Publication: Images Of Malay Women In Shahnon Ahmad's Selected Works
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Date
2011
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
Abstract
Gender discrimination phenomenon not only exists in ‘male-centered’ literatures where ‘double-standard’ treatment is apparent in the writings of local male writers, but also can be seen in the twisted yet stereotypical images of the female characters. Such portrayal of female characters seems to come from the male writer’s imagination and personal experience, as well as from that of the ideas prevailing in the society in which they live. Their interpretation of characters is shaped by society’s customs, traditions, and taboos. By unveiling the social values and practices of the Malay society, only then these misperception and misrepresentation of women characters can be understood. Using sociological and feminist approach, this paper attempts to rectify the three stereotypical images (an ‘object’, the ‘other’ and ‘being female’) of women characters as created by Shahnon Ahmad in No Harvest but Thorn (1972), Rope of Ash (1991), Srengenge (1974) and Woman (1980). These images shall be revealed implicitly through glimpses of the women characters’ inner conflicts and explicitly through the development of characters and their relationship within the society.
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Keywords
gender studies, women image, Shahnon Ahmad, Malay society