The  Image of the Main Female Character in Novel The Most Wanted by Meitiya: A Feminist Study by Naomi Wolf

Dessy Novita Sari; Siti  Fatimah; Mukhlis

doi:10.55909/jpbs.v5i4.1693

Authors

Dessy Novita Sari Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia
Siti Fatimah Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia
Mukhlis Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, Universitas PGRI Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55909/jpbs.v5i4.1693

Keywords:

image, main female character, novel, feminist study

Abstract

This study aims to describe the image of the female main character, Vanya Callista, in the novel The Most Wanted, which represents both the engagement and conflict with Naomi Wolf’s feminist ideology. The method used in this study is descriptive qualitative with a feminist literary criticism approach. The data source is the novel The Most Wanted, focusing the analysis on textual data reflecting the physical, psychological, and social images of the main character. The results show three main findings. First, physically, Vanya experiences visual commodification and is reduced to a “social accessory” due to the unilateral claim of the dominant male character (Most Wanted). Second, psychologically, the main character experiences psychological under-nourishment in the form of loss of privacy and social anxiety. Despite initially showing strong self-agency, the character’s critical consciousness eventually succumbs to the romanticization of possessive masculine behavior within popular literary narratives. Third, socially, the main character’s presence triggers female rivalry (horizontal conflict among women) which deflects criticism away from patriarchal culture and destroys sisterhood. This study concludes that the novel The Most Wanted reflects how the beauty myth and modern patriarchal structures operate to restrict women’s space and subjugate female agency through popular literature.

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