IMPLIKATUR PERCAKAPAN SEBAGAI STRATEGI PENGUNGKAPAN KONFLIK PERKAWINAN DALAM CERPEN “SEORANG WANITA DENGAN PARFUM ETERNITY” KARYA SENO GUMIRA AJIDARMA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze conversational implicature as a strategy for revealing marital conflict in the short story “Seorang Wanita dengan Parfum Eternity” by Seno Gumira Ajidarma. The study employs a descriptive qualitative approach, with H. Paul Grice’s theory of conversational implicature serving as the primary analytical framework. The data consist of character utterances that potentially convey implied meanings, while the narrative context is used to examine the inferential processes underlying such meanings. The analysis draws on the Cooperative Principle and Grice’s four conversational maxims—quantity, quality, relation, and manner. An utterance is not categorized as an implicature merely because it conveys contextual meaning; rather, it must involve a meaning that is not fully derived from its literal form and requires a pragmatically justifiable inference. The findings indicate that the utterance “Katakan itu kepada suamiku” (“Tell that to my husband”) constitutes the strongest case. The utterance occurs in response to the compliment “Kamu indah, selalu indah” (“You are beautiful, always beautiful”), yet instead of accepting the compliment, the female character redirects it toward her husband. This redirection activates the context of marital conflict previously established in the story. The implied meaning does not suggest that the husband explicitly considers the character unattractive; rather, it indicates that her need for recognition and appreciation is associated with a particular problem within the marital relationship. The findings demonstrate that conversational implicature can function as a narrative strategy through which conflict is not expressed directly but activated through a brief response that requires the reader to engage in pragmatic inference.