Introduction

Mariah is a short story written by Che Husna Azahari in Melor in Perspective. Che
Husna Azahari is a important Malay female writer of Malaysian English Literature. Che Husna
Azaharis writing are often set in Kelantan, Malaysia. She is a Professor at the Faculty of
Engineering and Built Environment at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. As for her short story
Mariah, we are introduced to a small village in Molo. The main character, Mariah is seen as a
problem in the story. Mariah is widow and she sells nasi berlauk as a way to support herself. She
is viewed as a threat because of her widowed status and being admired by the village men. The
Iman, being the respected man in the village goes to Mariahs stall for the first time and fell in
love with Mariah. This incident was then reported by Cik Gu Nab to Tok Imans wife, Cik Yam.
We would also see internal conflict in Tok Iman as he has feelings towards Mariah due to the
resembles in Tok Imans first love. Tok Iman then informs Cik Yam about his decision to take
Mariah as his second wife. Cik Yam approved the Tok Imans decision although she disagreed at
first. The conflict was solved and the Tok Iman and Mariah got married. Their marriage got
blessings from the whole village and at the same time put an end to Mariahs so-called threat.
According to Noritah Omar and Washima Che Dan,
Mariah is seen as a symbol of Malay femininity while the Imam represents
Malay masculinity. The presence of the Tok Imams masculinity and
Mariahs femininity suggest the implicit power of religious man and
simultaneously may be interpreted as the superiority of Muslim men in
general over Muslim women (50).
I would have to say that I agree with the statement above that Mariah is the symbol of Malay
femininity with Iman is the Malay masculinity. The reason why I would say that Mariah

represent the Malay femininity as Mariah is defined by her widow status. She is also defined by
her physical appearances in the story. Mariah does not have her own voice in the story and her
thoughts and story is voiced out through a third-person point of view. Tok Iman represent the
Malay masculinity because of his religious status and societal status. His masculinity is
represented by his sexuality and polygamous tendencies. It is seen that Tok Imans masculinity
show the superiority of Muslim men over Muslim women. It is seen that the male in the story is
able to do as they wish but the female in the story is bound to certain actions. For example, Cik
Yam is expected to accept Tok Imans decision to marry Mariah.
What is femininity? Femininity is basically a set of behaviour, roles and attributes that
are glued on to girls and women. Femininity are most often or not social constructed which is
different from the biological female sex. Traits that are normally pasted on feminine includes
gentleness, sensitivity and empathy. Mariah did not served as the Malay femininity in the story at
the beginning as she is very independent of her own. Masculinity traits, on the other hand, is
assertiveness, courageous and independence. A common emphasis on masculinity and power is
maschismo. Masculinity in society are often linked with the patriarchal society. In a Malay
Kelantanese community, it is clearly seen as the patriarchal society as it used to practice adat
temenggung which is a practice that give men the superiority. According to traditional practices
that revolve masculinity, men have to protect and provide for the family.
Mariah serves very well as a symbol of femininity as she is defined by her traditional
Kelantanese values. She is defined by her body figure. Due to the her physical and being a
widow, she has men looking and gawking at her. This could be the main reason why she chose to
marry Iman, she was looking for sense of security. Imans status in the society would give a
boost in her status and self-esteem. Men would stop looking at her. The reason why she is the

symbol of femininity is because she does not have a voice in the story which is perfectly suit the
traditional Malay culture where by wives are not allowed to question their husbands decision.
Iman serves as the symbol of Malay masculinity because he is the leader in the society. He is the
Tok Iman that serves as a leader, a person where the people in the village look up to. Another
reason why he represents masculinity in the story is the Tok Iman is lustful. He has lust towards
Mariah as Mariah reminds him of his first love. Men who are perceived as manly are mostly
lustful. They perceive at having more sexual relationship could boost their masculinity. Iman,
being the religious leader of the village succumbed to lust. His behaviour directly comprises his
correct morality which in the Kelantanese rural mindset is an index of ones piety and leadership.
It is also seen that the men in the village are responsible for the womens morality. For example,
the females or women in the story in Molo does not got about without a kain lepas (Azahari).
They would not do so as the Iman is the superego in the village. We could see that in the story,
for example, To do so would be to incur the wrath of the village Imam, who was the guardian of
modesty and propriety and enforcer of stringent mores (Azahari).
The presence of the Tok Imams masculinity and Mariahs femininity suggest the implicit
power of religious man and simultaneously may be interpreted as the superiority of Muslim
men in general over Muslim women
It is clear that Tok Imans masculinity is more superior to Mariahs femininity. This
statement could be proven due the issue polygamy in the short story. This statement is supported
with Omar and Che Dan,
This kind of femininity and masculinity shapes the national Islamic identity of
the Malays. The Malay mens ownership of multiple wives asserts mens degree

of masculinity (Omar 107-120). This Malay-Islam equation has led to not a few
competing discourses on the definition of Malay Islamic national identity. (50)
Men look at polygamy as a symbol of masculinity. The short story look at Mariah as an
object and men look up to Iman because he managed to marry Mariah. We could see this
in The men in the village were all excitedly handling this issue in their own ways. They
had all at some time or other in their lives fantasised about having second wives, but
sadly, neither their wives nor their budgets were accommodating enough. (Azahari) The
males in the village look at Iman as a symbol masculinity and the success of marrying
Mariah is like something the male villagers look up to. They have dreamt of having a
second wife but they could afford it. Polygamy is a system of marriage whereby one
person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny where
a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries
more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted and polyandry is completely
prohibited. According to Kee, polygamy is only allowed if the proposed marriage is just
and necessary. Being just and necessary is a debatable as it is based on the judge
decision. However, it is not a law stating that lust could be a reason for polygamy
because the Quran never state the fear of performing zina to be measured as a argument
for polygamy. Polygamy is also allowed if the husband have sufficient financial means.
(Kee) A husband can only practice if he can provide enough for his current family and his
second wife. If he cannot, thus his application to marry a second wife would be denied.
The husband will accord equal treatment to the existing wife.(Kee) This means that the
husband should divide his time equally to his wives and must treat them equally. He
should not be unfair in terms of affections and financial needs. The Iman in the story

clearly violated the first condition as he married Mariah due to his lust over Mariah.
Mariah reminds Iman of his first love. He lust over Mariah for being so alike to his first
love which is the Sheiks daughter in Pattani. For example, he says Oh Mariah
sighed the Imam. Why do you have to be so like her my long-lost love, the Passion of
My Youth? Oh Mariah, why do you have to look like her from your toes right up to your
eyebrows! Its a test. By Allah! Its a test. (Azahari) It is funny to see how he look at
Mariah similar to the Sheiks daughter when he only saw her back. Although then he
states that he want to marry Mariah because Cik Yam is barren. Cik Yam could not have
bear a child for him. It is such irony as Mariah is not young and she is in her fortyish.
(Azahari) Thus, this can only be concluded that Tok Iman married Mariah to fulfil his lust
over the Sheiks daughter. This shows that the superiority of Muslim men in general over
Muslim women because Cik Yam had to agree to the Imans request on marrying Mariah
as the second wife. The superiority of the Muslim men over the women could be seen
when Cik Yam gives in to the Imans marriage with Mariah. At first, Cik Yam
disapproves of the idea of Iman marrying Mariah as the second wife but after Imans
begging, she approves it. It is seen as superior because the people in Molo did not see this
issue of polygamy of the religious leader with Mariah as a problem. They were admiring
the Tok Iman and Cik Yam. They admired Cik Yam for being generous and so giving. For
example, for letting Iman marrying Mariah, they say that Cik Yam would certainly be
found sheltering in the shade of the Umbrella of Siti Fatimah (the Prophets daughter) on
the Day of Judgement. (Azahari) The marriage was seem as a right thing to do. It is also
superior as if a woman would want to practice polyandry, a practice where a women have

more than one husband. This would be a big no-no in the society. It would cause a big
riot and debate. However when Iman practices polygamy, it is seems fine.
Besides that, the superiority of Muslim men over Muslim women is shown when
the blame for not being able to conceive is labelled on Cik Yam. According to the
traditional point of view, women are often blamed for being barren or unable to conceive.
This perspective is applied to many married couple when a family does not have a child.
For example, Like all men of his generation, it never occurred to him he could be the
culprit in his wifes supposed inability to bear children. As far as he was concerned,
bearing children was a womans job, and if she didnt there was something wrong
with her. Fertility had nothing to do with men.(Azahari) To Iman, he has nothing to do
if his wife is unable to conceive as he thinks fertility has nothing to do with men.
However, it could be wrong as men also could be infertile. They could have low sperm
counts that would lead to their wives unable to conceive. For all you know, Tok Iman is
probably having low sperm counts that lead to Mariah unable to conceive. This show the
masculinity in Iman. The Iman is not associated with his infertile condition as it will
affect his masculinity. It is not only the thinking of Tok Iman that shows the superior of
the Muslim men, but also the community in Molo. For example, Then of course Cik
Yam is childless, voices trailed away. (Azahari). Although Cik Yam is the model
housewife that the female community look up to but the community disregard all good
qualities of Cik Yam. Cik Yams being a role model of housewives could be seen in Her
culinary skills were not her only attribute; her housekeeping was also a model to be
followed by other womenfolk in the village. (Azahari) However all this not important
when she does not have a child. This could be seen in The Imams wife was somewhat

assisted in this respect by not having grubby children who would mess things up. It was
the only flaw in an otherwise perfect marriage. (Azahari)
Another reason why the Muslim men are more superior than the Muslim women
is because Mariah takes the blame for the men that go to her Kedai Merpati. Mariah
being a silence voice get the blame from the community as the men like to go her stall.
Cik Gu Nab blames Mariah for attracting the men to her stall. She even suspects that
Mariah used black magic to attract her customers. This could be seen in I reckon, I
mean we reckon she has put something in her nasi. Cik Gu Nab paused for breath.
(Azahari) However, we would see that it is actually the men who are actually going to
Mariahs Kedai Merpati to have her nasi berlauk. The men in the story are actually
gawking at her body and her widow status. The men in the story male gaze Mariah.
They treat Mariah as an object of sexual desire. Mariah is actually dehumanize by the
author. She is defined by her body. She is not given a voice to express her thoughts and
feelings. We only know how she felt through the third person point of view. By
objectifying Mariah through the male gaze, it involves dehumanization. However,
the female community did not stand together as sisters but played the blaming game on
Mariah. Backlash can be seen in the story where the women did not stand up for
another women. They viewed Mariah as the trouble maker just because her status a
widow. There was not a single thing bad being said about the men in the Molo
community. For example, Cik Gu Nab did not put the blame on her husband, Cik Gu Leh
for going to Kedai Merpati when it is clearly that Cik Gu Leh is the one who brought the
Iman to have Mariahs nasi berlauk. This could be seen in It was the only time he had
ever gone to Mariahs. And he had done so only at that Cik Gu Lehs insistence.

(Azahari) However, Cik Gu Nab does not blame herself for being a hopeless cook
(Azahari) but insisted that her husband is innocent. For example, I didnt say it enticed
all the men, Cik Yam. My Cik Gu Leh (Cik Gu Nabs husband), for instance, would never
dream of having breakfast anywhere but at home. Some men do get easily enticed, some
dont. (Azahari)