‘Pembentukan Diri’ Seorang Isteri Melayu dalam Perempuan, Isteri & … (1993) (‘Self-Construal’ of a Malay Wife in Perempuan, Isteri & … (1993))

Abstract

© 2019, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press. All rights reserved. Previous researches and discussions on U-Wei Haji Saari’s female protagonist character in Perempuan, Isteri &… (1993), are quite extensive and include both popular and academic writings. In these writings, Zaleha, the protagonist is explained in several perspectives. Nonetheless, a local scholar, Zawawi (2004) claims that the director has portrayed the character as a Western woman, only that, the character is trapped in the clothing and in the body of an Eastern woman. This article aims to identify “what type of self-construal is portrayed by the character, Zaleha who plays the role of a wife in the Perempuan, Isteri &… (1993)?" Zaleha’s role of a Malay Muslim wife is studied based on the self-construal theory by Markus and Kitayama (1991) and her obedience towards the husband, protects self, husband dignity and care of the property, maintain and manage the wealth of the households, and as a driver and motivator. Hence, data for this article was gathered from a qualitative research design. The main instrument for obtaining data is through interview with the film director, U-Wei, and library research. The findings in this article reveal that Zaleha has both independent and interdependent self-construal traits. However, Zaleha’s cognition, emotion, and motivation are more inclined towards the Western values, which are independent self-construal. Thus, the analysis of this study confirms Zawawi’s claim that Zaleha is a Western woman trapped in the body of an Eastern woman.