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R.M. Noto Soeroto was one of the Indonesian writers who wrote in Dutch.His poems and essays in Dutch were well appreciated by both the Dutch andthe Indonesian society in the Netherlands. He published his works in Oedaya:Majalah bergambar untuk Indonesia, a magazine (1923-1931) that was founded byhim. His works can be categorized as Dutch-East Indies literature. Most of hisworks in Dutch were written when he lived in the Netherlands and describethe Javanese culture. This article is an analysis on three of Soeroto?s poems.These three poems present flowers as theme, two poems are from his anthologyMelatiknoppen: gedichten in proza (1915) and one poem from De geur van moedershaarwrong (1922). Flowers are most usually seen as a symbol for women, andthus represent the idea of femininity. However, the flowers in these three poemsrefer to the idea of masculinity. Jasmine is no longer a symbol limited to thefeminine gender. In Javanese culture, the jasmine flower attached to the hairis a symbol of femininity. The flower wrapped around the kris is a symbol ofmasculinity. Furthermore jasmine is a symbol for struggle. This article tries todemonstrate the presence of masculinity through the use of flowers and theirrole as an image of masculinity in Noto Soeroto?s poems. |
