The Representation of Feminism in Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman

Abstract

This research examines how feminism is portrayed towards the female subject in Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman. Theory of representation by Stuart Hall (1997), especially the discursive approach proposed by Michel Foucault, is applied to uncover how feminism is constructed through characters’ actions and attitudes toward women. Furthermore, this research examines the author's position on the feminist discourse found in the novel, employing a biographical approach to correlate the feminist discourse with Lee’s contextual background. According to the first question, feminism was portrayed through the female characters, which in this case is Jean Louise. To provide more details, the description of the discourse of feminism in the story is divided into three categories: countering social judgment of girls' behaviour, Louise's freedom to wear what she wants, and breaking gender stereotypes. Jean Louise's actions through the scenes above are a form of feminism. Just like what Simone de Beauvoir (2010) said, “One is not born…, but becomes a woman.”. Beauvoir contends that women are not simply a biological fact. Women are not born as they are; they are shaped by how culture, society, and history define what it means to be a woman. Society dictates, teaches, and conditions individuals into the role of “women” that they created through experience, expectations, and socialization. According to the second research question, which is the author's position. Harper Lee, or Nelle Harper Lee, was born in Monroeville, Alabama, in 1926. She was the daughter of a lawyer and grew up in a white family in Alabama. Harper Lee shares a similar perspective on feminism with Jean Louise. Jean Louise’s values and characteristics are not far from what she had inside herself. It means the perspective of Jean Louise toward feminism is the same as what Lee’s have in real life. Furthermore, Lee was not known as a strong feminist. She does not conform to traditional norms of women, which influence the way she lives her life. However, she also refuses the idea that women completely reject the roles that culture assigns to them and men, and that women do nothing except live their lives without considering their partner's perspective. It is a significant negotiation on feminism from Lee.