WOMEN’S ROLES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY JAVANESE SOCIETY AS REPRESENTED IN RARA MENDUT NOVEL
Daftar Isi:
- This study analyzes the female characters in the novel Rara Mendut by Y.B. Mangunwijaya. Applying the theory of feminine characteristics and women’s roles in Javanese culture, this qualitative study obtains data in the form of words and sentences that describe the women’s characteristics and roles, as well as how the Javanese society shapes the women’s characteristics and roles. The data was collected by reading the novel thoroughly and relevant books and journals. The results of the study indicate that each female character in Rara Mendut has different roles and characteristics. Some women present the stereotypical Javanese women in the seventeenth century, namely, being obedient, sensitive, care, motherly, helpful and kind, as in the case of Nyai Ajeng, Ni Semangka, Putri Arumardi, Nyai Singabarong and Ni Kuweni. Apart from that, there are female characters who defy the role that was idealized in the Javanese culture. The women like Rara Mendut and Genduk Duku are intelligent, independent, brave, and rebellious. The women who are under the stereotypical image of women in the Javanese patriarchal society are those who should be good at 3M–having a child (manak), cooking (masak), and dressing up (macak), or the domesticated women. They also represent the different status in society, which divides women and men