FEMINIST METAPHOR IN AYU UTAMI’S NOVEL: SAMAN AND MAYA

Abstrak

This study analyzes the types of feminist metaphors appear in Saman and Maya by Ayu Utami. In
addition, this research examines how women’s experiences are conceptually structured through
metaphor. Feminist metaphors in this study refer to metaphorical expressions that represent
women’s experiences and gender relations within the narrative. The analysis adopts the conceptual
metaphor framework proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, which classifies metaphors into structural,
orientational, and ontological. Using a qualitative descriptive method, this study analyzes
metaphorical expressions related to women’s experiences in both novels. The findings reveal that
structural metaphors dominate the data. A total of 192 data are identified. There are 96 structural
metaphors are identified in Saman and 93 in Maya, while only two orientational metaphors and one
ontological metaphor are found in Maya. This pattern indicates that women’s experiences in the
novels are conceptualized through complex cross-domain mappings that connect gendered
experiences with other domains such as objects, sensory perception, and biological relations. The
study contributes to feminist literary linguistics by demonstrating how metaphor functions not
merely as a language device, but as a conceptual mechanism that shapes the representation of
women’s experiences in narrative discourse as well. It also highlights the role of conceptual
metaphor in revealing underlying gender ideologies embedded in contemporary Indonesian
literature