Belenggu maskulinitas dalam kultur matrilineal Minangkabau: ambivalensi Siti Nurbaya dan beberapa citra kolosal gender pada roman Marah Roesli

Even though Marah Roesli places women as the main focus of his literary work, , the title of the work is not suggestive enough to satisfy feminist readers’ horizon of expectations related to gender codes in Sitti Nurbaya (1920). On the other hand, the existence of female protagonists in novels se problematic. First, Sitti Nurbaya is not seen through the eyes of a woman (the author is male). Second, the female protagonist is instead placed as the gravity of the masculine conflict which causes Samsulbahri and Datuk Meringgih to clash. This paper explores various images of femininity which are narrated through feminine characters in Marah Roesli’s novel. Not only focusing on the figure of Sitti Nurbaya, figures such as Putri Rabiah, Sitti Fatimah, and Sitti Alimah actually offer a more attractive and impressive image of womanhood. Putri Rabiah represents the image of Minangkabau women who are blessed with a matrilineal culture that places women as the axis of Minangkabau social, economic and culture. Meanwhile, Sitti Fatimah and Sitti Alimah represent a cosmopolitan and radical image of the Malay merchant family environment in early Malay modernity.