WOMAN AS THE SEX MACHINE IN THE
NOVEL “RONGGENG DUKUH PARUK”
By
Asep Zaenul
Falah
1210503022
The sex harassment and sex despising for the woman is yet
unacceptable in some reasons of the human rights. Those cases still surrounding the woman life
today, which is become the habitual in inequality system toward the woman
character. The inequality system creates one of the species above another
species. In this term the man as the rule of patriarchal system behold their
self as the superior species of the human being to take over another species
who is woman. Thus, this assumption build the inequality in every terms of the
society such as, education, rights, duties, virtue, etc. Mary Wollstonecraft in
Bennet (2010: 16) asserts that if there is a mistakable understanding of rights
and duties, especially in knowledge the equality seems lost its power to be achieved
by man. On that case, the division of hierarchy in society only can be assumed
based on the physical strength of the man which is divided into weak and
strong.
The public opinion of two sexes creates
the woman who is not though enough as the stronger one plunge into a system
under the men. The system is built by the ignoble base when the stronger should
be master because the appearance, law, and nature (Wollstonecraft in Bennet,
1972: 57). The man domination is not only takes the system of norm in the
society, but also forms the rule to define the woman character in the literary
works (all the text in education and art).
Most people think that women’s
literature just explains the women’s handicap such as, educational,
experiential, and biological. In fact the women’s literature is not only
describes the world of woman itself, but also it contains all the social
complexity included man. This exclamation is used as therapy to release from
stifling silence of the drawing room, and as a rebellion against the
indifference and insensitivity of the men closest to them (Showalter: 1979: 172).
The cultural issues which bind woman in inequality
condition of the social such as, domestic violence and exploitation can be seen
in the novel Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk. The
novel is written by Ahmad Tohari as the expression of the life experience. Tohari
describes woman as the social production to fulfill man desire as the sex
machine in entertainment show. He applies the mimetic approach to descript the
uneducated society which is deceiving the social construction hold by the men
domination.
Portraying Srintil as the woman main character who
follows the patriarchal system as the uneducated woman, Tohari explains the
condition of the society which create woman trapped in social institution. The
society of the novel creates the tradition rule that obligate woman to become Ronggeng who is proper as the valuation
to the ancestors. The woman should sell their body in the tradition of
sexuality desire as the beautiful creature. Tohari itself uses the innocent
female teenager as the main character in the beginning of the plot who is Srintil
12 years old. This condition creates the circumstances that full of the lack of
education and knowledge behind the social culture.
Senggot timbane rante,
tiwas ngegot ning ora suwe. (Tohari, page 5)
The quotation above shows the excerption of the traditional
song of Javanese people has been sung by the Ronggeng. In the novel, first time
the song has been sung by Srintil the innocent girl who does not know the real
meaning of the song. The song uses metaphor to explain the sexuality desire of
human being. In the other hand, this song seems like a sacred traditional song
to worship the ancestor of Dukuh Paruk the village where Srintil is live. In the relation with Wollstonecraft (in Bennet
2010: 77) who creates the metaphor for woman as a rake, Srintil does not
realize that herself used by the man only to fulfill sexuality desire.
In the condition of lack education woman trapped by the
social culture easily. In additions of the innocent conditions of the girls man
take the advantage of woman base on they naturally condition. In this case, the
beautiful body of woman use as the sexual machine to build the false biological
needs.
“mimik penagih birahi yang selalu ditampilkan oleh
seorang ronggeng yang sebenarnya, juga diperbuat oleh Srintil saat itu (Tohari,
fage 6)
For instance the sarcasm above describe women only has
the beautiful body base on their sex reproduction of the sensibility naturally.
Those, Srinntil only following the role of man with who are often she herself
as the will passion. According to Wollstonecraft (1975) the polis women only
accept their condition base on their anatomy and physical term. Moreover, woman
has no significant function except only for sex. According to Wollstonecraft (19722:76) that women begin oppressed because
of the cultural relations and social institutions created them to sell their body in the
beauty.
Dukuh Paruk hanya lengkap bila di sana ada
keramat Ki Secamenggala, ada seloroh cabul, ada sumpah-serapah dan ada
ronggeng bersama perangkat calungnya.
The sensual side in the
novel of sexuality which is used as a term of cultural law in Dukuh Paruk. It
means that woman shoul follow the traditional and cultural law without thinking
because their lack of the division of sex. The society creates woman as the sex
machine as the naturally condition. On the other hand, man can take the
advantage of this condition as the dominant species who consume the desire in
the woman body for sexual exploitation. Man can enjoy woman body free and exploit their sex harrasment because
of the legalization of social culture.
Because of their natural
weakness woman be oppresed again and again in the sexual condition. The
weakness of mind and body of woman itself makes the inequality social structure
stands firm. Srintil cannot reject and deni the system of the society becase of
her innocent and frivolous mind. The condition of Srintil explains that woman
never has an option in social structure. Common passion are excited by common
qualities which is base of the education and the virtue of woman character
abandoned (Wollstonecraft, 1972: 86).
Education thus only supplies the man of genius to create their
domination of the society assotiation (in this terms the legal association is
Ronggeng).
“Tak kusangka Srintil bisa menari sebagus itu,” katanya. “Kalau
boleh aku ingin menggendongnya,membuainya sampai dia lelap di pangkuanku.”
“Yah, aku pun ingin mencuci pakaiannya. Aku
akan memandikannya besok pagi,” kata perempuan lainnya.
“Eh, kalian
dengar. Srintil bukan milik orang per orang. Bukan hanya kalian yang ingin
memanjakan Srintil.
Sehabis
pertunjukan nanti aku mau minta ijin kepada Nyai Kartareja.”
“Engkau mau
apa?”
“Memijat
Srintil. Bocah ayu itu pasti lelah nanti. Dia akan kubelai sebelum tidur.”
“Yah, Srintil.
Bocah kenes, bocah kewes. Andaikata dia lahir dari perutku!” kata perempuan
lainnya lagi.
Berkata
demikian, perempuan itu mengusap matanya sendiri. Kemudian membersihkan air
mata yangmenetes dari hidung.
Ah. Perhatian
Srintil itulah yang terasa hilang di
hatiku. “Nanti
kalau Srintil sudah dibenarkan bertayub, suamiku menjadi laki-laki pertama yang
menjamahnya,” kata seorang perempuan.
“Jangan besar
cakap,” kata yang lain. “Pilihan seorang ronggeng akan jatuh pertama pada
lelaki yang memberinya uang paling banyak. Dalam hal
ini suamiku tak bakal dikalahkan.”
“Tetapi
suamimu sudah pikun. Baru satu babak menari pinggangnya akan terkena encok.”
“Aku yang
lebih tahu tenaga suamiku, tahu?”
“Tetapi jangan
sombong dulu. Aku bisa menjual kambing agar suamiku mempunyai cukup uang. Aku
tetap yakin, suamiku akan menjadi lelaki pertama
yang mencium Srintil.”
“Tunggulah
sampai saatnya tiba. Suami siapa yang bakal menang. Suamiku atau suamimu.”
Kata mereka,
The quotations above shows the folish woman that created
by the social culture as the woman in the weakness of mind. They as bad as
Srintil to accept the social culture without consideration of their role in the
society. In another way, what they do
without asking the domination of man behind only creates the institutional strenghtening
for men. The society let woman enjoy
their role as the sex machine as the impact of their domestic role. In
fact, the beauty of Srintil
is created to explain the woman
side that does not have relation with strength and power.
The interpretation and the perseption for woman as the
sex machine in the “Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk” show that woman as the law creature
who occopies the subordinant character. Meanwhile, in the opposite of woman
character man achieve the highess position in the social structure as the
dominant who injoy and free to exploite woman body. In the relations with
Wollstonecraft (in Beenet, 2010) which is explain that the nomination of man
begin of opprssed the woman by the social structure and institution that lets
woman in fool conditions. Forethemore, after the sexual domination of man which
build the woman character especially Srintil only takes their domestic role as
the womb of the sexual reproduction.
So the habitual slavery to first imprestion woman as the
sex machine is the effect of male domination of wrong understanding in the
social assosiation for the idea of moral mistakable. In the relations with
Wollstonecraft (ibid) the understanding it is stubborm take the body of woman
as the produc sexual interpretation in the social system when man look for
beauty as their consumption.
Refferences
Tohari, Ahmad. 2003.
Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk. Jakarta: PT Grammedia Pustaka Utama.
Adam, Hazard. 1991. Critical
Theory Since Plato. New York press.
Wollstonecraft,
Mary. 1974. A
Vindication of the Rights of Woman with Strictures on Political and
Moral Subjects. London
press.
