An Analysis of Joanne Wilson Character as seen in Pat Barkers Joanne Wilson :

A Feminist Review
By Riyani Vadilla

I.

Introduction
There are few certain elements that we can analyze in literary work, whether
they are intrinsic elements or the extrinsic elements . The intrinsic elements are
such as the characters, the theme, plot and so on, while the extrinsic elements are
such a social condition, the author and other related aspects outside from the
literary works.
The analysis itself is using a certain theory, method and approach in order to
judged or evaluate the object of the analysis. In this paper, the analysis done is an
analysis of a character in Union Street. It is a novel written by Pat Barker (1982).
An interesting part of this story is that it has a major feminism action inside. The
character Joanne Wilson, as the title has described, has her own significant action
in terms of feminism. In addition, Pat Barker (Patricia Barker) was born on
Saturday, May 08, 1943 in Thornaby-on-Tees and she is a famous novelist from
England.
Feminism is one of criticism approach in literary studies. The theory applied is
the theory from Simon de Beauvoir dealing with womans condition as the other
or as a second sex. De Beauvoir her self established the fundamental issues of
modern feminism by arguing that man defines the human, not woman (Guerin,
1999:198). This issue become a major part in feminist criticism. Then, the purpose
of this analysis is trying to explore the womans condition in this story and judge
the condition in the feminist ways. A conclusion will be written at the end of this
paper as a whole point of view.

II.

The Union Street by Pat Barker

Pat Barker's Union Street contains seven narratives about the working-class
women who live along the Union Street of the title, an English working-class city
street in the North East, during the winter of the miner's strike , in an unnamed
city in the North of England. It sets in the early 1970's. The description of
situation stated is the impoverished, grimy town has two basic industries: the
steelworks, from which the men are frequently furloughed or prematurely retired,
and the cake factory, where many of the women work or have worked.
Union street itself deals with the most elemental sense : poverty, sexuality,
rape, pregnancy, abortion, marriage, birth, sickness, prostitution, decrepitude and
death, all interlocking.

In the other hand there are also the factory setting to touch on matters like
automation, race prejudice, feeblemindedness and the sheer human hardship
experienced by some of those women.
III.

The Analysis of Joanne Wilson

Joanne Wilson is one of character in Union Street written by Pat Barker. Joanne
(Jo) is described as a girl who is not twenty years old yet and experiences
premarital pregnancy. She works as an employee in a cake factory. She lives in
house which is located on Wharfe Street, the worst street in town :
Suicide, mental illness, crime, incest had flourished there, as though inhaled
with noxious fumes from the river(Barker : 1982: 74)
There are only two possible occupation which people in Wharf Street do ; work in
cake factory or domestic drudgery.
Joanne Wilson (Jo) is trapped most profoundly by socio-economic geography
there (Union Street also known as Wharfe Street).
In the beginning of story, we found that there is one man named Joss who help
her in to organize household and described as a beautiful man, as seen as follow :
Yet the face above them was handsome even beautiful, if you could call a
man beautiful.
Joss served meal for her and involves in serious dialogue with Jo. Joss asked her
to tell about the baby to her mother but Jo does not want to. She thinks its too late
to tell what happened to her. Beside, she reveal that she does not need to do that
because she herself does not know who actually her father is :
Shes no right at all. Good God, she hasnt told me who my father was yet
(Barker :1982: 76)
In the other hand, Jo actually does not know who the father of baby whom she has
within :
...And questions...Who is he? Ill kill him when I get my hands on him (Barker :
1982 : 75)
Jo asks Joss to go home in order not to be the gossiping object of people around
Wharfe Street. Then, Jo meet with Mrs. Harrison who tell her that Joss often go
around with Irish King.
In brief, Jo who works in cake factory actually still think about who her father
actually is. Then Jo tells that she is pregnant to her boyfriend, Ken but he does not
want to take reponsibility about the baby.

IV.

Conclusion
The main conclusion is that Joanne Wilson symbolizes the womans condition as a
victim in feminist way. She is also considered as a hero in the other case, she is an
example of woman who struggle for her life that gone too far from expectation.
References

Guerin, Wilfred L, et, al. (1999). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Fourth
edition. New York; Oxford University Press.
Barker, Pat. (1982). Union Street. London; Virago Press. pp. 70-106
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Barker