M01472
Mother Portrait in Gorky’s Mother and Joesoef’s Emak: a Comparative Study
Deta Maria Sri Darta
FBS-UKSW
[email protected]
Abstract
Discussing women’s roles in patriarchal society is endless. Being a mother is one example of
the role of a woman in patriarchal society. Most of the time woman as a mother is depicted
stereotypically, but in these two novels the mother portrait is non - stereotypically. Mother,
written by Maxim Gorky with the Russian background, while Emak, written by Daoed
Joesoef during the Dutch settlement in Indonesia both picturize the circumtances. Being
written by male authors, the mother figures in the two novels were depicted as strong,
persistent, religious although less educated when they face problems related to their family,
especially their children. The portrayals give examples of how women can have such effort to
raise their children better, moreover to overcome their fear in order to bring up their children.
The comparative study helps readers to see that although written by different authors from
diverse countries with unlike cultural backgrounds, these two novels share some similarities.
The similarities prove that some literary texts around the globe share universal aspects of life;
thus promoting world literature. This paper would like to explore how the cross continent
novels share similarities in portraying the figure of mother in which giving example that
woman as a mother is described non – stereotypically in literary texts.
Keywords: mother portrait, similarity, non – stereotypically
I. Introduction
Most people might see mothers, who are housewives, are less important than
fathers, who are the bread winner. To give undertanding that mothers’ roles are more
than just being mothers to their children is hard to do, especially in patriarchal society.
When we look deeper to every roles that mothers have, we will see clearly that
mothers play important part to perpetuate the system. They are the agents that
transmit the patriarchal values from one generation to another. Thus, their roles can
not be neglected.
Other than getting positive credits to their vital roles in patriarchal society,
they are depicted as weak, helpless, and unimportant contributors. Ironically, the role
of mothers is being misused to legalize the abusement toward them, with and without
1
their consent. While if we see in reality, many mothers are strong, problem solvers,
and important in the life of many people. We can find the example in the two novels
about to discuss.
Being written by different authors with different backgrounds does not make
the two novels, Gorky’s Mother and Joesoef’s Emak, completely different. Mother
was written in 1946 in Russia during the reign of Stallin, while Emak was written in
Indonesia, with the setting of Sumatera during the Dutch settlement. The story of both
novels circles around the existence of strong mothers toward their family. This shows
that although separated by different continents, the depictions are most likely similar.
With the help of comparative literature, one can see that the world is universal.
As Goethe once proposed that there are some values universaly shared by people from
different nations with different culture. Since literary texts can be examples of
artefacts owned by a certain society, analyzing novels as one type of literary works
helps us to undertand the culture of the society where the story takes place or made.
By comparing two or more novels, we will be able to see how they are resemblence
and to what extend their differences are. Moreover, we might be surprised with the
fact that somehow some literary texts are intersect and interact one another.
This does not mean that all cultures across the world are the same, still
separation contributes to some differences. The local culture or value gives distintive
features to each of the work comes from different part of the world. Let’s examine
Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet and Indonesian folktale Roro Mendut and Pronocitro
as an example. The forbidden love theme echoes between the two story, despite of
their separation. However, the distance also contributes to the uniqueness that differs
one to another. The exclusivity can be found in the form of the setting of the story or
the framework in which the plot is developed. It creates certain atmosphere that
composes the two stories in a different way.
My previous article on Comparative Literature: Across Time and Space
believes that similar experience that all nations have plays a part to the existence of
universal value shared among those nations. Thus making the universal value has
capability to penetrate through different eras and spaces (Novita Dewi, 2013, p. 169).
This belief has become the stepping stone to see how convincing the Goethe’s idea of
universality is. Therefore this article is would like to explore the idea deeper and to
2
see to what extend the universal value can do to bind the two novels discussed in the
circle of world literature.
II. The Concept
The open door to Comparative Literature gives credit to Goethe’s term of world
literature. Gaining its thriumps for several decades, the journey continues to a
different perspective when René Wellek wrote The Crisis of Comparative Literature
(1963). Some schoolars start to re-read and re-define the concept of Comparative
Literature and its object of study.
Comparative Literature is not immuned from the influence due to the changes of
time. In the globalization era, technology plays a significant role in every aspect of
life, and literature should not deny its influence. Nevertheless, it does not mean that
Comparative Literature is a minor subject to study. Moreover, the effects of the
globalized world give new breeze to the study of Comparative Literature. Thus
making the schoolars of Comparative Literature to be ready for the changes happen.
In redifining the idea of Comparative Literature, one cannot neglect the previous
ideas. One of which is the idea of supranationality by Claudio Guillen (1993, p. 69 –
71). Supranational means the state of dealing with something across the national
limits or boundaries. Supranational is wider that international. There are three models
supranationality.
The first model is comparison between literary texts across nations because of
genetic relationship. This means that the similarity is achieved through influence of
contact. The example is the literary works that are written by authors sharing the same
race but experiencing different cultures.
The second model is evaluation based on common socio-historical condition in
genetically independent phenomena. It tries to examine the literay works through the
socio-historical background of the nations to find any past relation between them to
trace the connection easily. An example is that the fact that many nations experienced
colonization, thus making them suffering the similar pressure. The settlement of one
nation in other nation might also create cultural interaction between the people
involved, mix married famalies can be a booster toward the cultural interface.
The last one is the supranational entities in agreement with principles and
purposes from the theory of literature. It allows us to explore literaty texts from
3
different countries using the objectives from the theory of literature. It also gives us
opportunity to compare and contrast literary works from different countries without
finding the prior connection among them in which sometimes creates a trouble.
Analyzing literary texts from different countries, across the continents can easily be
done as long as they share similar theme. Without having genetic relationship or
sharing the same socio-historical circumtances, some fictions somehow share some
similarities among their differences.
Intertextuality pins its place in the last model of supranationality. It comprises
allusion and inclusion. A work is alluded to other works if it is inspired by the other
one. Allusion may accur in the whole story or it can also be partial. While inclusion
means that a work is included in another work. For instance, a poem is incorporated in
a drama becoming one of the dialogue or object of discussion among the characters.
Text as a product of society cannot escape from intertextuality.
In the globalized world, the idea of comparative literature face some challenges.
René Wellek as cited by Ali Behdad and Dominic Thomas, says that “The most
serious sign of the precarious state of our study is the fact that it has not been able to
establish a distinct subject matter and a specific methodology” (2011, p. 1).
Comparative study is thought to have no significant place in the modern era. The
technology has made all aspect of human life needs to modify its existence, and
comparative study is also not immune toward the changes. Furthermore, in order to
conduct comparative study requires comparatist to observe when culture is digitalized
and ideolect warps into cybertext as predicted by Jan Walsh Hokenson (2003, p. 73).
III. Mother portrait in the two novels
The following discussion will show the result of comparing two literary works.
Some examples of the analysis are taken from the study conducted on some literary
works in A Portrait of a Mother as an Agent of Change in Some Selected Fiction
(2011). The book studied several literary works focusing on the portrayal of mother,
but this discussion will take only two which share similar title; Mother by Maxim
Gorky (1946) and Emak by Daoed Joesoef (2010).
The two mothers in the works studied share some similarities. Both has to
struggle, though in different ways. The mother character in Mother, Pelagea, is
4
descibed as a woman married to a bad tempered man who tortured her mentally and
physically.
She has to take the course that comes out of her husband’s mouth. She
complains but not aggressively. She keeps serving her husband with meals as he
wants, although he asks for service scornfully. (Deta Maria, 2011, p. 38)
To make it worse, it is very common to have husband who had bad habit of drinking
and cursing even to his children. This of course make Pelagea to be strong and
struggle to stay and live within the family. We can see it from the discussion below
That condition might give no opportunity for people to question and fight
against since it is considered as a normal way of life. But the fact that Pelagea
does not follow the tradition of cursing and beating her only son is something
else. She shows that she tries not to be the same as her elders. (Deta Maria,
2011, p. 39)
Although she has to face that kind of husband, she does not leave her family
because she has one son. For the sake of her only son, she has to struggle once more,
even after her husband’s death. In affection for her only son, she tries her best not to
raise him to become like his father.
Pavel, the son, imitates his late father’s behaviour by coming home drunk,
shouting to his mother when he asks meals...Thus it makes her sad. On the
contrary she faces her son’s behaviour with such gentleness and affection.
(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 39 – 40)
Being uneducated does not stop Pelagea to understand new thing. Along with
her struggle in financial issue, she also has to keep herself together in understanding
the fact that Pavel, her only son, is joining the movement against the government. She
struggle to see how important the fight that Pavel does to make a better life for
working class like them. The discussion below explains
... living in industrial revolution era makes Pelagea struggle to understand her
son’s way of thinking. Pavel, her son, is one of the leaders in labour
movements at that time. Pelagea, unable to read, does not understand the
forbidden books that Pavel read. Although she is uneducated, Pelagea is bright
enough to absorb the knowledge that Pavel tries to transfer. She understands
her son’s struggle and is willing to take part in it. Although being frightened to
be caught as her son was, she put her courage to help the movement delivering
the leaflets (illegal leaflets) to labours in the factory where her late husband
worked. She does it as Pavel’s hand extension from the jail where he is now.
Her love to her son makes her understand him better and understand the
movement that Pavel is involved in; but she considers her action as a means to
save Pavel from the jail...(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 48)
5
The analysis above also shows how Pelagea struggle to put her courage to be Pavel’s
hand extention when he was in jail. Although she is afraid, she is aware taht she has to
do something to save her son and continue his fight.
Emak, the mother figure in Emak, also has to struggle, although in a different
way. She is more fortunate compared to Pelagea. Her struggle is more on keeping her
children educated, especially her daughters. It is due to the circumtances at that time
where getting higher education for a girl is something uncommon and difficult to do.
She does this because she does not want her children experiencing lack of education
as she has. Although she is quite lucky to be able to read and write in Arabic.
The struggle faced by Emak in Emak is something else. It is not about how she
has to keep the children without husband, but more on how she has to be firm in
deciding the children’s education. It is because at that time (around 1930s) in
Medan, South Sumatra, having higher education is not common especially for
girls. Although Emak does not know how to read and write Latin letters, she
knows how to read and write in Arabic. Understanding her own lack of education
might become her greatest motive to send her children to school, although she has
to do it against all odds. (Deta Maria, 2011, p. 42)
In order to give better education for her children, she had to face her society. To give
room for her daugthers to taste formal education is even more.
Emak is very persistent in giving her children education. When she wants to
send her children to Dutch school, she has to struggle and risks everything she has. It
is because she lives under Dutch colonized, and sending the children to Dutch school
is considered a betrayal.
The firm mother is seen in Emak when she decides that her children must
move to a Dutch school to get better education. She shows that she contributes
in the decision making and her husband tends to consent to her idea. At that
time, most Indonesians saw the Dutch as enemy. People hated anything
connected to Dutch. Emak’s brother is known as a patriot against the Dutch
colonial government, hence making people talk behind her back regarding the
decision to send her children to a Dutch school. But for Emak it is the only
way to fight against the Colonial power. Here, she shares her brother’s opinion
on why the Dutch can defeat the Indonesians for having more knowledge than
the natives. Thus, in order to defeat them, Indonesians must also gain some
knowledge. This is one of the reasons why she appears firm and strong. (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 45 – 46)
Along with the struggle, these two mothers have to suffer. Pelagea has to
suffer from the abusement that her husband did to her. She also has to suffer from the
heart break when her son is sent to jail due to the movement that he joined. Her
6
ultimate suffering is when she helps her son to distribute her son speech to mass
people. She is beaten, choked, and finally dies in her attempt. The analysis below
shows us how strong she is in facing her suffering:
She even suffers before she finally dies in order to help her son to reach other
people from jail. She is in doubt whether to run before she is caught, but
finally she decides to speak up and throws the leaflets to the crowd in the
station where she gets caught. Although they beat her, they choke her, and
treat her badly; she keeps delivering the message through her last words. (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 52)
Emak in her effort to give better education for her children, suffers from
pressing her own ego. She is willing to stay in a modest house that is located in the
area where schools are not far. Although her husband asks her to move to a bigger and
better house, she refuses the idea since the new house location is too far from schools.
She does not want to put herself into the first priority. For her, the children better lives
depend on the education they get.
...Emak is willing to stay in the house which has become narrower since there
is a road development project which reduces the house area. She does not want
to move to other place, the place that her husband promised, because in the
new place going to school is difficult. She used to live in a big house, but tries
to make friend with the smaller house for the sake of her children’s education.
(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 54)
Through the struggle and suffering, the mothers in the works studied self
actualize themself, both consciously and unconsciously. Pelagea liberates herself by
learning to read and helping her son to fight against the mainstream. Through her
contact with Pavel’s friends, she touches their life and becomes their mother, the
figure who takes care of them and someone that they respect: “Even one of Pavel
closed friends, Andrei, considers her as the mother that he longs for sometimes. He
even calls her nenko, an affectionate term for ‘mother’ used in the Ukraine” (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 61). She finally gains respect and experiences the feeling of being a
true mother, not only for her on son but also for his friends.
Meanwhile, Emak has inspired many people around her, including her own
son Daoed to pursue his education. She says that books are the doors to the world and
foreign language is the key. Daoed continues his study until he becomes the first
Indonesian who is graduated from Sorbonne, France. She also learns to ride bicycle to
give example for her children to learn new things. Her attempt to learn riding a bike is
7
not an easy way. She has to ignore people gossiping about her and asking her children
not to listen to them. Her children are the witness on how Emak tries to break the
existing norm under patriarchal value, not merely to merely fight but to show the
beauty of equity between woman and man.
Although sharing some similarities, both novels have its own color. Both
mothers live in the era of colonization (Pelagea lives under control from Stalin, while
Emak lives when Indonesia was under Dutch government), but Emak is more
fortunate because her husband understand equity between woman and man. He also
support her very much.
Seeing the closeness between the two novels, we might have a suspicious
thought that Emak, written far after, is inspired by Mother. However, if we look back
Emak is a memoir which is written to show Joesoef’s honour to his mother, the
prejudice is probably not right.
This has become a concern in the comparative study. The technology can
make blur of the idea of universal value. The similar themes will emerge easier in
many parts of the world in a very short time. It is way comparative study should find a
new technique or method to keep its existence in the literary study. Adapting to the
advance of the technology is unavoided by any disciplines, including comparative
study.
IV. Conclusion
Comparative study helps us perceive similarities and spot differences when
two or more literary works are compared and contrasted. The sample taken from the
discussion shows that bearing the similar title might suggest that the two novels share
similarities, the theme of mother portrayal echos in the two works. However when we
look deeper in each of the work, we will graps that somehow each work has
distinctive characteristics.
In the globalization era, all disciplines might face new challenges.
Comparative study also has to face the similar test. In order to survive and continue its
existence, this study has to discover its place and obtain respect in the study of literary
analysis. Comparative study needs to prove that as a discpline, this study is worth
conducted and it is not out of date.
8
Moreover, the close relation between comparative study, world literature,
translation, and cultural study make them interrelated one another. When we compare
two or more literary works with different languages, we also get in touch with world
of translation and of course with the idea of world literature. Meanwhile, the
knowledge of local culture will give us advantage to see that each of the works
compared has unique characteristics. Despite the debate over the existence of
comparative study, we must believe that the discipline will grow and continue its
journey floating in the new space of globalization era.
V. References
Behdad, Ali and Dominic Thomas (editor). (2011). A Companion to Comparative
Literature. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Bernheimer, Charles (editor). (1995). Comparative Literature in the Age of
Multiculturalism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Damrosch, David. (2003). What is World Literature?. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press.
Deta Maria Sri Darta. (2011). A Portrait of a Mother as an Agent of Change as
Seen in Some Selected Fiction. Saarbrücken: LAP Lambert Academic
Publishing.
Dewi, Novita (editor). (2013). English Language Studies in Indonesia.
Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University Press.
Guillen, Caludio. (1993). The Challenge of Comparative Literature. trans. Cola
Frazen.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Levande, F. Caroline and Robert S. Levine (editor). (2008). Hemispheric
American Studies. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven (editor). (2003). Comparative Literature and
Comparative Cultural Studies. Indiana: Purdue University Press.
9
Deta Maria Sri Darta
FBS-UKSW
[email protected]
Abstract
Discussing women’s roles in patriarchal society is endless. Being a mother is one example of
the role of a woman in patriarchal society. Most of the time woman as a mother is depicted
stereotypically, but in these two novels the mother portrait is non - stereotypically. Mother,
written by Maxim Gorky with the Russian background, while Emak, written by Daoed
Joesoef during the Dutch settlement in Indonesia both picturize the circumtances. Being
written by male authors, the mother figures in the two novels were depicted as strong,
persistent, religious although less educated when they face problems related to their family,
especially their children. The portrayals give examples of how women can have such effort to
raise their children better, moreover to overcome their fear in order to bring up their children.
The comparative study helps readers to see that although written by different authors from
diverse countries with unlike cultural backgrounds, these two novels share some similarities.
The similarities prove that some literary texts around the globe share universal aspects of life;
thus promoting world literature. This paper would like to explore how the cross continent
novels share similarities in portraying the figure of mother in which giving example that
woman as a mother is described non – stereotypically in literary texts.
Keywords: mother portrait, similarity, non – stereotypically
I. Introduction
Most people might see mothers, who are housewives, are less important than
fathers, who are the bread winner. To give undertanding that mothers’ roles are more
than just being mothers to their children is hard to do, especially in patriarchal society.
When we look deeper to every roles that mothers have, we will see clearly that
mothers play important part to perpetuate the system. They are the agents that
transmit the patriarchal values from one generation to another. Thus, their roles can
not be neglected.
Other than getting positive credits to their vital roles in patriarchal society,
they are depicted as weak, helpless, and unimportant contributors. Ironically, the role
of mothers is being misused to legalize the abusement toward them, with and without
1
their consent. While if we see in reality, many mothers are strong, problem solvers,
and important in the life of many people. We can find the example in the two novels
about to discuss.
Being written by different authors with different backgrounds does not make
the two novels, Gorky’s Mother and Joesoef’s Emak, completely different. Mother
was written in 1946 in Russia during the reign of Stallin, while Emak was written in
Indonesia, with the setting of Sumatera during the Dutch settlement. The story of both
novels circles around the existence of strong mothers toward their family. This shows
that although separated by different continents, the depictions are most likely similar.
With the help of comparative literature, one can see that the world is universal.
As Goethe once proposed that there are some values universaly shared by people from
different nations with different culture. Since literary texts can be examples of
artefacts owned by a certain society, analyzing novels as one type of literary works
helps us to undertand the culture of the society where the story takes place or made.
By comparing two or more novels, we will be able to see how they are resemblence
and to what extend their differences are. Moreover, we might be surprised with the
fact that somehow some literary texts are intersect and interact one another.
This does not mean that all cultures across the world are the same, still
separation contributes to some differences. The local culture or value gives distintive
features to each of the work comes from different part of the world. Let’s examine
Shakespear’s Romeo and Juliet and Indonesian folktale Roro Mendut and Pronocitro
as an example. The forbidden love theme echoes between the two story, despite of
their separation. However, the distance also contributes to the uniqueness that differs
one to another. The exclusivity can be found in the form of the setting of the story or
the framework in which the plot is developed. It creates certain atmosphere that
composes the two stories in a different way.
My previous article on Comparative Literature: Across Time and Space
believes that similar experience that all nations have plays a part to the existence of
universal value shared among those nations. Thus making the universal value has
capability to penetrate through different eras and spaces (Novita Dewi, 2013, p. 169).
This belief has become the stepping stone to see how convincing the Goethe’s idea of
universality is. Therefore this article is would like to explore the idea deeper and to
2
see to what extend the universal value can do to bind the two novels discussed in the
circle of world literature.
II. The Concept
The open door to Comparative Literature gives credit to Goethe’s term of world
literature. Gaining its thriumps for several decades, the journey continues to a
different perspective when René Wellek wrote The Crisis of Comparative Literature
(1963). Some schoolars start to re-read and re-define the concept of Comparative
Literature and its object of study.
Comparative Literature is not immuned from the influence due to the changes of
time. In the globalization era, technology plays a significant role in every aspect of
life, and literature should not deny its influence. Nevertheless, it does not mean that
Comparative Literature is a minor subject to study. Moreover, the effects of the
globalized world give new breeze to the study of Comparative Literature. Thus
making the schoolars of Comparative Literature to be ready for the changes happen.
In redifining the idea of Comparative Literature, one cannot neglect the previous
ideas. One of which is the idea of supranationality by Claudio Guillen (1993, p. 69 –
71). Supranational means the state of dealing with something across the national
limits or boundaries. Supranational is wider that international. There are three models
supranationality.
The first model is comparison between literary texts across nations because of
genetic relationship. This means that the similarity is achieved through influence of
contact. The example is the literary works that are written by authors sharing the same
race but experiencing different cultures.
The second model is evaluation based on common socio-historical condition in
genetically independent phenomena. It tries to examine the literay works through the
socio-historical background of the nations to find any past relation between them to
trace the connection easily. An example is that the fact that many nations experienced
colonization, thus making them suffering the similar pressure. The settlement of one
nation in other nation might also create cultural interaction between the people
involved, mix married famalies can be a booster toward the cultural interface.
The last one is the supranational entities in agreement with principles and
purposes from the theory of literature. It allows us to explore literaty texts from
3
different countries using the objectives from the theory of literature. It also gives us
opportunity to compare and contrast literary works from different countries without
finding the prior connection among them in which sometimes creates a trouble.
Analyzing literary texts from different countries, across the continents can easily be
done as long as they share similar theme. Without having genetic relationship or
sharing the same socio-historical circumtances, some fictions somehow share some
similarities among their differences.
Intertextuality pins its place in the last model of supranationality. It comprises
allusion and inclusion. A work is alluded to other works if it is inspired by the other
one. Allusion may accur in the whole story or it can also be partial. While inclusion
means that a work is included in another work. For instance, a poem is incorporated in
a drama becoming one of the dialogue or object of discussion among the characters.
Text as a product of society cannot escape from intertextuality.
In the globalized world, the idea of comparative literature face some challenges.
René Wellek as cited by Ali Behdad and Dominic Thomas, says that “The most
serious sign of the precarious state of our study is the fact that it has not been able to
establish a distinct subject matter and a specific methodology” (2011, p. 1).
Comparative study is thought to have no significant place in the modern era. The
technology has made all aspect of human life needs to modify its existence, and
comparative study is also not immune toward the changes. Furthermore, in order to
conduct comparative study requires comparatist to observe when culture is digitalized
and ideolect warps into cybertext as predicted by Jan Walsh Hokenson (2003, p. 73).
III. Mother portrait in the two novels
The following discussion will show the result of comparing two literary works.
Some examples of the analysis are taken from the study conducted on some literary
works in A Portrait of a Mother as an Agent of Change in Some Selected Fiction
(2011). The book studied several literary works focusing on the portrayal of mother,
but this discussion will take only two which share similar title; Mother by Maxim
Gorky (1946) and Emak by Daoed Joesoef (2010).
The two mothers in the works studied share some similarities. Both has to
struggle, though in different ways. The mother character in Mother, Pelagea, is
4
descibed as a woman married to a bad tempered man who tortured her mentally and
physically.
She has to take the course that comes out of her husband’s mouth. She
complains but not aggressively. She keeps serving her husband with meals as he
wants, although he asks for service scornfully. (Deta Maria, 2011, p. 38)
To make it worse, it is very common to have husband who had bad habit of drinking
and cursing even to his children. This of course make Pelagea to be strong and
struggle to stay and live within the family. We can see it from the discussion below
That condition might give no opportunity for people to question and fight
against since it is considered as a normal way of life. But the fact that Pelagea
does not follow the tradition of cursing and beating her only son is something
else. She shows that she tries not to be the same as her elders. (Deta Maria,
2011, p. 39)
Although she has to face that kind of husband, she does not leave her family
because she has one son. For the sake of her only son, she has to struggle once more,
even after her husband’s death. In affection for her only son, she tries her best not to
raise him to become like his father.
Pavel, the son, imitates his late father’s behaviour by coming home drunk,
shouting to his mother when he asks meals...Thus it makes her sad. On the
contrary she faces her son’s behaviour with such gentleness and affection.
(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 39 – 40)
Being uneducated does not stop Pelagea to understand new thing. Along with
her struggle in financial issue, she also has to keep herself together in understanding
the fact that Pavel, her only son, is joining the movement against the government. She
struggle to see how important the fight that Pavel does to make a better life for
working class like them. The discussion below explains
... living in industrial revolution era makes Pelagea struggle to understand her
son’s way of thinking. Pavel, her son, is one of the leaders in labour
movements at that time. Pelagea, unable to read, does not understand the
forbidden books that Pavel read. Although she is uneducated, Pelagea is bright
enough to absorb the knowledge that Pavel tries to transfer. She understands
her son’s struggle and is willing to take part in it. Although being frightened to
be caught as her son was, she put her courage to help the movement delivering
the leaflets (illegal leaflets) to labours in the factory where her late husband
worked. She does it as Pavel’s hand extension from the jail where he is now.
Her love to her son makes her understand him better and understand the
movement that Pavel is involved in; but she considers her action as a means to
save Pavel from the jail...(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 48)
5
The analysis above also shows how Pelagea struggle to put her courage to be Pavel’s
hand extention when he was in jail. Although she is afraid, she is aware taht she has to
do something to save her son and continue his fight.
Emak, the mother figure in Emak, also has to struggle, although in a different
way. She is more fortunate compared to Pelagea. Her struggle is more on keeping her
children educated, especially her daughters. It is due to the circumtances at that time
where getting higher education for a girl is something uncommon and difficult to do.
She does this because she does not want her children experiencing lack of education
as she has. Although she is quite lucky to be able to read and write in Arabic.
The struggle faced by Emak in Emak is something else. It is not about how she
has to keep the children without husband, but more on how she has to be firm in
deciding the children’s education. It is because at that time (around 1930s) in
Medan, South Sumatra, having higher education is not common especially for
girls. Although Emak does not know how to read and write Latin letters, she
knows how to read and write in Arabic. Understanding her own lack of education
might become her greatest motive to send her children to school, although she has
to do it against all odds. (Deta Maria, 2011, p. 42)
In order to give better education for her children, she had to face her society. To give
room for her daugthers to taste formal education is even more.
Emak is very persistent in giving her children education. When she wants to
send her children to Dutch school, she has to struggle and risks everything she has. It
is because she lives under Dutch colonized, and sending the children to Dutch school
is considered a betrayal.
The firm mother is seen in Emak when she decides that her children must
move to a Dutch school to get better education. She shows that she contributes
in the decision making and her husband tends to consent to her idea. At that
time, most Indonesians saw the Dutch as enemy. People hated anything
connected to Dutch. Emak’s brother is known as a patriot against the Dutch
colonial government, hence making people talk behind her back regarding the
decision to send her children to a Dutch school. But for Emak it is the only
way to fight against the Colonial power. Here, she shares her brother’s opinion
on why the Dutch can defeat the Indonesians for having more knowledge than
the natives. Thus, in order to defeat them, Indonesians must also gain some
knowledge. This is one of the reasons why she appears firm and strong. (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 45 – 46)
Along with the struggle, these two mothers have to suffer. Pelagea has to
suffer from the abusement that her husband did to her. She also has to suffer from the
heart break when her son is sent to jail due to the movement that he joined. Her
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ultimate suffering is when she helps her son to distribute her son speech to mass
people. She is beaten, choked, and finally dies in her attempt. The analysis below
shows us how strong she is in facing her suffering:
She even suffers before she finally dies in order to help her son to reach other
people from jail. She is in doubt whether to run before she is caught, but
finally she decides to speak up and throws the leaflets to the crowd in the
station where she gets caught. Although they beat her, they choke her, and
treat her badly; she keeps delivering the message through her last words. (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 52)
Emak in her effort to give better education for her children, suffers from
pressing her own ego. She is willing to stay in a modest house that is located in the
area where schools are not far. Although her husband asks her to move to a bigger and
better house, she refuses the idea since the new house location is too far from schools.
She does not want to put herself into the first priority. For her, the children better lives
depend on the education they get.
...Emak is willing to stay in the house which has become narrower since there
is a road development project which reduces the house area. She does not want
to move to other place, the place that her husband promised, because in the
new place going to school is difficult. She used to live in a big house, but tries
to make friend with the smaller house for the sake of her children’s education.
(Deta Maria, 2011, p. 54)
Through the struggle and suffering, the mothers in the works studied self
actualize themself, both consciously and unconsciously. Pelagea liberates herself by
learning to read and helping her son to fight against the mainstream. Through her
contact with Pavel’s friends, she touches their life and becomes their mother, the
figure who takes care of them and someone that they respect: “Even one of Pavel
closed friends, Andrei, considers her as the mother that he longs for sometimes. He
even calls her nenko, an affectionate term for ‘mother’ used in the Ukraine” (Deta
Maria, 2011, p. 61). She finally gains respect and experiences the feeling of being a
true mother, not only for her on son but also for his friends.
Meanwhile, Emak has inspired many people around her, including her own
son Daoed to pursue his education. She says that books are the doors to the world and
foreign language is the key. Daoed continues his study until he becomes the first
Indonesian who is graduated from Sorbonne, France. She also learns to ride bicycle to
give example for her children to learn new things. Her attempt to learn riding a bike is
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not an easy way. She has to ignore people gossiping about her and asking her children
not to listen to them. Her children are the witness on how Emak tries to break the
existing norm under patriarchal value, not merely to merely fight but to show the
beauty of equity between woman and man.
Although sharing some similarities, both novels have its own color. Both
mothers live in the era of colonization (Pelagea lives under control from Stalin, while
Emak lives when Indonesia was under Dutch government), but Emak is more
fortunate because her husband understand equity between woman and man. He also
support her very much.
Seeing the closeness between the two novels, we might have a suspicious
thought that Emak, written far after, is inspired by Mother. However, if we look back
Emak is a memoir which is written to show Joesoef’s honour to his mother, the
prejudice is probably not right.
This has become a concern in the comparative study. The technology can
make blur of the idea of universal value. The similar themes will emerge easier in
many parts of the world in a very short time. It is way comparative study should find a
new technique or method to keep its existence in the literary study. Adapting to the
advance of the technology is unavoided by any disciplines, including comparative
study.
IV. Conclusion
Comparative study helps us perceive similarities and spot differences when
two or more literary works are compared and contrasted. The sample taken from the
discussion shows that bearing the similar title might suggest that the two novels share
similarities, the theme of mother portrayal echos in the two works. However when we
look deeper in each of the work, we will graps that somehow each work has
distinctive characteristics.
In the globalization era, all disciplines might face new challenges.
Comparative study also has to face the similar test. In order to survive and continue its
existence, this study has to discover its place and obtain respect in the study of literary
analysis. Comparative study needs to prove that as a discpline, this study is worth
conducted and it is not out of date.
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Moreover, the close relation between comparative study, world literature,
translation, and cultural study make them interrelated one another. When we compare
two or more literary works with different languages, we also get in touch with world
of translation and of course with the idea of world literature. Meanwhile, the
knowledge of local culture will give us advantage to see that each of the works
compared has unique characteristics. Despite the debate over the existence of
comparative study, we must believe that the discipline will grow and continue its
journey floating in the new space of globalization era.
V. References
Behdad, Ali and Dominic Thomas (editor). (2011). A Companion to Comparative
Literature. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Bernheimer, Charles (editor). (1995). Comparative Literature in the Age of
Multiculturalism. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.
Damrosch, David. (2003). What is World Literature?. New Jersey: Princeton
University Press.
Deta Maria Sri Darta. (2011). A Portrait of a Mother as an Agent of Change as
Seen in Some Selected Fiction. Saarbrücken: LAP Lambert Academic
Publishing.
Dewi, Novita (editor). (2013). English Language Studies in Indonesia.
Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University Press.
Guillen, Caludio. (1993). The Challenge of Comparative Literature. trans. Cola
Frazen.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Levande, F. Caroline and Robert S. Levine (editor). (2008). Hemispheric
American Studies. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven (editor). (2003). Comparative Literature and
Comparative Cultural Studies. Indiana: Purdue University Press.
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