Politik Marjinalitas dan Agensi Tokoh dalam Cerpen Pilihan Dalang Publishing: Kajian Poskolonial, Feminisme, dan Ekokritik

Abstract

Contemporary literary works can serve as a space for critiquing various forms of injustice and power relations. However, previous studies tend to examine postcolonial, gender, and environmental issues separately, so the connections among these issues in the representation of marginalization have received less attention. This study aims to analyze the representation of the politics of marginalization as well as the forms of agency and resistance strategies of characters in three short stories published by Dalang Publishing: Impian Sulastri by G. Budi Subanar, Rolin by Purwanti Kusumaningtyas, and Kepak Sayap Tekukur Hunai by Maria Teodora Ping. This qualitative study employs critical textual analysis based on Critical Literary Theory and draws on postcolonial, feminist, and ecocritical perspectives. The data consist of narratives, dialogues, monologues, and setting descriptions, which were analyzed through close reading. The findings show that the politics of marginalization appears in three main forms: restrictions on women’s access to education and the influence of colonial power in Impian Sulastri; women’s subordination within domestic relations in Rolin; and environmental destruction and threats to the lives of Indigenous communities in Kepak Sayap Tekukur Hunai. The three short stories also show that marginalized characters retain agency through education, personal decision-making, cultural preservation, and efforts to protect the environment. The study demonstrates that marginalization does not completely eliminate the characters’ capacity to act and resist. Thus, the three short stories represent literature as a space that portrays experiences of marginalization while also highlighting marginalized groups’ capacity to preserve their identity, lives, and communities.