The Study of Emotions in Literary Indonesian: Love, Sex and Transgression in the Novel Saman

Saman is an innovative novel on the Indonesian literary scene because it explores formerly taboo topics, such as female sexuality and desire, that fulfil a liberating function. The exaltation of the body, the excitement and satisfaction of basic instincts, the continuous reference to sex, and transgression from traditional values give women in this novel the chance to overcome moral restrictions imposed by religion and the long-held conventions of a traditional patriarchal society. The study of emotions and their representations in this novel allows us to observe the changes The Study of Emotions in Literary Indonesian 159 that have occurred in the Indonesian cultural background due to the major changes that society has undertaken, especially following the development of openness and democracy that started to flourish shortly before the fall of President Soeharto in May 1998. The analysis of emotions and their manifestation is a good way of seeing how these are a reflection of changes at the societal level and lay the ground for drawing a history of emotions in Indonesia. In this novel manifestation of sexual love is largely employed, and very little room is given to traditional emotions of romantic love and female virtues such as virginity and obedience. In fact, a major emphasis is given to the emotions of self-realization and sexual love, and the emotions and manifestations of liberation and assertiveness through the transgression of sexual taboos.