Maternal Monstrosity in “The Tale of Si Tanggang”

Authors

  • Nurul Fateha Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University (IIUM)
  • Wan Nur Madiha Ramlan Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University (IIUM)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2023-2901-14

Abstract

The figure of the Mother occupies a complex, often ambiguous space within Malay cultural imaginaries, in which she is both glorified (“good”) and vilified (“bad”). This paper presents an analysis of Deruma, the mother in the popular Malay folktale "Si Tanggang" and how her punishment of turning him into stone is a form of maternal monstrosity. After her son insults and rejects her, she curses him into stone. The conceptualisation of maternal monstrosity in this paper follows, first and foremost, one of the denotations for the word monster, namely “a thing of extraordinary or daunting size.” Secondly, this paper also considers the etymology of the word monster, which comes from Latin monstrum, meaning to reveal and to warn. Then, Jeffrey Cohen’s proposition is adapted, which positions the monster’s body as a cultural one to analyse Si Deruma’s body language (facial expressions, speech, and action), ontology, and relations with others around her. From these findings, possible revelations or warnings from the tale and Si Deruma’s final act of monstrous curse will be considered in order to define the idea of maternal monstrosity in the context of this tale. At the end of this paper, we will demonstrate that maternal monstrosity can be read as an expression of female anxiety in a patriarchal society and a temporary exit from the ideals of mothering. Keywords: maternal monstrosity; Malay culture; Malay folktale; monstrous; mothers

Author Biographies

Nurul Fateha, Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University (IIUM)

Nurul Fateha’s niche expertise is children’s literature. She has received formal research training from her previous mentor, Prof. Jean Webb, the Director of the International Forum for Research in Children’s Literature at the University of Worcester, UK. She has an MPhil in late modernity in Terry Pratchett’s children’s novels. She is currently finalising her PhD dissertation, a metamodern analysis on selected twenty-first century British children’s novels. In 2015, she co-convened the 22nd International Research in Children’s Literature (IRSCL) Congress. Among her publications is a chapter in Terry Pratchett’s Narrative Worlds (ed. Marion Rana). She has presented papers on various topics in children’s literature at University of Strathclyde (UK), University of Warwick (UK), and Université Paris 13 (France), among others.

Wan Nur Madiha Ramlan, Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University (IIUM)

Wan Nur Madiha Ramlan is Assistant Professor of English at the Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University IIUM, where she teaches courses on American and postcolonial literatures. Her research interests include Malaysian folktales, Asian Australian writing, and the use of digital methods to study literary texts.  

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Published

2023-03-28

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 1 (2023): Mac 2023

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Articles

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