Myrtle’s Self Defense Mechanism Against Bullying In Rosalie Ham’s The Dressmaker

Abstract

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyze Myrtle’s experience of bullying, the impacts of bullying towards her personality, and the defense mechanism she performs in respond to the bullying experience. This research is a qualitative research. The source of data of this research was taken from Rosalie Ham’sThe Dressmaker published in 2000. The data taken from the novel were in the form of particular expressions related to Myrtle’s bullying experienced and her defense mechanism. During this research, the researcher read and re-read the novel, collected the data, categorized the data, and analyzed the data taken from Rosalie Ham’s The Dressmaker. The data were analyzed by using Schleser’s bullying theory that focused on the kinds of bullying and the impacts of bullying towards the character and Freud’s psychoanalysis theory that focused on the defense mechanism. To obtain the trusworthiness of the data, the researcher used peer-reviewing method.

The findings of the study show that Myrtle experience physically, verbal, and social bullying. The findings of the study show that Myrtle’s personality are affected by the experience of bullying. The impact of bullying to her personality are depression, anxiety, loneliness and isolated. They are triggered by three factors: her friends, her teacher, and how her neighbor treats her. The types of defense mechanism reflected from Myrtle’s attitude are repression, denial, sublimation, reaction formation, rationalization, and projection.

Keywords: Psychoanalysis, Bullying, defense mechanism