The psychology of the character Daruma in the novels Daruma-san and Daruma-san returns by Fida Husna

Abstract

Fida Husna novels Daruma-san and Daruma-san Returns depict the complexity of the character Daruma through the psychological transformation of an antagonist who experiences inner conflict due to the injustices of fate throughout his life. This qualitative descriptive study examines the dynamics of the character’s personality using a literary psychology approach based on the Hippocratic typology. Data were collected through observation, labeling, classification, and recording, and were then described and summarized to gain a comprehensive understanding of the consistency of the character’s personality. The results of the study show that Daruma’s personality underwent a change from a predominantly sanguine character full of empathy to a choleric one cruel and vengeful. This change was triggered by the interaction between internal factors namely, the grief-induced trauma resulting from his mother’s death and external factors namely, socio-political crises, economic crises, and betrayal. The novelist deliberately crafted these emotional conflicts to build the complexity of the fictional character. This finding makes a scientific contribution to the development of literary psychology, particularly in understanding the continuity, change, and narrative construction of the character’s personality across the two sequels.