Mekanisme Pertahanan Diri dalam Novel Lauk Daun Karya Hartari

The Novel Lauk Daun presents the complexity of the characters' inner conflicts, reflecting psychological responses to social pressures and traumatic life experiences. To understand these dynamics, this study focuses on self-defense mechanisms as a form of subconscious reaction used by the characters to cope with anxiety. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify the forms of self-defense mechanisms in the novel Lauk Daun, and (2) to identify the factors causing these self-defense mechanisms in Hartari's novel Lauk Daun. This research is expected to provide theoretical contributions to the study of literary psychology, particularly in understanding character traits through a psychoanalytic approach, as well as providing readers with insight into recognizing forms of self-defense mechanisms in real life through literary works.
This study uses a literary psychology approach. This study utilizes the psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud. This type of research is qualitative. The data sources for this study were obtained from Hartari's novel "Lauk Daun." The data in this study include narrative excerpts, sentences, and paragraphs. The data collection technique used listening and note-taking.
The results of the study showed that (1) The form of Self-Defense Mechanism found was Repression, namely the character avoided discussion and insisted on his position, Sublimation of subconscious fulfillment was channeled through the pretext of positive actions, Projection, namely hiding his shortcomings, problems and mistakes by blaming others, Diversion, namely venting his emotions on objects or on other people as objects of venting, Rationalization, namely seeking justification for mistakes, Reaction Formation, namely showing contradictory behavior, being insincere, experiencing conflict between desires and morality, and being manipulative, Regression, namely behaving in a childish manner, avoiding responsibility, uncontrolled emotions, and tending to be selfish, Aggression and Apathy, namely showing anger, losing enthusiasm, being indifferent, and not thinking about the impact of his actions, Fantasy and Stereotype, namely often imagining, being prejudiced, and thinking irrationally. (2) The factors causing Self-Defense Mechanism are the presence of anxiety in the character's subconscious, namely Objective anxiety felt in real life and Neurotic anxiety that appears within oneself.