Strong and Critical Figures of Women Character

32

4.1.3 Strong and Critical

Patriarchal culture in Bali forces Balinese women to be strong women not only physically but also physiologically. Physically, women in Bali should work hard every day meanwhile their men go to coffee shop in the morning and spend their time by lazing in there. One of the women characters that reflect this phenomenon is Luh Keten. Luh Keten is Sekar’s best friend. They are really close to each other.Oka describes Keten as a beautiful woman with the Sudra typical beauty. ...Dia memiliki kecantikan yang khas, kecantikan seorang perempuan sudra. Kulitnya hitam, matanya tajam, tubuhnya sangat kuat.Dia juga memiliki rambut yang panjang.Rambut itu sering digulung seadanya.Itulah yang membuat orang-orang mengagumi kecantikannya.Dia benar-benar berwajah perempuan desa. Oka Rusmini:31. … She has a unique beauty, the Sudra typical beauty. Dark skin, sharp gaze, strong body. She also has a long hair. She usually bun her hair. That what make people adore her beauty. She really has a beauty of a village woman. Oka Rusmini:31 As the lower caste in society, Sudra women should work in order to fulfill the family needed. She should carry the firewood every day. … Setiap bulan, Keten harus sibuk membersihkan darah dari tubuhnya. Kalau dia harus bekerja menangkati kayu bakar dari pasar kondisi itu sangat menganggunya Oka Rusmini:27 … Every month, Keten has to busy cleaning her blood from her body. That condition really disturbs her every time she works carrying the woods from the market. Oka Rusmini:27 The characters that show this beside Keten are Luh Dalem, Luh Kambren, Luh Sadri and Luh Gumbreg. Every day, Luh Sadri and Luh Gumbreg should make and delivery jejeuli ‘offerings’ and Luh Dalem should become householder and work hard. “Aku juga bekerja.Pagi-pagi sudah bangun, memotong jeje uli.Agak siang aku ke pasar.Sore harinya aku bawa jeje uli pada para pemesan.Aku menjunjungnya dengan besek besar.Aku juga bekerja keras.”Oka Rusmini: 161 Universitas Sumatera Utara 33 “I also work. I wake up early in the morning, cutting jeje uli. At noon I go to the market. In the afternoon I took jeje uli to the customer. I carry it with big plastic bag. I also work hard. Oka Rusmini: 161 Dulu, ketika Luh Sekar berusia Sembilan tahun, tulang punggung keluarga berpusat pada Luh Dalem, perempuan sederhana yang tidak memiliki kemampuan apa pun. Luh Dalem hanya bisa berkebun atau beternak babi. Oka Rusmini:41 In the past, when Luh Sekar was nine years old, Luh Dalem is the one who work for her family living. The modest women who didn’t have special ability. Gardening or farming pig’ its all she can.Oka Rusmini:41 The statement about man’s habit in Oka’s novel supported by Reis van Dr. van Hoevell in his book the journey of Dr. van Hoevell, Van wrote this book based on his trip in Java, Madura and Bali. He says ‘Saya pun melihat tidak hanya dalam perjalanan ini tetapi dalam semua perjalanan saya melintas pulau Bali kaum pria sering duduk-duduk saja berpangku tangan, kaum wanita sebaliknya sibuk sekali ‘. I saw in my entire journey in Bali, that men often sat idly meanwhile women were really busy 1994:73. This is the reality that should be faced by Balinese women in their life to behard workers. The Patriarchal culture makes the differenciate between men and women in Bali. Men belong to the first class in society. The tradition allows man to marry women more than once, A male could legally take any number of wives, but monogamy was the rule for women Beteille 30 Access from http: www.csuchico.edu~cheinzsyllabiasst001fall97adra-pin.htm, April 9 th 2014, 21.29 pm. This is showed in the conversation between Luh Keten and her mother. Luh Keten told her mother about the men who teased her. This distinction harms women. Luh Keten as the Balinese women did not accept this tradition. She criticized the phenomenon. The form of her criticism reflected in her few conversations with her mother. She showed that she didn’t like the distinction of man, Luh Keten Comment [ T5] : Ini bukannya “says”? Universitas Sumatera Utara 34 reflected the idea of feminism liberal. She criticizes the position of man superior in their tradition and how luckily they are. That can be seen from these quotations: Alangkah mujurnya makhluk yang bernama laki-laki.Setiap pagi para perempuan berjualan di pasar, tubuh mereka dijilati matahari.Hitam dan berbau. Tubuh itu akan keriput. Dan laki-laki dengan bebasnya memilih perempuan-perempuan baru untuk mengalirkan limbah laki-lakinya.Oka Rusmini :31 How lucky the men are. Every morning the women are selling in the market, their bodies were exposed by the sun. Black and stink. Those bodies will wrinckle. And the men free to choose new women to drain his waste.Oka Rusmini :31 Tidak.Aku hanya tidak senang gunjingan laki-laki yang duduk santai di kedai kopi setiap pagi. Sementara aku harus bekerja keras, kaki mereka terangkat di kursi. Oka Rusmini:33 No. I just don’t like the gossip from the men who only comfortably sit in coffee shop every morning.meanwhile I should working hard, their foot upraised on chair. Oka Rusmini:33 Women in Bali really uphold their tradition even though sometimes their tradition only makes them become the object of suffering. Luh Sekar already proved that marrying the man from the different caste could change their lives. A woman should be allowed to get married with the man that she really loves even though they come from different caste. This novel shows that there are differences between men and women, men become the first class in society. Women in Bali already know that their tradition especially patriarchal system make them become the victims. Even though their husbands harm them, women cannot rebel this situation because their tradition never allows them to do that. Balinese women think that hardworking and being the servants for their husbands become their destiny as women, they cannot complain it. As the quotation below: Perempuan Bali itu, Luh, perempuan yang tidak terbiasa mengeluarkan keluhan.Mereka lebih memilih berpeluh. Hanya dengan cara itu mereka sadar dan tahu bahwa mereka asih hidup, dan harus tetap hidup. Keringat mereka adalah api. Dari keringat itulah asap dapur dapat tetap terjaga. Mereka tidak Universitas Sumatera Utara 35 hanya menyusui anak yang lahir dari tubuh mereka. Mereka pun menyusui laki-laki Oka Rusmini :23 Balinese women, Luh, the women who not use to complain. They prefer to work. Only with that way they realize and know that they still alive and have to stay alive. Their sweat are fire. From that sweat they maintain their family livings. They not only breastfeeding the children who born from their body but also the men. Oka Rusmini :23 Through this novel, Oka wants to show that Balinese women are the strong women even Dr. Ayani Nakatani one of the professors in Okayama University labeled Balinese women as the ‘super women’. Until now there are so many women in Bali who still obey the tradition which sometimes harms them. She wants them to become more advanced and brave to get their happiness. Women in Bali are described as strong women who are tenacious and loyal so it is reasonable that they can be equal with men.

4.2 Their Fighter Against Traditional Values