WOMEN’S VOICES IN THE SHORT STORIES “BAJU” AND “THE TRAGIC STORY OF DRUPADI”
The short story “Baju” by Indraswari Ibrahim and “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” by Bombo Unyil tell the story of Drupadi, who is used as a bet by her husband (the Pandavas). Drupadi must be surrendered to Dursosono. This can be seen from the quote, “I think this is an extraordinary evil, not only coming from the Hastinapura side but also from my husbands, who recklessly bet me as a stake on the gambling table.” This can also be seen from the quote in the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” with the quote, “Yudistira, her husband, who lost in the bet, remained silent. […] that Yudhistira has gone too far because not even a prostitute was staked in the dice game.”
Although both stories share the similarity that Drupadi is bet by her husbands, these two stories have differences. The short story “Baju” uses Drupadi as the narrator within the story. Drupadi, as the subject in the story, tells many stories about herself not being able to accept the treatment of her husbands, who bet her. Furthermore, when Dursosono pulls her clothes, everyone at the scene remains silent, especially her husbands, except for Krishna Krishna Krishna, who can keep Draupadi’s clothes from being removed. This can be seen from the quote, “Dursosono was still pulling my clothes, and with the help of Krishna Krishna, my clothes and clothes were never opened.”
Drupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, must accept Dursosono’s inappropriate treatment. As a wife, Drupadi must accept the decision of her husband, husband, who made her a bet. However, in this short story, Drupadi does not accept it. As a woman, especially as a queen and and the daughter of a king, Drupadi considers her worth below that of palace-enslaved people. Moreover, her husband’s treatment who remains silent when Dursosono pulls Drupadi’s clothes, makes Drupadi very angry. The mental violence Drupadi felt can be seen inin the quote, “My warriors, do you know at that time, I disliked you more than Dursosono, who is indeed a villain.” From this quote, Drupadi is very angry with her husbands for not caring about her as a wife.
Furthermore, Drupadi also shows her anger with the quote, “Oh Lord… they are opening my clothes, it seems like I am a slave or a prostitute. I have never been treated like this before. My female body is the expression of my entire soul.” Physical and mental violence can be seen from these quotes. The voice of a woman like Drupadi shows that as a woman, she has no value in her husband’s eyes her husband’s eyes as a man. This represents the physical and mental violence perpetrated by men against women. In the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi,” the voice of women is represented by the character of Drupadi, who also experiences physical and mental violence through her hair and clothes being pulled by Dursanana. However, in this short story, Drupadi, who Dursasana does not successfully strip.
Dursasana does not strip, is only confused and resigned. This can be seen from the quote, “The cloth came off… But the brave man failed to strip the confused and resigned woman for some reason.” Drupadi, in this short story, is not as narrated as in the short story “Baju.” The narration of the short story “Baju” is by Drupadi, and it can be said that Drupadi is the subject of the story. Drupadi talks talks about herself being betrayed betrayed and her extreme anger towards her husband husband. However, in the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi,” the narration is done by the character Bima, Drupadi’s husband. In this short story, Drupadi’s voice about the violence she experiences is very little. This is only told when Drupadi is dragged and stripped and when Drupadi arrives in front of the noble’s half-crawling. Drupadi’s voice or feelings in this short story are not much told.
On the contrary, Bima speaks a lot in this story because he is the narrator. He tells the events from his perspective. Bima is furious at the events Drupadi has experienced. This can be seen from the quote, “Bima, boiling to the core of his heart, trembling, trying to hold back the valve of anger, witnessing scenes of victory and humiliation. Fire seemed to leap from his face, and his strong fists tightened at the end of his arms, but Arjuna held him back.” It can be said that in this short story, Drupadi is made as an object in the story. In addition to the differences in the narration of the two short stories, if we look at the authors, the author of the short story “Baju” is Indraswari Ibrahim, a woman.
Then, the author of the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” is Bombo Unyil, a man. The gender difference of the two authors greatly influences the perspective used in their writing. This is evidenced by the use of the character Drupadi as a narrator and subject in the short story “Baju,” while the use of the character Bima as the narrator and Drupadi as the object in the story. In addition, the women’s voices in both stories are very different. The voice of women is strongly voiced in the short story “Baju” with the voice of Drupadi, who is very angry and upset with the treatment done by her husbands. This can be seen from the following quote. “Anger explodes inside me. I feel the humiliation to my core. I think this is not a gift from Destarata. I snatch my dream as a woman. […] Then, “I swear I will not tie up my hair until I wash it with Dursosono’s blood.” (“Baju”, 2004).
The voice of women presented in the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” is not very strongly voiced in this short story. Bima expresses the voice of a woman who is angry and upset after seeing the events experienced by Drupadi. This can be seen from the vocalization done by Bima: “Hey, you, listen to my oath: later, in the decisive battle between us here, I will tear open Dursasana’s chest with my fingernails” (and Bima’s voice sounded like a roar, gloomy, trembling,) “then I will drink his blood, drink it!”
The difference in gender of the authors results in a significant contrast in the portrayal of women’s voices in both texts. The voice of women (Drupadi) and the violence she experiences are strongly felt when conveyed by a female author. Conversely, Drupadi’s voice is less pronounced when written by a male author. Furthermore, the short story written by Bombo Unyil elevateselevates men as subjects, almost accentuating male masculinity represented by Bima.
Female authors would differ in conveying the voices and experiences of women through the perspective of the central character. Indraswari exemplifies this through the character of Draupadi. The text “Baju” is feminist because it can adopt the mindset of female readers. However, the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” is also feminist because it voices the experiences of women (Drupadi) mistreated, even though it uses a male perspective.
Both texts also attempt to critique the situation of women who always suffer violence due to patriarchy. Patriarchy in both texts is exemplified by the character of Draupadi, who is willingly bet by her husband, a man. Drupadi, as a woman, cannot do anything even though she is furious and curses in the short story “Baju.” Furthermore, patriarchy is also evident in the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi.” Drupadi in the story, is represented as a confused and resigned characterconfused and resigned character.
The short story “Drupadi” also presents a firm feminist stance with the representation of Drupadi, who is very angry and swears that she will not tie up her hair until she can wash it with the blood of Dursosono. However, in the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi,” Drupadi does not resist as in “Baju.” Instead, it is the character Bima who resists. This makes Bima appear as a figure full of masculinity and a hero.
Conclusion Both short stories have similarities and differences. A significant difference is that the short story “Baju” is written by a woman and adopts a female perspective. Drupadi, in this short story, is portrayed as a very angry subject who does not accept her husband’s treatment. However, the short story “The Tragic Story of Drupadi” is written by a male author and adopts a male perspective. This results in women (the character Drupadi) being portrayed as objects because the narrator is the character Bima (a man). The women’s voices produced by these two short stories are very different. The voice of women written by a female author, the use of a female perspective, and the subjectivity of women make the women’s voices very strong in the short story “Baju.”