The Concept of Women’s Happiness in Serat Wulang Putri

Abstract

- Written in the form of tembang macapat, the Wulang Putri text features life advices for women living inside the environment of Javanese keraton (royal palace) during the 19th century. During the period, women in Java struggled to maintain their existence in facing pressures and marginalization from the community. The study aimed to elaborate the concept of happiness in Javanese women as portrayed in Serat Wulang Putri texts, compilation of passages written by a Javanese women in about one century ago. Employing macro-literature approach, the study relied on genetic structuralism analysis to put emphasis on the intrinsic features, the author’s social background, as well as the socio-historical reality during which the texts were written. The results show that the Wulang Putri text featured notions emphasizing ideal characteristics of a Javanese woman in responding to the social situation that disrespects women’s rights. Composed by the King or his/her relatives, the texts placed women as the commodity of power; moreover, in the text written by a woman named Nyi Adisara, women’s happiness was described in four characteristics: 1) gunawan (intelligence), 2) wiryawan (nobility), 3) hartawan (wealth), and 4) berawan (fertility).