PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN: A COMPARISON OF FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE BETWEEN A MALE AND A FEMALE AUTHORED NOVELS

This study is a qualitative study that compared the feminist perspective in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and Mary Wollstonecraft's Maria or the wrongs of woman Formalistic Approach discusses the characteristics of the female characters, specifically their roles and status. The feministic approach, including the three waves of feminism, analyzed the female characters' struggles and responses. The psychobiography approach was to investigate and discuss the female and male authors' experiences or influences in writing such stories. The two main female characters, namely: Tess and Maria, tried to escape from the oppression of men and experienced social injustice. Both of them learned to be independent women, although they ended up tragically. The life of Thomas Hardy and Mary Wollstonecraft is reflected in the female characters' portrayal. The different periods or societies of the authors contribute a more considerable Influence than the influence of the authors' different genders.