and her husband. So at that moment, the television having been turned off, I would sit for a casual while longer, before telling myself, more forcefully now, that I needed to stand up and get going, but my legs would not obey me. In this motionless state I would remain like a figure in a painting, and as I felt the perspiration beading on my brow, the ticking of the clock punctuating my discomfort, as I exhorted myself, saying I m standing up now! forty times over, but still to no avail. (p.311)