The Representation of Liberal Feminism in Elmer Boyd Smith’s the Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith

Abstract

The Story of Pocahontas and Captain John Smith is a picture book written by Elmer Boyd Smith in 1906. The story is about Native American Princess named Pocahontas. She is being friendship with the English settler named John Smith. Besides their friendship, there is liberal feminism issues that becomes the background of the story. Liberal feminism issues becomes interesting to be analyzed because the author creates the Princess of the great chief Powhatan as the female main character in this story. She is greatly described the characteristics of liberal feminism as strong and independent woman. In early story, Pocahontas is described as a little daughter of the great chief Powhatan who lived in Virginia. Then, she meets with Captain John Smith who is a member of the English settler. The popular part of the story is when she rescued John Smith from the execution and their relationship is improved. They are traded with each other and their friendship continued untill she grows up as independent and strong woman. Pocahontas character in this story is portrayed as a woman with strong minded and independent who could achieved the equality between man and woman especially in American society at that time. This study aims to analyze the female main character with liberal feminism characteristic that were represented through Pocahontas in the story. Therefore, there are two kinds of theories used in this thesis. They are Stuart Hall’s theory of the representation which is used to find the discourse of liberal feminism within the story and the theory of liberal feminism as the supporting theory which is used to give the information about the characteristics of liberal feminism. The construction of liberal feminism which is delivered in the story represents the discourse of liberal feminism’s characteristics in American society where the author lives. In the analysis processes, the researcher applies the theories to the data found in the text and continues to analyze the context behind the story that obviously proves the existence of liberal feminism’s characteristics and find the discourse of liberal feminism which is constructed in the story. The type of research used in this research is qualitative research. It means that the data have been selected in the form of sentences and texts from the story or any other resources. As the result of the analysis, liberal feminism ideology can be understood as the response of the potrayal woman in late 19st century, the beginning of liberal feminism thoughts coming. Liberal feminism perspective emphasizes the equality between men and women. The inequality is the result of a patriarchy system prevailing in society. The equality can also occur by transforming through remaking the pattern of several important institutions, such as : law, work, family, education and media. For answering the problem, liberal feminism tries to support women hold these truths to be self-evident. Their self evident are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The author writes a story about a princess that is different from the portrayal of a princess in general. He describes his female character as a little girl who have been living in the wild nature and this little girl is growing to become an independent and brave woman. The researcher can conclude from the passage that liberal feminism ideology has been finding through the story. The researcher has been finding the ideas of liberal feminism who is offered as the representations of the female main character. I found that the female main character depicted cleary about women’s powers, performances, the diversity, and potency of women’s intelligent who is equal with men. The educated, mentally healthy and competent women was found in the portrayal of the female main character within the story.