This Earth of Mankind

Minke, the narrator, identifies himself by this name, implying it means “monkey”—though it can also be translated to “mine.” He writes about a series of events that happened 13 years ago, meaning the novel’s present day should be 1912. He refers to someone who left him, a woman whom he is uncertain he will ever see again. Minke took notes throughout his life prior to writing the novel, and he compares these notes so he will know what to say.

Minke gives an overview of his early childhood, describing the wonder of growing up in a world of new technologies and human capabilities in the process of shifting from manual labor to mechanization. Because he receives an education of “a very broad general knowledge […] of the same level in many of the European countries” (16), Minke becomes aware of scientific and industrial advances around the world.

In subtle self-references, Minke reveals he is Muslim, though living under Dutch Reformed Church rule. He is a Native, meaning his parents are Javanese. Minke’s grandfather was an extremely influential Javanese man who made his education possible.

Minke confesses his infatuation with the new Dutch ruler, Queen Wilhelmina, born the same year he was. He keeps a picture of her in his room. Robert Suurhof, a fellow student at H.B.S., an exclusive prep school in the city of Surabaya, bursts into Minke’s room without knocking and finds him “crouched over the picture of that maiden, that beloved of the gods” (19). Calling Minke a “lady-killer,” Robert S. invites him to visit the home of a young woman who is allegedly more beautiful than the queen. Along the way, Robert S. explains to Minke that he has no real interest in the girl, despite her beauty and wealth, because she is an Indo. Though Robert S. is also multiracial, he tells Minke that he will only settle for a girl of pure European descent.

Minke and Robert S. travel in an expensive carriage to the home of Herman Mellema, a reclusive Dutch entrepreneur whose home and businesses thrive because of the management of his Native concubine, Nyai Ontosoroh. Robert Mellema, Herman’s son who is about Minke’s age, greets the two boys but expresses reserve toward Minke, who is fully Native. Annelies Mellema, Robert M.’s younger sister, greets the boys. Minke is instantly smitten by her beauty. In their conversation, Minke reveals that he is a Native, rather than an Indo like the three others. The two Roberts leave to hunt, and Annelies takes Minke on a tour of the Mellema plantation, Wonokromo. Annelies introduces Minke to Nyai Ontosoroh, her mother, who surprises him when she speaks perfect Dutch. Nyai tells Minke to call her “Mama,” as he is reluctant to call her Nyai (in ordinary conversation, calling someone “nyai” would be considered an insult). In the process of touring the plantation, Minke tells Annelies that she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and kisses her on the cheek. Her confused reaction causes him to believe he will be kicked out.

As Minke eats supper with the family that evening, Herman enters the dining room and challenges Minke’s presence since he is a Native. Nyai orders Herman to leave and apologizes to Minke. After supper, Nyai tells Minke that Annelies has no friends and implies that he can be her friend. She then invites him to live at the Mellema home. Darsam, Nyai’s fearsome servant, accompanies Minke and Robert S. home.

Minke continually receives entreaties from Nyai to return to Wonokromo. He cannot stop envisioning Annelies, and wonders if he has been bewitched by a spell cast by Nyai. Minke turns to his furniture business partner, Jean Marais, a Frenchman and worldly war veteran, for advice. Jean tells a reluctant Minke that he has fallen in love with Annelies: “You’re really in trouble; it’s serious when you can’t tell somebody they’ve fallen in love” (55-56). Jean is an artist who ended up fighting for the Dutch against rebellious Natives in Aceh, a province on the northern end of Java, where he lost a leg. He fathered a child, May, with a Native woman who was a prisoner of war and whose brother killed her because of their relationship.

Returning to his room, Minke finds Nyai’s servant Darsam waiting for him with a letter from Nyai. She writes that Annelies has become withdrawn, and she herself must neglect her business duties to care for the girl. Nyai requests that Minke return and stay in their home, to which he complies.

Minke arrives with his luggage at Wonokromo, suspicious of Nyai’s intentions. Annelies looks gaunt, but rejoices in Minke’s presence and moves him into his own bedroom. While he unpacks his bags, she points out that he brought a numb er of unopened letters. Minke questions Annelies about her brother Robert M., who dislikes his family, and about her father Herman, who seldom comes to the plantation. He wrestles with the strangeness of their relationships, noting, “A puzzling family indeed, each member playing their part in this fearful play” (67). Annelies is grateful that Minke will stay with them, saying he is their first guest in five years. Minke thinks, “How lonely were the hearts of this girl and her mother in the midst of this abundant wealth” (68). As Minke makes notes of his perceptions, Nyai comes to his room to welcome him and offer him a carriage to drive him to school.

During his first evening at Wonokromo, Minke tells Annelies the story of Jean’s service with the Dutch army, describing the lonely existence of Jean’s daughter, May. Nyai describes the loneliness Annelies has experienced since her removal from private school as a child. Minke admires Nyai for having achieved and learned so much despite being denied an education.

Here, the first-person narration shifts from Minke to Annelies, who shares with him Nyai’s life story, as told to Annelies. The night after Annelies met Minke, she was so upset that she asked to sleep with her mother. Annelies and Nyai had a lengthy conversation about happiness and how Herman’s sudden “madness” robbed Nyai of happiness—leaving her determined to help Annelies achieve happiness.

Nyai then describes her childhood, having been “Sanikem” before becoming a concubine. Her father, Sastrotomo, was a clerk who yearned for a better paying, more prestigious job. He wished to become the paymaster of a sugar factory, to whom citizens would bow in respite. He groveled and placated the Dutch overlords, alienating other Javanese though failing to become a paymaster. Nyai describes the extremes her father sank to, saying “How he humiliated himself and his dignity” (80). By the time she was 14, Nyai’s father had already refused many suitors’ requests to marry her. Instead, he brokered a deal to give her as a concubine, a nyai, to regional Dutch supervisor, Herman Mellema. Against the pleading of her mother, her father made Nyai pack her clothing and ride to Herman’s home, where she became his concubine.

In telling her story, Nyai explains to Annelies that she has provided for her and raised her as she has so the latter might never experience the same fate. When Nyai’s father came to see her, she refused, perceiving herself to be an orphan. Herman relocated to Surabaya, buying a large acreage for his dairy cattle. From the beginning, he taught Nyai how to manage the farm. She studied in the evening, learning Dutch, studying business management, and saving money. Nyai realized Herman was more dependent on her than she on him. As Herman spent less time at home, Nyai expanded their business ventures and learned how to present herself as a lady. During this period, Nyai and Herman were happy together. She said to Annelies, “He fitted exactly the Javanese description of a husband: instructor and god” (92). Herman went to the Dutch court and acknowledged Robert M. and Annelies as his children, granting them certain legal rights. Because he had not married Nyai, she had no legal rights. However, Herman placed his businesses in Nyai’s name, intending to protect her income.

Nyai reveals that a young Dutch engineer came to Surabaya and learned Herman lived there. The man came to Wonokromo and identified himself as Maurits Mellema, Herman’s son by his wife in the Netherlands, whom he never divorced. Maurits condemns Herman and proclaimed that, as Herman’s rightful heir, he would take all his possessions one day. When Maurits left, Nyai verbally attacked Herman for keeping his wife a secret. From this moment on, Herman slowly receded from Nyai and Wonokromo; Nyai assumed all business responsibilities. This estrangement has since become permanent. Herman comes and goes without interacting with Nyai or his children. As Robert M. grows older and graduates from prep school, he also wanders aimlessly.

Annelies’s brother, Robert M., invites Minke into his room. Robert M. quizzes Minke about his intentions and feelings for Annelies in a condescending tone, saying, “What a pity you’re only a Native” (105). He then invites Minke to play games and go hunting with him. Distrusting Robert M., Minke is evasive and refuses his requests. As Minke remains aloof, Robert M. grows angry, reminding him that he is “only a Native” and issuing a vague threat.

Annelies summons Minke from Robert M.’s room. Nyai appears, holding a copy of Minke’s article “An Extraordinary Nyai That I knew (sic)” (109). Minke admits that he wrote the imagined story, using the pseudonym “Max Tollenaar,” about Nyai. Nyai surprises Minke by telling him a great deal about Native literature. She encourages Minke to continue to write as he learns more about human experiences and human nature. However, intuiting that he is planning a story about Robert M., she asks him to allow her to read anything he writes about her family.

Minke gives up his plan to write an article on Robert M. He reflects on Robert M.’s desire to sail with the British Navy. Minke notes that his fellow students pay little attention to Japan, and that the Indies have done little in regards to their absence of a navy—given that the British and Dutch conquered different parts of the East Indies with superior navies. (This is foreshadowing, as Pramoedya Ananta Toer is writing after World War II, during which the Japanese occupied Indonesia.)