Violence against Women and Resistance in Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Zero Point and Alberto Moravia's The Woman of Rome

摘要

This research analyzes women violence and revealed by the main female characters in Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Zero Point and Alberto Moravia's The Woman of Rome. The research is qualitative study and the research used Foucault's theory of power relation. The data are in form of sentences related to women violence and resistance found in the novels. The results of the study are formulated as follows: first, the character Firdaus in Woman at Zero Point experienced violence not only by family members, but she also experienced violence in society in shape of sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic violence. While the character Adriana in The Woman of Rome also experienced violence but not as many as the character Firdaus does; second, the women resistance against violence in Woman at Zero Point is shown by the character Firdaus through her active actions by leaving her husband and other people who took own advantages toward her body, and ultimately killing a dangerous pimp; while in The Woman of Rome showed the resistance of the character Adriana through her passive actions. The two novels reveal both the perpetrators and the subject have taken advantages one another in their power relationship, the perpetrators have power in dominating the subject through violence over the body and sexuality while the subject exerted the power by forced cooperating by which the character Firdaus and Adriana have power to get free from the violence. This kind of relationship is commonly happened in the family and in society. Someone who has power is able to dominate over the people by using his or her authority. Therefore, it is obvious that the exercise of power exists in any kind of relations.