Beyond submission: Sumarah, female agency, and cultural resilience in Umar Kayam's Sri Sumarah
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Abstract
The Javanese concept of sumarah is frequently interpreted as passive surrender or resignation to fate. Such an interpretation, however, overlooks its ethical, cultural, and philosophical dimensions within Javanese society. This article re-examines sumarah through Umar Kayam’s novella Sri Sumarah, arguing that the concept represents an indigenous ethics of cultural resilience rather than passive submission. Employing a qualitative interpretive design with a hermeneutic literary approach, the study analyzes the narrative construction of Sri Sumarah’s life in relation to Javanese ethical philosophy, cultural resilience, narrative ethics, and female agency. The analysis reveals that sumarah functions as an active ethical orientation through which the protagonist transforms personal loss, historical trauma, and social uncertainty into responsibility, perseverance, and meaningful action. Sri Sumarah’s resilience is manifested not through resistance or confrontation but through her commitment to educating her daughter, sustaining her family through honest work, rebuilding her social identity as Bu Guru Pijit, and maintaining dignity amid adversity. Rather than depicting a submissive woman constrained by patriarchal traditions, Kayam presents Sri Sumarah as a morally autonomous subject whose agency is expressed through culturally embedded practices of patience, care, discipline, and responsibility. These findings challenge conventional readings of Javanese femininity by demonstrating that sumarah enables women to negotiate vulnerability while preserving ethical integrity and social continuity. The study contributes to contemporary humanities scholarship by positioning sumarah as a locally grounded philosophical framework that enriches global discussions of cultural resilience, indigenous knowledge, narrative ethics, and women’s agency.
Keywords:
cultural preservation sumarah Javanese ethics; cultural resilience; female agency; Umar Kayam; IndonesiaReferences
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