Nora Seed’s Oppression in Matt Haig’s the Midnight Library

Abstract

This research analyzes Nora Seed’s Oppression in Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library. The term oppression is represented in the novel because the main character, Nora Seed’s experienced woman’s oppression towards people around her. There are two goals of this research including finding the representation of woman’s oppression in the novel and the critical position of author. The theory used to analyse this research came from Stuart Hall as main theory supported by the Five Faces of Oppression from Iris Marion Young. Those theories are applied to analyse the representation of woman’s oppression through Matt Haig in The Midnight Library. To analyze this research, the first step is to select data using representation theory by Stuart Hall (1997). In this theory, there are three approaches, namely the reflective approach, the intentional approach, and the constructionist approach. Among these three approaches, the constructionist approach is the most suitable approach to be applied in this research. The constructionist approach is used to find the discourse contained in the novel. The discourse is used to find a representation of women's oppression through the main character in the novel. Young's (1990) concept of the Five Faces of Oppression is also used in this study to analyze Nora's oppression. There are two data categories in this study: primary data and secondary data. Primary data is data obtained through novels and in the form of dialogue or narrative. Secondary data is in the form of data obtained from other sources such as interviews, news, articles, journals and so on to support adding information and supporting primary data. Through the data obtained in the novel, it can be concluded that women are objects that are vulnerable to experiencing oppression by those closest to them. This can be seen through the treatment of Nora's father who was so dominant that he was deprived of his rights as a woman. The treatment was in the form of power abuse, controlling, and coercion by Nora's father. This oppression falls into three types, namely: exploitation, powerlessness, and violence. Through the various aspects that have been mentioned, forming a discourse on women's oppression in the novel. Matt Haig is a figure who has never experienced bullying, but he cares and doesn't want this to happen to those closest to him. Because of this concern, he then wanted to criticize how the social conditions were at that time. It is described that the character Nora also experiences several mental disorders due to the effects of the bullying. Behind Nora's mental disorder written in the novel is the fact that Matt Haig as the writer also has the same mental disorder. Through the novel The Midnight Library, Matt Haig tries to voice and reject the oppression of women.