The Struggle of Women Existence in “Isn’t It Romantic” Novel by Wendy Wesserstein

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the struggle of women to gain existence in the novel as a representation of social phenomena. The data source of this research was Isn't It Romantic drama by Wendy Wesserstein. This drama is about women who want to achieve their dreams without the participation of their parents. They want to live without any interference from their parents. To reveal the struggle for existence, the researcher uses the existentialism approach by Simone Beauvoir. Existentialists fight for the nature of human existence, especially for women who have been subordinated to the patriarchal system. The method used in this research is Descriptive qualitative method. The close reading data collection method is effective in tracing data relevant to research variables. The analysis method is carried out critically by using an existentialism approach. The researcher got three main analyses toward the novel, they are: independence over women, authority in making decisions, and lastly, the same existence as a human being.

Woman’s Existence in the Novel “Khubzun ‘Alaa Tawilati Al-Khal Milad” Based on an Existentialist Feminist Perspective

“…Data findings ( 5) and ( 6) illustrate the myth of women expressed through physical imagery. Data findings ( 5) and ( 6) can be compared with research that describes the myths of women built through the image of women as the second class (Kasimbara, 2022). So, some characteristics of nature, types of women, and forms of resistance carried out by women are considered something natural.…”

“…The study of existentialist feminism from Beauvoir's perspective is still widely discussed in several studies, including women show their existence (Iswandi & Muhammad Adek, 2022;Martinus & Marsih, 2022;Utami & Sholihah, 2021), the existence of women in the career, intellectual, social, and political (Allen-Collinson, 2022;Valls-Carol et al, 2022), women's authority (Alqaryouti & Ismail, 2019;Kasimbara, 2022;Priyadharshini et al, 2022), the biggest challenges for women to gain freedom and actualize themselves authentically (Gunawan, 2022;Kjellgren, 2023;Kurnianto, 2021;Martini & Umam, 2021), and women resistance (Dakhil, 2022;Kanatli, 2021;Reuter, 2022;Vinoth & Vijayakumar, 2023).…”

“…The similarity lies in the similarity of the theory that researchers use, namely Beauvoir's Existentialist Feminism. Whereas, the differences lie in intellectual women, workers, community transforms, and independent women (Alqaryouti & Ismail, 2019;Iswandi & Muhammad Adek, 2022;Kasimbara, 2022;Martini & Umam, 2021;Martinus & Marsih, 2022;Utami & Sholihah, 2021), the factors driving women to realize their existence (Gunawan, 2022;Kurnianto, 2021;Priyadharshini et al, 2022;Reuter, 2022), and women's role in society (Dakhil, 2022;Kjellgren, 2023;Valls-Carol et al, 2022).…”