nyai ontosoroh; a concubine phenomenon a la pramoedya...
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NYAI ONTOSOROH; A CONCUBINE PHENOMENON A LA
PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
SarjanaPendidikan
A.AdityaSatriaS.
112010102
ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2014
i
NYAI ONTOSOROH; A CONCUBINE PHENOMENON A LA
PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
SarjanaPendidikan
A.AdityaSatria S.
112010102
ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2014
ii
NyaiOntosoroh; A Concubine Phenomenon A la
PramoedyaAnantaToer
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
SarjanaPendidikan
A. AdityaSatria S.
112010029
Approved by:
Supervisor Examiner
LanyKristono, M. Hum Deta Maria Sri Darta, M. Hum
iii
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
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university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material
previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is
made in the text.
Copyright@ 2014. A. AdityaSatria S. and LanyKristono, M.Hum.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means
without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English
Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, SatyaWacana University,
Salatiga.
A. AdityaSatria S:(signature)
iv
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION
As a member of the (SWCU) SatyaWacana Christian University academic community, I
verify that:
Name : A. AdityaSatria S.
Student ID Number : 112010029
Study Program : PendidikanBahasaInggris
Faculty : FakultasBahasadanSastra
Kind of Work : Undergraduate Thesis
In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive
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NyaiOntosoroh; A Concubine Phenomenon A la PramoedyaAnantaToer
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This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.
Made in: Salatiga
Date : August, 2014
Verified by signee,
A.AdityaSatria S.
Approved by
Thesis Supervisor Thesis Examiner
LanyKristono, M. Hum. Deta Maria Sri Darta, M. Hum.
v
Table of Content
Approval Page ……………………………………………………………ii
Copyright statement …………………………………………………………... iii
Table of Content …………………………………………………………… v
Abstract …………………………………………………………… 1
Introduction …………………………………………………………… 1
NyaiOntosorohOutside the Box …………………………………………… 7
The Politic of Identity of NyaiOntosoroh ………………………………… 26
Conclusion ………………………………………………………… 31
Acknowledgment ………………………………………………………… 34
References ………………………………………………………… 35
NyaiOntosoroh; A Concubine Phenomenon A la
PramoedyaAnantaToer
A.AdityaSatria S.
Abstract
Concubines are often stigmatized as seductive, immoral, and uneducated
women. However that negative perspective does not fit to Nyai Ontosoroh. Even,
she is able to turn over the mainstream point of view in Bumi Manusia by getting
honor from some educated people around her. This research is aimed at the
finding out how Nyai Ontosoroh is able to turn over the mainstream point of view
and whether the novel confirms or rejects the post colonial theory. This research
used post-colonial theory, especially one which is coined by Bhabha who stated
that the colonized tend to imitate the colonizer to keep their existence in the
colony which called as mimicry phenomenon. As the result of imitating the
colonizer, they will face identity problem and trapped in liminal space or third
space which will lead them into a new identity, not the colonizer or colonized but
the ‘black-western’. This research found that Nyai Ontosoroh is able to turn over
the mainstream point of view about concubine by getting knowledge from the
west but the novel does not confirm Bhabha’s post-colonial theory.
Keywords: Concubine, Mimicry, Liminal/third space, Identity.
NyaiOntosoroh; A Concubine Phenomenon A la
PramoedyaAnantaToer
A.AdityaSatria S.
Introduction
Generally written by Chinese authors who live in the Netherland East
Indies or by Dutch authors, concubine is one of the popular theme of literature
during the Dutch colonization (Susanto 4). There are lots of popular famous
concubine stories such as Nyai Dasima by a Dutchman, G. Francis or Nyai Alimah
by Soei Tiong Oei. Basically, stories of concubine tell about love or often lust
between a Dutch master and an indigenous woman as concubine. Because of this,
some concubine stories such as Tjerita Medan Penoe Dengan Impian, were
written for adults because they contain vulgar words to describe a sexual
intercourse and such stories were not censored (Susanto 6).
Concubine is a product of Dutch colonization in the Netherland East
Indies. They usually work as a housekeeper or a butler at house but they also have
to satisfy their master’s sexual desire (Gouda 197). However, concubines also
have a role as a cultural agent who introduces their language and culture to their
master for the latest business interest (Susanto 66;Baay 46).
For Netherland East Indies people, the term concubine is connoted
negatively. Besides, it creates a negative stereotype in the Netherland. The
colonized or indigenous people, perceive concubines as non-pure women because
they live with the infidel white men who like to eat pork (Gouda 197). The
Javanese nobles also judge concubines as immoral women who sell their selves
for money and lust (Gouda 202). Even the Dutch colonizer also considers
concubines as immoral women who do not have the concept about the purity of
women (Gouda 199).
To some people, to be a concubine is a luck because a concubine will have
a good life. However, living as a concubine is very risky since they will face
many unjust matters. They will usually be thrown out of the house when their
masters have already got white European ladies as their wives (Gouda 205).
Worse, they may be thrown out of house without any compensation (Gouda 205;
Baay 54). The expulsion is the most terrible thing for concubine because it means
they return to poverty. In the era of colonization most women depended their life
to men (to their husband or master) because they did not sufficient skill or
knowledge to work and survive (Soeroto 57-58). This happened because women
did not have any chance to go to school or have higher education. As Gouda
quoted, Kartini expressed the low education of women by stating illiteracy was a
crime toward women because there was no opportunity for women to study (154).
Besides being thrown out of the house, ex-concubines are sometimes
separated from their children and cannot propose any objection. Baay also notes
that a concubine cannot prosecute the children custody if the master passes away
(60). Susanto adds that concubine is not allowed to run and take care of her
master’s company (154). Susanto explains those injustice come from the
colonozer’s perspective who believe that white is the rightness (68). It implies that
Dutch as the colonizer considers the colonized as the other who are always
marginalized every time. Supporting Susanto, Gouda also found that concubines
are often considered as the other (256).
Considering the existing perspective of concubines, the portrayal of Nyai
Ontosoroh in Bumi Manusia swerves quite far and blurs the phenomena and
history of concubine since she’s portrayed as intelligent and independent woman.
Therefore it arises 2 questions that will be discussed in this research. First, how
Nyai Ontosoroh turns over the mainstream point of view during the Dutch
colonization. Second, the novel confirms or reject Bhabha’s post-colonialism
theory about mimicry and identity through the portrayal of Nyai Ontosoroh
because it is also interesting to find out whether Pram portrays Ontosoroh as the
east as the other in west’s perspective, or the author blurred the boundaries of the
concubine phenomenon and declares that Ontosoroh (represent the colonized) is
against Bhabha’s post-colonial theory.
According to Baay concubines are stigmatized as stupid, uneducated, and
seductive women (63). Gouda also found that concubines are considered as
immoral women (202). Therefore, this research is aimed at the finding out how
Nyai Ontosoroh turns over the mainstream point of view and at investigating
whether the novel confirms or rejects Bhabha’s post colonial theory.
The findings in this research are expected to make the readers know about
some parts of a concubine phenomenon as a hidden story of Indonesia. Readers
also may know how a concubine, who is marginalized, is able to empower herself
and stands against the injustice toward women. Besides, the findings are also
expected to deepen the readers’ understanding of Bhabha’s ideas and
postcolonialism.
In my search for previous studies on Bumi Manusia, I found the work of
Bonevasia Herlina which examined why people do not appreciate Nyai Ontosoroh
from the perspective of literature psychology. On the other hand, this study uses
post-colonial theory to investigate how Nyai Ontosoroh turns over the mainstream
point of view and whether the novel confirms or rejects the post-colonial theory.
Therefore, this study is different from Bonavasia’s and has never been conducted
before.
To find the answer to the research questions, this research will borrow
post-colonial theory, especially that of Homi Bhabha. According to Homi Bhabha
(qtd. in Faruk 10),the east or the colonized adopted or studied the knowledge and
the culture of the west and later they use it to allude or fight back against the
colonizer.
Post-colonialism is one of literary theory firstly proposed by Edward Said
through his book Orientalism. Post-colonialism consists of 2 words, Post means
after and Colonialism means a country which controls another country.
When we talk about colonization and taking control of an independence
land, the colonizers or the west look at the colonized as an object to be learnt
because colonized or the east is a new thing for them. As Said states, Orientalism
is the assessment of the attitude and perception of Western scholars to legitimize
colonization by marginalizing and dominating eastern people (2).
Based on Said’s notion, for the west, the east is the other who is unique,
exciting and therefore should be learnt. They (west) constructed a definition about
the east based on their perspective. The point is the west only see the East as the
other, not more, and marginalize them. West constructed that East were not
civilized so they assumed that the East were left behind the West. The
construction of the East as the other, reflects a mindset that West is the superior
and East is the inferior. In this perspective, as stated by Khan and Khan there is a
binary opposition that compares the west as the colonizer and east as the
colonized (4).
The value of east disappeared and they can only be silent in a long period.
For a long time colonization, the east as the colonized and as the other for the
west, imitate and learn the knowledge of the colonizer. Bhabha calls this
phenomenon as mimicry. The idea of mimicry originates in Lacan’s idea that talks
about an animal when it camouflages to protect it self from its predator, such as a
chameleon that changes its color into green when a cat is around. Bhabha states
that the colonized also do the same thing (mimicry) like a chameleon by imitating
the colonizer to survive and save their life (75).
Supporting Bhabha’s concept about mimicry, Susanto notes that the
colonized imitate the colonizer so that their existence are accepted and recognized
by the colonizer since for the colonized, the colonizer is the good example. (56-
57). Similarly, Bhabha says that mimicry is the effort to imitate the other
individual to be the new but it’s not quite same. (86). Malcom-X adds that the
great probability for the colonized to imitate or to be influenced by the colonizer
comes from the colonized who is close to or live with the white/colonizer such as
maid. (qtd.in Epafras 7).
However, the process of mimicry or imitation causes a problem of identity
for the colonized (Bhabha 86). In this problem of identity, the colonized are
trapped in the third space, i.e. the grey area, in which they are not white or black.
Bhaba calls the third area as the liminal space since there are two cultures, the
colonized and the colonizer’s, that have different values. Ani Hanifah in her study
finds that in liminal space/ third space, the colonized does not look at something
based on the certain point of culture, but they are beyond the space and create the
new position, not the west nor the east (4). It can be concluded that the problem of
identity comes when they think that their culture, as the colonized, is not good if it
is compared with the colonizer’s and gradually it starts to change their identity.
Hall’s (qtd. in Hanifah8 ) strengthens Bhabha’s idea about identity by stating that
identity always changed.
Actually when the colonized decide to imitate and use the colonizer’s
culture as their camouflage or mimicry to be accepted by the colonizer’s
neighborhood, there is a flaming in their selves as the colonized. They imitate the
colonizer’s culture because they think that the culture is better than theirs but in
the other part of their selves, they hate it. This phenomenon is called ambivalence
(Murwarni 4).
Furthermore, Bhabha in his seminal work expresses that ambivalence
comes since the colonized tries to identify their identity as the colonizer. When
they adopt or adapt the colonizer’s knowledge and culture, there is tendency to
mock the colonizer (115). Implicitly the idea of mockery which triggers the
ambivalence comes from the colonized’s feeling. They, the colonized, need the
colonizer’s knowledge and culture as a camouflage to survive and resist their self,
but on the other hand, they hated the colonizer and want to fight against the
colonizer by using the knowledge they have got from the colonizer.
To summarize, mimicry causes an identity problem and leads to an
ambivalence. As Faruk explains, the imitation of the colonized doesn’t always
mean an obedience (6).
The ideas of post-colonialism, particularly mimicry and ambivalence, is
chosen as the foundation of this research because some characters in Bumi
Manusia shows mimicry, identity problem and ambivalence phenomena so that
the story vividly shows the feeling and hatred toward Dutch colonization. Hence, I
decided to apply the theory to find out the answers to the research question since
the novel is a good example of post-colonial literary work.
A. NyaiOntosoroh Outside the box
Bumi Manusia reflects the nuisance of mainstream’s perspective of
concubine. It describes clearly that Netherland East Indies people consider
concubines immoral women who only care about sexual matters which is
represented by Minke, the Javanese noble and educated colonized, as the narrator
of the story when he first met Nyai Ontosoroh as her guest.
As Toer writes:
Terdengar peringatan pada kuping batinku; awas jangan samakan dia
dengan Bunda. Dia hanyalah seorang nyai-nyai, tidak mengenal
perkawinan syah, melahirkan anak-anak tidak syah, sejenis manusia
dengan kadar kesusilaan rendah, menjual kehormatan untuk kehidupan
senang dan kemewahan. (Toer 22)
[My inner whispers, warns me; be careful and do not ever compare her
with your mother. She’s only concubine, does not marriage and has
illegitimate children. She’s kind of human who only sells herself for
money and luxury.]
Minke, who is an educated indigenous; thus, the colonized, spontaneously thinks
negatively about Nyai Ontosoroh as a concubine. Although Nyai Ontosoroh is a
mother, she is incomparable to Minke’s mother because she has born illegitimate
children. Therefore, legal marriage is very important for a woman since it decides
whether a woman is respectable or immoral. Minke’s negative perspective about
Nyai Ontosoroh as concubine represents the perspective of the nobles who think
that a concubine is the same as a prostitute because she sells herself for honor and
luxury (Gouda, 202). Therefore, as a Javanese noble, it is normal that Minke has
this perspective but it is in contrast with himself as an educated person because as
an educated person he should think critically and clearly (Ismail: “Ciri-
ciricendekiawan”).
However, later Minke justifies his personal opinion about concubines;
even, he claims that anyone knows it. Then Minke justifies that the colonized and
the colonizer’s personal opinion about concubine in the following quotation, since
they consider concubine immoral.
Bukan hanya mevrouw Telinga atau aku, rasanya siapa pun tahu, begitulah
tingkat susila keluarga nyai-nyai; rendah, jorok, tanpa kebudayaan.
Perhatiannya hanyalah pada soal-soalnya birahi. Mereka hanyalah pelacur,
manusia tanpa pribadi…. (Toer 50).
[Not only me or Mrs. Telinga, but I believe all people will think that
concubines are from impolite family. They are immoral and have no
culture. What they think about is only sexual desire. They are only whores,
human without identity.]
Minke, who is educated, also expresses a similar opinion as what people believe
about concubines. This means, the negative perspective/stereotype of concubine is
dominant in Netherland East Indies. In effect, people will judge concubines and so
that the word ‘concubine’ always has negative meaning in society. That quotation
also implicates that the stereotype or negative perspective about concubine is
difficult to be erased since the idea of concubine has been constructed as an
immoral individual. Even in Kamus Bahasa Indonesia the word ‘nyai’ means
“gundik orang asing (terutama orang Eropa)” while gundik means mistress or
perempuan piaraan and the word mistress or perempuan piaraan means a secret
wife without tie marriage. By thinking so, Minke is not different from the
westerners who think low of the easterners.
However, when Minke has got to know Nyai Ontosoroh more, he does not
generalize concubines anymore. Even, Minke expresses his admiration and
wonders as reflected in the following quotation:
Aku masih saja terpesona melihat seorang wanita pribumi bukan saja
pandai berbicara bahasa belanda begitu baik, lebih baik karena tidak
mempunyai suatu kompleks terhadap tamu pria. Di mana lagi bisa
ditemukan wanita semacam dia? Apa sekolahnya dulu? Dan mengapa
hanya seorang nyai, seorang gundik? Siapa pula yang telah mendidiknya
jadi begitu bebas seperti wanita eropa? Keangkeran istana kayu ini
berubah menjadi mahligai teka teki bagiku. (Toer 20).
[ She [NyaiOntosoroh] is really amazing because she can speak Dutch
fluently, brilliant, and does not have any complexity to male guest like me.
Plus, she is only an indigenous. Where can I find woman like her? Where
does she study? But why she only makes herself as a concubine, a mistress
of the white master? Who teach her to be a free woman like European
women? This strange wooden palace is a riddle, a maze for me. ]
The quotation describes how Minke is amazed by Nyai Ontosoroh because of
Nyai Ontosoroh’s ability to speak Dutch well and her sociability and confidence
in greeting and dealing with male guests especially since Javanese culture does
not allow women to look up. However, Minke’s amazement and questioning
toward Nyai Ontosoroh’s ability to speak Dutch and sociability in greeting and
dealing with male guests implies that he still considers a concubine cannot be
intelligent and confident and that quotation also indicates that Minke thinks there
is someone who controls her to behave like that. There are two reasons why it
happens to Minke. First, lots of concubines come from lower class (Baay 51) and
it means that they cannot have chance to study at school, even to speak Dutch.
Second, many masters prohibit their concubines to greet guests except to serve
drink to the guests (Baay 55) because they will feel ashamed if their guests know
they have concubines, so that it will cause concubines uneasy to greet and deal
with guests. But those things cannot be found in Nyai Ontosoroh. Those things
also give urge in Minke’s mind to know more about Nyai Ontosoroh because for
Minke Nyai Ontosoroh is an educated person and individual with good
personality who does not deserve to live as a concubine.
Minke’a amazement to Nyai Ontosoroh actually is the first process of de-
stereotyping because Minke found that the portrayal of concubine in the society,
which is shaped by the society and rooted in his mind, is very different with Nyai
Ontosoroh. Hence she cannot be associated with the concubine as society
believes. The process of de-stereotyping is strengthened by Minke’s inner conflict
since Nyai Ontosoroh’s attitude contravenes with the society’s judgment. As Toer
write:
Nyai Ontosoroh yang pandai menawan hati dan menggenggam hati orang,
sehingga aku pun kehilangan pertimbangan, bahwa dia hanyalah seorang
gundik (Toer 24).
[Nyai Ontosoroh, she’s really captivating and can take someone’s heart, so
that I lost my common sense, that she’s only concubine]
The words ‘captivating’ and ‘can take someone’s heart’ do not refer to seducing
and perverting like the concubines in people’s perspective but it refers to Nyai
Ontosoroh’s personality who is polite, educated, and elegant. The politeness and
attitude of Nyai Ontosoroh are reflected in her ability to speak Dutch well and she
did not look at social status to mingle with people (Toer 18-19). Her appearance is
also simple but still shows her personality. By Pramoedya she is described as a
down-to- earth woman wearing kebaya (Javanese traditional cloth for woman)
with a simple make-up (Toer 18). It shows that Nyai Ontosoroh has a courteous
approach because she gets dressed in a very simple way and polite also she walks
naturally.
She also does not seduce Minke but she acts like a mother who concern to
her son (Toer 218). Hence people believe about concubine who like seducing and
perverting cannot be put on her. The reality he found in Nyai Ontosoroh
absolutely leads Minke to a shock because he was still much affected by what he
initially thought about Nyai Ontosoroh. As a result, if he did not want to compare
Nyai Ontosoroh to her mother (Toer 22) but after meeting Nyai Ontosoroh, he
decided to consider her as a mother.
There is one thing should be noticed why Nyai Ontosoroh is able to
deconstruct the well-constructed perspective of mainstream easily in Bumi
Manusia, it is her biography before and after being Mellema’s concubine. Before
being Mellema’s concubine, she was an uneducated girl and never went to school
(Toer, 377) because as a Javanese girl her life is very restricted and is limited to
only around the house. It is caused by Javanese culture which believes women
have three main jobs; manak (literally means give birth) ,masak (literary means
cooking), and macak (literally means dress up) (Budiati 1). The first role is
macak, which means a woman must be able to dress up, make up well, and satisfy
her husband in sexual intercouse. The second role is masak, which means a
woman must be able to cook for his husband. And then the last role is manak
which means a woman has a job to bear and raise the children. Responding to
these believes, Budiati stated that women will be manipulated and used by men
since the belief of Javanese culture has only marginalized their role (1). Referring
to this phenomenon, Kartini, as quoted in Dutch Culture Overseas by Frances
Gouda, expressed her regret about the crime toward traditional Javanese women
because there are a lot of women are illiteracy since there is no opportunity for
women to study. (154). Implicitly, those quotations also show that education, in
Javanese culture, is not important for women because their life’s ended to serve
their husband and that is why many women were left behind men in the era of
colonization
Then after she lives as Mellema’s concubine, Nyai Ontosoroh is a very
well educated woman because she got a chance to study and it is totally different
from her previous life. She was taught Malay and Dutch by Mellema and Mellema
also taught the details of office work, company, agriculture and so on, as Toer
describes Nyai Ontosoroh’s conversation with Annelies.
Bukan saja pandai, juga baik hati. Dia [Mellema] yang mengajari aku
segala tentang pertanian, perusahaan, pemeliharaan hewan, pekerjaan kantor.
Mula-mula diajari aku bahasa Melayu, kemudian membaca dan menulis, setelah
itu juga bahasa Belanda. Papamu bukan hanya mengajar, dengan sabar juga
memuji semua yang telah diajarkannya. Ia haruskan aku berbahasa Belanda
dengannya. Kemudian diajarkannya aku berurusan dengan bank, ahli-ahli hukum,
aturan dagang, semua yang sekarang mulai kuajarkan juga padamu [Annelies]
(Toer 78).
[He is not only smart, but also a very kind and gentle man. He taught me
every detail about agriculture, company, farm, office work. Firstly he taught me
Malay, reading, writing, and then Dutch. He did not only teach me with his
passion, but also praise me for everything I have learnt. And also I must speak
Dutch with him. Then, he taught me how to have business with the bank,
advocate, the trading rule, and everything I’ve been teaching you.]
From that quotation, there are two important information. First, Mellema
taught Nyai Ontosoroh Malay and Dutch. Second, Mellema taught her the details
of business and company. That information is interesting since there’s no any
detail information which describes his motivation to teach Nyai Ontosoroh.
However, related to the first case, beside being maid, concubines also have role as
the agent of the culture which introduce their culture (language) to their master for
the sake of their masters’ business (Baay 94 &Susanto 66). It can be concluded
that the reason why Mellema taught Nyai Ontosoroh Dutch and Malay is to
prepare her to introduce Javanese language because he is a new comer in Java
island and it is important to master Javanese to expand his business and career.
Beside preparing Nyai Ontosoroh to introduce her culture to him, he also may
prepare Nyai Ontosoroh to be his assistant to take care the company since she was
taught the details of the business and company. He even trusted Nyai Ontosoroh
to do the intern job of his company (Toer 94).
Mellema’s decision to give chance to Nyai Ontosoroh to learn proves that
the culture of western/European does not limit women only to do housework or
have activity surround the house but give freedom to study more. It is same with
Gouda’s finding that in the era of colonialism, there are a lot of Netherland female
teachers who taught in state school or be private teachers in Netherland East
Indies (Gouda 138.)
Besides getting chance to study, Nyai Ontosoroh also has chance to read
books, magazines, and newspapers and she always gets books, newspaper, and
magazines from Netherland every month (Toer 95). Since Nyai Ontosoroh always
gets books, newspapers, and magazines from the Netherlands, all her readings are
in Dutch. Through reading her thought is slowly induced by the way of thinking
of western people and try to imitate and receive the western knowledge and
culture. Reading also shapes her mind so that her thought is different from her
nations and that is why she is one step ahead most of her nation. Hence this
phenomenon can be called as mimicry (Bhabha 75).
The process of mimicry in Nyai Ontorosoh looks to occur so easily.
Malcom-X, as quoted in Epafras, stated that it is very easy for a colonized who
stays close to the colonizer (as the master) to get influenced or imitate the
colonizer (Epafras, 7). The process to imitate or learn the colonizer’s knowledge
is practiced by Nyai Ontosoroh without no reason. She learnt the west knowledge
to save her life, as stated by Bhabha that Mimicry is an imitation of the colonized
toward the colonizer to save their life or to be accepted by the colonizer (75). As
Toer writes:
Nampaknya dia suka pada kelakuanku yang suka belajar…Bila tuan
besar sudah pergi aku sudah tidak harus kembali ke rumah Sasrotomo
(Toer92).
[I [Nyai ontosoroh] feel he [Mellema] likes myself who like studying …
if Master’s back to Netherlands, at least I don’t have to return to
Sastrotomo’s house Sastrotomo, my father.]
Briefly that dialogue implies that her motivation to learn the colonizer’s
knowledge is to prepare herself if later her master leaves her back to his land. It is
because a master often leaves his concubine suddenly and sometimes does not
give any compensation (Gouda 205). It seems to make Nyai Ontosoroh
worried.So by learning from his master knowledge, she prepared herself to
survive and be independent if she is not Mellema’s concubine anymore.
The effect of adopting the western thinking way (mimicry) to Nyai
Ontosoroh through Mellema’s influence makes her becomes an intelligent,
independent, and articulate individual so that the perspective about concubine
which is believed by the colonial people does not deserved to be put to herself.
Her personality becomes a power of attraction which slowly starts to amaze
people and turn over the existing perspective which marginalizes her as immoral
and seductive woman.
It is reflected in Minke’s perspective after he met and knew Nyai
Ontosoroh further. He aditted that Nyai Ontosoroh is an educated woman and she
is like his teacher (Toer 251).The same thing is also reflected in Magda Peters’
opinion after she has met Nyai Ontosoroh. Before she met Nyai Ontosoroh, she
thougt negatively about Nyai Ontosoroh as concubine.Toer writes:
“…Eh Minke, apa benar dongengan entah darimana asalnya, kau hidup
dengan seorang nyai-nyai… coba beri aku keterangan bagaimana seorang
nyai bias menjadi otodidak…” (Toer 251-252)
[“…MInke, is that true that you live with a concubine? … now convince
me how a concubine can be a self-learner?” ]
Magda Peters’s opinion and beliefs show that she underestimates Nyai
Ontosoroh because of her status as a concubine. It is stated in her words ‘live
with a concubine’ and ‘can be a self-learner’. Those words reflect that Magda
Peters’ disbelief that a concubine is polite, honor, and not seductive and also she
does not believe that a concubine can be an intelligent woman caused by the
society believe about concubines which has rooted in her belief. Then after she
met Nyai Ontosoroh, she amazed with her personality and has different opinion
from previous, as Toer writes:
“…assosiasi itu Minke, dia runtuh berantakan tanpa harga karena satu
wanita pribumi, Mama-mu itu. Kalau ada barang seribu wanita pribumi
seperti dia, boleh jadi Hindia- Belanda ini gulung tikar….. dia masih bias
lebih maju lagi. Sayang orang seperti dia tidak mungkin dapat hidup di
tengah bangsanya sendiri. Dia seperti batu meteor melesit sendirian,
melintasi keluasan tanpa batas,….karena dia pribumi, wanita, dan
mengagumkan.” (Toer 260)
[“…that association Minke, it collapses without its precious….just
because of indigenous woman, your mother [Nyai Ontosoroh]. If there are
thousand women like your mother [Nyai Ontosoroh], perhaps Netherland
East Indies will meet its end… she can be more brilliant. She is like a
falling meteor, fall from the sky rapidly pass the sky with no border,… she
is adorable because she’s an indigenous.” ]
Quotation above shows how Magda Peters respects Nyai Ontosoroh when she
knows that Ontosoroh’s personality contravenes with the perspective about
concubine in society. The quotation above implies that the colonizer represented
by Magda Peter- believes indigenous is less educated or stupid as reflected in her
statement that “…she is adorable because she is indigenous.” at the same time it
also collapses the perspective of orientalist who always put indigenous or eastern
in negative dichotomy.
Related to this case, Gouda stated that women, which are from upper
(noble) and lower class, are busy with their business about marriage, secluding,
marriage, and even financial (155). Hence, many women do not have same
thought or chance like Nyai Ontosoroh.
However, there is one interesting phenomenon from Minke and Magda
Peters after meeting Nyai Ontosoroh, it is their status which shows the process of
destereotyping of concubine. They finally respect Nyai Ontosoroh when they
know her personality who is intelligent and articulated. Implicitly, Nyai
Ontosoroh can get power and turn over the existing perspective by getting
knowledge or adopting the western thinking style. Bacon states that knowledge is
a power (qtd. in Garcia 3). Garcia adds that the power of getting knowledge will
be more powerful enough if he/she is from lower class and can expertise it better
than they who come from the upper class (3). So it can be concluded that, in Nyai
Ontosoroh life, knowledge has a great effect to get respectability and turn herself
into a respectful and independent being (Soeroto, 73).
B. The Politics of Identity of NyaiOntosoroh
Because Nyai Ontosoroh was raised in Javanese culture, her origin identity
is Javanese. However, as Mellema’s concubine she learnt and adopted Dutch
culture which is totally different from the previous culture she was in. At this
point, there should be an intersection between Javanese culture which limits her as
a woman in some ways and Dutch culture which frees her from some of the
limitations.
In the beginning of her life as Mellema’s concubine, she got a chance to
learn the colonizer’s knowledge which is a kind of impossible for the colonized to
learn at that time. As a result, the knowledge and European idea and culture have
changed Nyai Ontosoroh from being a tied, uneducated and unarticulated woman
into a strong, independent, and brilliant one.
Her character changes finally and brings her an identity problem about her
existence as a Javanese. As Toer writes:
Setelah lama mengikuti majalah- majalah wanita itu dan menjalankan
banyak dari petunjuknya, pada suatu kali kuulangi pertanyaanku pada
tuan: “Sudahkah aku seperti wanita belanda? (Toer 97)
[“I’ve been reading those women magazines and doing all things I have
learned from those magazines, so one day I re-asked my master; “do you
think I have looked like a Dutch woman?” ]
Nyai Ontorosh’s question implies that reading the Dutch magazines has induced
her mind and started to eliminate her origin culture. It may also imply that being a
Dutchman’s concubine has driven her to want to look like a Dutch woman. As
Nyai Ontosoroh was raised in Javanese culture, she should believe that a wife
should obey her husband (Dianingtyas 15). Therefore, Nyai Ontosoroh may think
that Mellema gave her Duch magazines because he wants her to be like a Dutch.
Her willingness to do what European do invites an identity dynamic which puts
herself in the third space, a grey area between black and white which may lead
someone into a new identity, not white but also not black (Murwarni 4).
Therefore, she has contrasting attitudes and personality traits to most of her
nation’s.
However the concept of third space, which sends one into a new identity,
may not occur to Nyai Ontosoroh because it stops in the middle of the process.
She does not change her identity and keep herself as indigenous instead of
“Black-Dutch” as new identity. Her decision is exposed in her dialogue with her
son, Robert by stating that she is an indigenous (Toer 174). Her decision is in
contrast with Bhabha’s seminal work which states that the colonized who imitate
the colonizer gradually will have identity problem and create a new identity in the
third space.
Her decision to be an indigenous does not weaken herself as an indigenous
concubine but it strengthens her existence. This thing can be seen from the
sympathy from some well-educated people -such as; Kommer, Magda Peters, and
some Malay newspapers as a response to her plea to fight the court which
stigmatized and discriminated her as a concubine (Toer 324) . The other proof that
being indigenous give here benefit is Nyai Ontosoroh seems to be a star in
Netherland East Indies and it gave some profit to her company (Toer 353). Once
again, it is in contrast with Bhabha’s theory which states implicitly that the
indigenous is in weakest position since the colonized want to be same as the
colonizer to keep her position in the colony.
Her identity as an indigenous is also strengthened by Annelies’ statement
who said in the front of her mother that her mother is indigenous and Nyai
Ontosoroh did not object it (109). Her identity as an indigenous can also be sensed
from her appearance. She wears kebaya (Javanese traditional female dress),
instead of gown, which characterizes Dutch woman, when she greeted Minke, her
guest (Toer, 18) her clothing style is different from Minke, an educated colonized,
who always wears European cloth. Even though Nyai Ontosoroh has been induced
by western ideas and used to want to be like a Dutch woman, she still keeps her
culture as a Javanese by wearing kebaya and it is different from Minke who does
not keep his culture. Hence it also proves that Bhabha’s theory does not work on
her.
Although Nyai Ontosoroh declares herself an indigenous instead of a
“Black-Dutch”.A further examination reveals an implicit identity change. Nyai
Ontosoroh’s chosen indigenous identity is not an indigenous identity in a narrow
meaning such as Javanese or Sumatran, but it is an identity in broad meaning
which represents all the colonized in Netherland East Indies. This case is
indicated in two things. First, her urge for Minke to write in Malay, not Dutch
(Toer 378).Second, her plea in the court in the form of revealing the crimes and
injustices that have been done toward the colonized. (Toer 321-322).
Her urge to Minke to write in Malay, not in Javanese nor Dutch, indicates
her nationalism as the colonized since Malay was a lingua franca in the then
Netherland East Indies. Her plea reflects her ability to put and view the
indigenous and Dutch relationship in a wider perspective. This means, she does
not consider herself an indigenous Javanese, but one of the colonized. Therefore,
her identity was not Javanese but a new identity which covers and represents all
parties oppressed by the Dutch because she does not only reveal the crime and
injustice toward herself, but also to all the colonized.
Simply, her new identity as an indigenous is quite unique because it comes
from outside the intersection of the cultures inside the third space because her new
identity is not shaped between Javanese culture –as her origin culture- and Dutch
culture, but it shaped from outside the third space. The interesting thing is Nyai
Ontosoroh as a concubine who is always stigmatized by the colonial society and
the colonized has a courage and nationalism awareness to fight against the
colonizer. More interestingly, this is something Minke, who represents the
educated colonized, never thinks about since he only wrote a fiction story using
Dutch.
Conclusion
Nyai Ontosoroh, the protagonist of Bumi Manusia, is initially considered
as seductive, immoral, and uneducated indigenous concubine. However, she is
able to turn over the mainstream perspective toward herself as a concubine
because of the knowledge she got from reading. Reading has made her adopt
western thinking style which is done unconsciously as a mimicry process.
Reading and adopting western idea have shaped her mind set to be different from
and led her one step ahead of most of her nation. She gets the honor because of
the knowledge she has and as if through her knowledge she got she could clutch
people around her and turn over the negative perspective toward herself as
concubine.
Nyai Ontosoroh, as the imitator finally faced an identity problem which
puts herself into the third space, which will lead her into a new identity. However,
she chose to be an indigenous instead of being “Black-Dutch” as the new identity
in the third space. The indigenous identity she chose is not indigenous as
Javanese, but an indigenous identity which represents all colonized in Netherland
East Indies who was born outside the third space. Her decision to be indigenous
will weaken her position in colonial society if it is looked from Bhabha’s seminal
work. Amazingly, by being an indigenous she gets the power to keep her
existence. Therefore, the portrayal of Nyai Ontosoroh actually does not confirm
Bhabaha’s post-colonial theory since it totally blurs Bhabha’s theory because she
was considered in line with Bhabha’s theory but then she twisted the theory by
declaring herself as an indigenous.
Acknowledgment
First of all, I want to thank to My Lord who has given me chance and
guided me to write and finish this thesis entitled Nyai Ontosoroh; A Concubine
Phenomenon A la PramoedyaAnataToer. I also thank to my thesis supervisor,
Mrs. Lany Kristono, M.hum for guiding and giving me advice to write this thesis
and this thesis will be incomplete without her guidance. I also thank to Mrs. Deta
Maria Sri Darta, M.Hum as my thesis examiner for her suggestion for revising
this thesis.
I dedicate this thesis for my family who has supported me to finish this
thesis when I was down. Finally, I hope my thesis will be useful for people who
read.
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