JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

JAKARTA: People know her as the unfortunate maiden shoved into an arranged marriage, but actress and literary buff Happy Salma thinks there is more to the story of Siti Nurbaya.

Speaking at last week’s launch of Balai Pustaka’s republished set of literary classics, including Marah Rusli’s Siti Nurbaya, Happy said the book is about more than just arranged marriages.

“The work is a blend of the progressive view [of the author] towards cultural conditions during the era. It’s also a pioneer work of modern Indonesian literature.”

Having read the masterpiece for the first time when she was in elementary school, the actress, appointed as one of Balai Pustaka’s icons for the republished classics, said it was only during her second and third takes on the book that she began to understand the richness of wordplay in Siti Nurbaya.

“If you ask people if they know about Siti Nurbaya, they would answer ‘yes’. But, I’m pretty sure not all of them would have read the work and enjoyed the high literary quality of Marah Rusli,” Happy said.

“It’s a shame. In the end, if no one really reads the work, it will be misperceived as mere
romance.” — JP

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