Romanticism and New Awareness in Indonesian Literature: Lombok's Representation in Novel Opto Ergo Sum

Abstract

This article discusses love in the Opto Ergo Sum novel represented as something that exists not compilation. This article applies Stuart Hall’s representation theory and method and positions the novel in the context of ethnic awareness in Indonesian literature. The context which elevates Lombok's ethnicity in Indonesian literature. Lombok is constructed as an ontological Islam[1]. Krufeld constructed Islam Lombok in the concept of two, wetu telu (three times) and wetu lima (five times)[2]. Wetu lima Islam originated from Middle Eastern Islam brought back by Lombok pilgrims. In this context, Rahmat brought his love from Lombok but found new love in Cairo, where he studied Islam. Rahmat got his love by not choosing one of the two women who loved him, Auliya (Lombok) and Salma (Cairo). The novel offers a new romanticism that is different from the one found in the Balai Pustaka tradition of Indonesian literature. Romanticism in the Balai Pustaka tradition tends to be a unification of love, whereas in contemporary Indonesian literature, in the case of the Opto Ergo Sum novel, the realization of love is rejected, unrequited.