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The Defect Side of Woman: an Analysis of Women Weakness in Sirikat Syahs Perempuan Suamiku By all the excellences and weaknesses, women had been being interesting topic to be discussed all time. From every side and part, women always become a centered of attention. They are interesting with their own problems, including a problem of discrimination. Superiority of men to women and exploitation woman by man is a real problem until the feminist grows up to make it balance. Feminists are united by the idea that womens position in society is unequal to that of men, and that society is structured in such a way as to benefit men to the political, social, and economic detriment of women. The aim of feminism is actually to get women freedom and to get their rights as human being. Personal freedom is the first right to be proclaimed, and that does not and cannot now belong to the relation of wife, to the mistress of the isolated home, to the financial dependent (Madsen, L. Deborah, 2000: 40). However, feminists have used different theories to explain these inequalities and have advocated different ways of redressing inequalities, and there are marked geographic and historical variations in the nature of feminism.

Moreover, Mary Wollstonecraft is a first modern feminist. She calls for the full participation in the rights and duties of citizenship. Her A Vindication of the Rights of Woman becomes a foundation of the woman suffrage movement. In that book which is published in 1792, Mary reveals so many things about woman. She tells one of those that there is any distinction between man and woman. Overall, trough her writing, she want to tell that why women are different from men in the case of education, power, and idea. Moreover, her writing becomes a base for the theory of feminism. Actually, the discourse about feminism had spread until nowadays. Seems like a work of Sirikat Syah Perempuan Suamiku (1996), show up so many things about womens life which is constantly focus to describe the problem of husband and wife. We ourselves feel that this story is exciting to be discussed. We tend to show the defect side of women that is focus to analyze womens weakness from that story. There are two characters of women in that story. The first is Wife and the second is Husbands mistress, an artist. From both characters, we try to reveal the weakness of them in a side of feeling as their defect. In addition, the problem we revealed based on theory of Mary Wollstonecraft as a prominent one. Actually, in Perempuan Suamiku (1996), there is focus of the spotlight that this story is not telling about an inequity of gender. As we know in the story that the character of Wife is a woman who align herself to her husband in terms of social, economic, and educational status. Even wife has good position in her job.

Generally, this is something, which is feminist want to do, and it works in this story. Nonetheless, the next problem is when the husband remains committed any injustice to his wife even though they have an equal status in a few things mentioned above. He hurts his wife by has an affair with another woman. That is the focus of further attention in the development of feminism that men still treat women who have equality with them unfairly. In addition, indirectly, this case implies that although woman has superiority to man, she still has particular weakness. Along with that, weakness comes from womans own feeling. Woman seemed so easy to be hurt by man. Therefore, we can draw a hypothesis that womans feeling is a part of womans weakness. This defect is often makes woman easily hurt by man. Sirikat Syah as the author of Perempuan Suamiku describes clearly enough about the story. Nevertheless, there is some cases we doubt of what he wants to convey in his story truly. Does he want to show the superiority of man (husband) or womens weakness (wife and husbands mistress)? Other than we just feeling sad when we read and know both of womens fate in that story. A man (husband) had played their feeling. Because of that, we assume that the author may be wanted to convey about mans superiority or he really want to show the real reality in social condition. Whatever our assumption to the author, we keep on our theme to prove the defect side from all the excellences women have. Reinforced by the theory of

Mary Wollstonecraft in A Vindication of Rights Woman, we strive to show up womens weakness in their feeling as portrayed in Perempuan Suamiku. How men treat women, what differences from both characters of women in the story, why women are defect in feeling, what causes them to be weak would be revealed next. One of the concepts of Mary Wollstonecraft is a term of rake. A rake is a tool for farming but the essential meaning of it is from the context. As we know that a tool is used just if needed, and if we do not need it, we will not use it. Wollstonecraft used this word to relate with a woman. She describes that man treat woman seems like a rake in which she put it in Adams; allowing Popes summary of their character to be just, that every woman is at heart a rake (Adams, 1991: 396). It prove that concept of rake has been attach to woman. Actually, we think that this concept just show the superiority of men to women and show how women could be exploited by men easily. However, this concept also found in Perempuan Suamiku reflected by husbands mistress. Why just husbands mistress? It is because, generally we can conclude that wherever only an illegal mistress that exploited by man. Being a mistress of a marriage man is always harming. And it showed in this part; Bahkan kami jarang sekali bercinta. Biasanya dia lelah atau aku yang lelah (Syah, 1996). We can judge it as a rakes action from man to woman because in our opinion we consider that they (husband and his mistress) have a sex just sometimes as a will of man. Moreover, there is a

statement of husband in a part; Menjadi orang sepertimu mungkin enak juga, tapi aku belum pernah ingin menjadi yang lain (Syah, 1996). How immoral man! We are sure that all of you know that the sentence implies that man do not want to leave his old life but he still want to try a new life without having responsible for them. It means that the artist just being a rake of a man. From two quotations above of the story, may be a husbands mistress did not realize that he had exploited her. Once again, it proves that indirectly women have a weakness or defect until they did not realize it. Indeed, this is main thing that we want to reveal about the defect side of women. This defect or weakness of women is really portrayed in this story. We have said above that generally as a view of feminism in this story, there are almost none of inequity between man and woman. Nevertheless, we see both of womens character in the story really seemed so weak and look so stupid in which they did not want to be left by man who hurt them. Actually, we know that both of them are educated women, cleaver, and have an independent economically. Nevertheless, by all their

excellences they have, why they foolishly want to keep the relation with man who hurt them. Firstly, we know that in this story there are two women that being a focus of attention namely wife and an artist or husbands mistress. Yet, those both of women have different character. Abrams put his thought about characters in A Glossary of Literary Terms;

Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways of saying itthe dialogue and from what they dothe action (Abrams, 1999: 32). Depend on that theory, we can analyze womens characters based on the big point of intellectual and emotional that showed by those characters in the text. We begin with the character of wife. Overall, we directly know her character that she is a wife of her husband who has children and has great carrier in her job. It shows from this part; Suamiku memujaku. Aku mengaguminya. Kami dikaruniai anak-anak yang manis, masing-masing dari kami punya karier yang mantap ditempat kerja, dan kami memiliki beberapa kesamaan hobi (Sirikit Syah, 1996). Furthermore, we can judge that physically, she is a perfect woman who has all the excellences of woman. Aku cukup cantik, pandai merawat badan, selalu rapi dan segar, rajin melayani di meja makan maupun ditempat tidur, bahkan aku bisa dibanggakan dikalangan bisnisnya (Sirikit Syah, 1996). Once again, we have no doubt that this character is too perfect as a woman. From perspective of feminism, which strives for gender equality, she portrayed it undoubtedly. For the second is the character of an artist as husbands mistress. From this character, we see some differences between them. Physically, they are so different. From above we know, wife is a person who is beautiful, smart, and tidy. Yet, an artist is an untidy one. She impressed her life messy and has no rules. Overall, we can get a conclusion for her that she is not interesting one. Aku

masih sulit memahami, apa yang menarik pada diri perempuan itu. Dia lebih tua dari aku beberapa tahun. Itu bahkan terlihat pada wajahnya yang tanpa make up. Dandanannya sederhana, atau seenaknya, sebagaimana seniman pada umumnya (Sirikit Syah, 1998). Although her style is messy, but, in mind she is smart and clever one and has a great skill as a painter. Kurang ajar benar perempuan ini. mulutnya tajam sekali tapi jalan pikirannya jelas dan tegas (Syah, 1996). The next one which prove she is really good one and interesting to man. Perempuan itu cerdas, hal yang disukai suamiku. Dia pernah bilang, Aku tak akan pernah terangsang oleh bidadari yang dungu (Syah, 1996). From both of women, we recognize that there are no women who have discrimination characters in this story, but back to our theme above, both of women here have weakness in particular parts. In addition, this is what we will to explore next. After knowing the character of those women with all the lacks and excellences, now we are going to talk about their defect. Why we are so brave to judge that women have the defect? It is reinforced by the argument of Aristotle said that woman is defect in nature. Habib also adding this statement according to Wollstonecraft in his book that; A long tradition of male writers, says Wollstonecraft, has contributed to this degradation of women into artificial, weak characters (Habib, 2005: 341). It means that women always neglected by men although they are quite educated. It is the basis problem of the presence of feminism movement in this world. But, the theme that we appear in this essay

is not intend to drop the women, but really we just want to reveal what we found through analysis based on theory. These things we do to make women aware of their weaknesses and try to strengthen themselves for not attenuated by man. As we have said above that, the defect side of women is their feeling. And their feeling sometimes being their weakness. According to Wollstonecraft in Adams that; Another instance of that feminine weakness of character, often produced by a confined education, is romantic twist of the mind, which has been very properly termed sentimental (Adams, 1991: 398). Wollstonecraft claimed that the weakness of women caused by a confined education. There are the distinction to get education between men and women. And women did not give full of right to get it. Men were considered as the proper one to get it. So, for the consequence, their knowledge become so lack and it lead to differentiation of their thinking and habitual. Men are more powerful and rational, beside women are more powerless and emotional. These are the women who are amused by the reveries of the stupid novelist, who, knowing little of human nature, work up stale tales, and describe meretricious scene, all retailed in a sentimental jargon, which equally tend to corrupt the taste, and draw the heart aside from its daily duties (Adams, 1991: 398).

From this quotation, we know that something which make women fool is they always given novels which is written by stupid novelist with just tell about stale tales, and all of it just make women going to the folly. Wollstonecraft

considers that those novels which make the differentiation of the association of the idea between men and women. Whereas men are from their infancy regaled with method and the need for systematic and exact thought, women receive only a disorderly kind of education, being taught to rely on a sort of instinctive common sense never brought to the test of reason. (Habib, 2005: 342). Because of that, women much used heart and feeling whereas men much explore his reason. It is because men always read the history books that caused power and systematically thinking while women foolishly keep on read the stupid novels. they find the reading of history a very dry task (Adams, 1991: 398). Generally, the lack of reading history and much more reading dime novels make women make women weak in their feeling. This womens weakness is reflected in two characters, they are wife and artist or husbands mistress. Firstly, begin from perspective way of wife. Aku, aku tidak siap hidup menjanda, dan aku sangat membutuhkan dia (Syah, 1996). This is our fundamental opinion of why we so dare to judge that women are weak. It is because we can analyze from that quotation that wife did not want to be left by her husband. Actually we know that wife is not a weak person in cases of education and financial. So, logically, if her husband hurt her, has an affair with another, as an educated woman she should not defend her husband. If she can live alone and financially well of why should defend her husband, who is clearly not loyal to her? If we see a woman based on Wollstonecraft vision, it will be like this; Women are

not, strictly speaking, mens toy, or mens bell that should occur on the ears, regardless of reason, every time he wanted to be entertained (Tong, 1998: 22). Furthermore, Wollstonecraft gives her opinion about the usage of reason to female. According to Wollstonecraft in Adams, In fact the female mind has been so totally neglected, that knowledge was only to be acquired from this muddy source, till from reading novels some women of superior talents learned to despise them (Adams, 1991: 399). Perhaps, this is why women are less in used their logic and more used their heart (feeling). May be we can say that their feeling tend to control logic. Seems like portrayed in the text; Dalam bayanganku, perempuan itu pasti seseorang yang lebih muda dari aku, lebih seksi, lebih piawai di tempat tidur, lebih berpendidikan, atau lebih mahir dalam pengabdian dan pelayanan pada lelaki (Syah: 1996). This quotation shows that women are really temperature of mind. It means that they always think more before the truth known. It is caused by their mind or their reason controlled by their heart or their feeling. Therefore, we can conclude that women are rare to think clearly by their reason and not contaminated by their feeling. Overall, it proves that even though wife is an educated and prestige woman, she is still has weakness. For the next, actually same with the character of wife, the artist also has a defect side in feeling. Although, in the beginning she seemed as a strong and independent woman but in the last, she showed that she is a real woman too. We can see from; Tidak bisakah kau mengizinkan kami memiliki affair ini? (Syah,

1996). From this part, we can make a judgment that she did not want to be left by man. Dia ternyata berhati perempuan juga (Syah, 1996). It is also emphasize that womens heart is same in the case of weakness because they did not want to be left by man. Those are our vision to the women in Perempuan Suamiku that women feeling is also the weakness of them. And we analyze it on the base of Wollstonecraft theory. For the last, we consider that women should not be weak of their feeling. Wollstonecraft talk about her argument in Adams that, The best method, I believe that can be adopted to correct a fondness for novel is to ridicule them (Adams, 1991: 399). The word novel here is not all novel but just novels that content of stale story, dime, and cause them to the folly. Woman should think general, wide, and far from shallowness. So, it will be increase the power of women to be independent from men. Without the power of reason, they cannot make moral choices and are disposed to blind obedience of whatever power structure can claim authority over them (Habib, 2005: 342). Continuously, Wollstonecraft celebrates reason, usually at the expense of emotion or feeling (Tong, 1998: 21). It means that Wollstonecraft personally wanted to be more concerned with women reason than feeling. And we think that her argument is proper to solve the problem faced by women in the story of Perempuan Suamiku that women should be able to make autonomous decision.

References; Abrams, M. H. 1999. A Glossary of Literary Terms. USA: Pearl McPeak Adams, Hazard. 1991. Critical Theory since Plato Revised Edition. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publisher Habib, M. A. R. 2005. A History of Literary Criticism. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publisher Madsen, L. Deborah. 2000. Feminist Theory and Literary Practice. London: Pluto Press Tong, Putnam Rosemarie. 1998. Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction. Bandung: Jalasutra