The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature
In traditional Malay literature, women were often portrayed as individuals who were mentally, physically and spiritually weak. They were incapable of surviving on their own and could only hope to receive help and assistance from the main characters comprising men. In addition, the female characters...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Center of Science and Education
2014
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35748/1/The%20Meaning%20of%20Female%20Passivity%20in%20Traditional%20Malay%20Literature.pdf |
| _version_ | 1825948707795763200 |
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| author | Hamdan, Rahimah Md. Radzi, Shaiful Bahri |
| author_facet | Hamdan, Rahimah Md. Radzi, Shaiful Bahri |
| author_sort | Hamdan, Rahimah |
| collection | UPM |
| description | In traditional Malay literature, women were often portrayed as individuals who were mentally, physically and spiritually weak. They were incapable of surviving on their own and could only hope to receive help and assistance from the main characters comprising men. In addition, the female characters in the genres of traditional Malay literature were 'silenced' by their authors when faced with certain situations without being given the opportunity to come forward to defend themselves let alone their rights. Their ‘silence’ was also related to their passivity in dealing with life. Thus, this paper will identify the female characters in several selected genres and analyse their level of passivity according to Bardwick’s psychological perspective. The results of this study show that the 'silence' of traditional women marked their ingenuity in handling pressure from the Malay patriarchal society. The 'passivity' of this group was also meant to be a form of indirect aggression over their inability to establish their rights openly in society. This paper shows that the 'silence' of the women in traditional Malay literature does not mean they gave in willingly to every act committed against them, but it was also a ‘subtle’ resistance to the suppression by the patriarchal system as practised in the Malay community. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T08:33:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm.eprints-35748 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T08:33:17Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Canadian Center of Science and Education |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | upm.eprints-357482017-10-20T09:06:40Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35748/ The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature Hamdan, Rahimah Md. Radzi, Shaiful Bahri In traditional Malay literature, women were often portrayed as individuals who were mentally, physically and spiritually weak. They were incapable of surviving on their own and could only hope to receive help and assistance from the main characters comprising men. In addition, the female characters in the genres of traditional Malay literature were 'silenced' by their authors when faced with certain situations without being given the opportunity to come forward to defend themselves let alone their rights. Their ‘silence’ was also related to their passivity in dealing with life. Thus, this paper will identify the female characters in several selected genres and analyse their level of passivity according to Bardwick’s psychological perspective. The results of this study show that the 'silence' of traditional women marked their ingenuity in handling pressure from the Malay patriarchal society. The 'passivity' of this group was also meant to be a form of indirect aggression over their inability to establish their rights openly in society. This paper shows that the 'silence' of the women in traditional Malay literature does not mean they gave in willingly to every act committed against them, but it was also a ‘subtle’ resistance to the suppression by the patriarchal system as practised in the Malay community. Canadian Center of Science and Education 2014 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35748/1/The%20Meaning%20of%20Female%20Passivity%20in%20Traditional%20Malay%20Literature.pdf Hamdan, Rahimah and Md. Radzi, Shaiful Bahri (2014) The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature. Asian Social Science, 10 (17). pp. 222-228. ISSN 1911-2017; ESSN: 1911-2025 http://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/39669 10.5539/ass.v10n17p222 |
| spellingShingle | Hamdan, Rahimah Md. Radzi, Shaiful Bahri The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title | The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title_full | The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title_fullStr | The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title_short | The meaning of female passivity in traditional Malay literature |
| title_sort | meaning of female passivity in traditional malay literature |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/35748/1/The%20Meaning%20of%20Female%20Passivity%20in%20Traditional%20Malay%20Literature.pdf |
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