Before Death Takes the Main Character of the Horror Novel (Urban Legend) by Risa Saraswati: Literary Psychology Study
Authors:   Yogyakarta State University & Yogyakarta, Raissa Mirayanti , . Nurhadi ,   Yogyakarta State University & Yogyakarta, Saputri Mita ,   Yogyakarta State University & Yogyakarta
Published: March 2024

This research departs from the novel Peter and Janshen written by Risa Saraswati which tells the story of the lives of two boys as the main characters for each novel when they were still humans, not ghost figures (astral creatures) as they are now. This research aims to describe: (1) the main character's interpersonal conflict with other characters in the novel, (2) the main character's intrapsychic conflict, and (3) the conflict resolution carried out by the main characters in each identified conflict. This research is a qualitative descriptive study analyzed using Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theory. Karen Horney's psychoanalytic approach intended to study the horror novel (urban legend) by Risa Saraswati is to use non-literary texts as a foundation for seeking understanding from the literary texts to be analyzed . The data collection techniques used in this research were reading, listening and note-taking techniques. The research instrument is the researcher himself using the unit of analysis, namely story facts and literary means. The validity of the data used in this research is intrarater and interreter data reliability. The results of the research found 3 forms of self-aspects of the basic anxiety of a main character depicted in the horror novel (urban legend) entitled Peter and Janshen by Risa Saraswati when they were still human, namely (a) the form of interpersonal conflict in the form of conflict or disagreement with other people because of differences, experienced by the characters Peter and Janshen, namely: (1) Conflict over lack of affection and acceptance, (2) Conflict over having strong and reliable partners, (3) Conflict over gaining social recognition, (4) ) Conflict due to personal ambition, (5) Conflict to have power, (6) Conflict to become a person who is admired, (7) Conflict to respect one's privacy. (b) The manifestation of intrapsychic conflict in the form of an individual's actions, beliefs and emotions which cause anxiety for him, namely: (1) Neurotic Ambition, (2) Excessive Attitude to Become Perfect, (3) Drive for Revenge, (4) Demand for treated special, (5) arrogant attitude, (6) self-blame, (7) self-deprecation. Furthermore, (c) Conflict Resolution, in the form of actions that the main characters tend to take based on Karen Horney's theory in dealing with interpersonal conflicts with other people, namely: (1) Conflict Resolution with a Tendency to Resist, (b) Conflict Resolution with a Tendency to Approach, (c) Conflict Resolution with a Tendency to Approach, ( c) Conflict Resolution Distant Tendency. Events from the real lives of the main characters through Risa Saraswati's supernatural ability as a writer to interact with astral beings, are contextualized in the novel entitled Peter and Janshen. In Karen Horney's psychoanalytic perspective, childhood life experiences are enough to determine a person's personality criteria.