The 150 letters the book include several from Kartini’s half-sisters, a letter from her father announcing Kartini’s betrothal, and a letter from her husband, in which he tells the Abendanon family of how Kartini passed away, and his own great loss. It must be emphasized here that, in his 1911 compilation of Kartini’s enormous amount of, frequently very candidly written letters, Abendanon used admirable tact and integrity.

Those who are fortunate enough to read Kartini’s original, unedited letters in Dutch, especially if they are women, will be deeply moved and also shocked to the innermost cores of their beings. I was. In letter number 121 (page 334 in the book) dated October 1903, Kartini, who was about to be married off to Djojoadiningrat, the Regent of Rembang, writes the following to Ms. Abendanon: “Little Mother, my little Mother, please say something to me, I am utterly miserable. Physically and morally devastated, I have no strength any more. For several days now I feel as if a fire is burning in my head, as if my heart is a fiery bullet. I am said to be alive, is this living? There are worse things than death. And if I am dead, what will my death accomplish? Nothing! But this only, that I have thwarted certain persons, that I have restrained them in (expressing) their egoism. Oh! My poor, poor illusion, my poor sisters! The home is as if deserted, the little bird sings no more, it lies there with broken wings, a broken heart, and, oh! a heart full of terrible, even criminal thoughts. ………My God, have mercy! Where is my path?”  

On page 339 in the book, in her letter number 123, dated October 22, 1903, Kartini told Ms. Abendanon about great swarms of bees flying to where Kartini and her sisters sat working in front of her room. These bees went into her room, into her bed, into her wardrobe, and kept surrounding her, wherever she went. At the same time their servants had great trouble shooing away the swarms of bees which came from the guest-room where the future husband of Kartini slept. This bee plague lasted for two days, and Kartini and her sisters didn’t dare enter their room. Kartini comments on this: “May this not be an omen that, in the future, I will be stung everywhere!”

According to the letter written by Kartini’s husband to Dr. Abendanon on September 25, 1904 (letter number 150 of the book, page 381 and 382), R.A. Kartini was assisted in childbirth by a Dutch physician, Dr. van Ravesteijn from Pati. As the baby was rather large, an instrument was used to assist in its birth. Kartini was suffering from “spanning in de buik” or “tension in the abdomen” caused by wounds incurred during childbirth – this was the way Kartini’s  husband described the doctor’s diagnosis of his wife’s physical situation.

Kartini’s husband also stated that this situation was normal, according to the physician. On September 17,

1904, four days after Kartini gave birth, she was still suffering from this condition, and Dr. van Ravesteijn came to visit again and gave her medicine. Half an hour after that “the tension increased” and Kartini perished in her husband’s arms, in the presence of the doctor.

I personally believe that Kartini, courageous, wonderful and wise soul that she was, would not want us to spend time speculating and grieving about the cause of her death. She would want for all women of Indonesia – this generation and the coming generations – to make sure that never, ever, will Indonesian women be the victims of egoistic people again, and be trodden underfoot like she was.

Tami Koestomo
Bogor, West Java

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