• 동남아시아연구
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.171-199
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• 2012

Saman, a novel written by Ayu Utami, has been recognized as the symbol of the politico-social changes, which began to occur since the collapse of Suharto' New Order regime in 1998. In the novel, Ayu Utami showed the spirits of resistance against various absurd socio-political circumstances during the New Order era such as pressure on discussion, abuse of power, politics-business collusion, patriarchism, and suppression of gender. In representing those spirits, Ayu Utami used unconventional structure-making, fresh feedback and multilayered descriptions of the figures, which brought her a fame as the pioneer of the Fragrant Literature (Angkatan Wangi or chick-lit). Ayu Utami particularly criticized that, under the name of sustaining the national integrity and identity, the New Order regime enhanced patriarchal system, which consequently infringed gender equality and women's rights to self-determination. In addition, Ayu Utami argued that the abuse of power and politics-business collusion, which were prevalent during the New Order period, destroyed lives of the masses and the Indonesian society.