« | Main | More on education and marriage »

On feminism and nationalism

The descriptions of the Javenese in some of Kartini’s letters I found a little surprising. She constantly calls the Javanese "uncivilized" while she praises the “modern” Europeans. She writes that all people are equal, yet immediately following that assertion she states: “No matter how stupid, ignorant or uncivilised a Javanese may be, the class of people to whom you belong will always see in them fellow human beings whom God has created just as she has created civilised people” (33). She also seems to find Europeans are at the top of society. Was this a strategy to gain support for her cause or was it something that had been ingrained into her in a colonized Java?

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.