The Life of Ibu Kartini (Part 2)

In her seclusion, Kartini kept on doing her good habits to read books. Additionally, she wrote plenty of letters to her white friends abroad. She shared her feeling and thoughts with them. Kartini was indeed good at writing letters.

On November 8, 1903, Kartini got married to Raden Adipati Ario Joyohadiningrat, the regent of Rembang. Although she had been married, she still tried to realize her aspiration. She had a great interest in education, especially for girls. She worked hard to have schools established for girls. She then began to teach at an Elementary School for girls in Rembang.

Kartini passed away on September 17, 1904, a fer days after she gave birth to a baby named Raden Mas Susalit. What she had done was, as a matter of fact, only a little part of her pure and sublime ideal.

In 1911 Mr. J. Abendanon published a book entitled Door Duisternis tot Licht. This book was then translated into Indonesian Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang. In this book, a compilation of Kartini’s letters written to her Dutch friends are printed. From the letters, we know how broad her knowledge and view were, how high her sense of nationalism was, and how much she loved Indonesian women.