The Story of Contemporary Indonesian Literature by Women: The Sweet and Bitter Conflict Between Javanese Traditional Culture, Religious Interpretation and Feminist Awareness

Abstract

Through a reading of three men’s novels Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Nyai Gowok by Budi Sardjono, and Re: dan Perempuan (Re: and Women) by Maman Suherman—the research engages with our understanding of the role played modern Indonesian literature in shaping how women are represented. Conducting a close reading using a literary feminist theoretical approach, this study assesses how stories of abuse are told by male authors through the overlapping webs of Javanese cultural practices and religious interpretations that are mediated by the claim to Islamic feminism. Female oppression is a recurring theme in the findings, whereby women are consistently painted as subjects of patriarchy, trapped within oppressive social constraints. In addition, the analysis demonstrates that these texts show an ambivalence on part of male authors about understanding women's suffering alongside the potential for critical insights leading to radical challenges to androphilic structures. Through this lens, the study is argued to be a valuable contribution to a wider debate on the representation of Indonesian women in literature and academic discussion and analysis of gender relations, as they relate to the Indonesian socio-cultural landscape.