BETWEEN RONGGENG AND GEISHA: COMPARATIVE STRUCTURALISM OF RONGGENG DHUKUH PARUK AND MEMOIRS OF GEISHA  

Oleh:

Khristianto

Jenis: Article from Proceeding
Dalam koleksi: The 1st Literary Studies Conference: Configuring and Reconfiguring English Literature in Southeast Asia (SEA), Yogyakarta, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 17-18 Oktober 2013
Topik: ronggeng; geisha; structuralism; parallelism.
Fulltext: 6 Between Ronggeng.pdf (351.47KB)

Isi artikel

Ronggeng Dhukuh Paruk (RDP) is a representation of reality about a ronggeng dancer world. It depicts the picture of reality in a dense locality with all ritual traditions in ronggeng life. It is a roman illustrating a life of an individual who finally becomes a ronggeng for which she should start with an initiation and then serve the people along her lifetime. Being one means being a property of the public. Similar story is felt in Memoirs of Geisha (MG) which presents details of a poor rural girl who should fight to be a geisha. She does not only have to learn “to be” but also have to struggle of being a new mankind. Each novel becomes a collective memory for each corresponding community. Both reveal the view of each own community on a social phenomenon. What a serious author writes can be categorized as a collective memory of a nation community (Taum, 2004:1). Thus, the reality depicted in both novels can be a collective memory of each nation, eastern memory. Applying the structuralism of Levi-Strauss ala Ahimsa Putra (2006), the paper will present a paralell relation of the characters in each novel, using relevant plotting in the stories as their mythemes. Based on the analysis, the relation between the characters in both novels indicates a similar structure. The patronage link of client-patron putting the main character as a subdordinate is clearly seen in the relation of Srinthil-Rasus and Sayuri-Mr.Tanaka, with its distinctive cultural patronage. The similar relation is also implied in the link between Srithil-Kartareja and Sayuri-Mameha. However, binary opposition between Srinthil ronggeng and Sayuri geisha is also obvious. Being a ronggeng is genetic, while being a geisha is behavioristic. To be a ronggeng is a natural transformation, but to be a geisha is a cultural transformation. Srinthil was born to be Jeng Nganten, meanwhile Chi-yo was born to learn to be a Sayuri geisha.

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