I-san female Protagonists and Cultural Negotiations in Globalization Appeared in Romantic Novel: Pla Ra SongKrueng and Ra Chi Nee Mor Lam

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate and analyze the I-san female protagonists in two dreaming style novel, namely Pla Ra SongKrueng (1993) and Ra Chi Nee  Mor Lam (2005).   The author aims to investigate the representation of I-san female protagonists in the context of local ideals by evaluating the text and relating it to the social context of the time period.   The findings suggests that the protagonists of the dreaming novel were I-san females who had to struggle and fight culturally through an identity marker. By providing the female protagonist the ability to cook (Pla ra) and sing mor lam (tradition North-East song of Thailand), the author reveals the I-san identity that competes for cultural space in an urban society that does indeed conflict with globalization. This is consistent with the context of Thai society in the 1930s and 1940s, when I-san laborers migrated to the city. The economic collapse of the economic bubble period contributed to the emergence of localism in society.  And following the 1997 economic crisis, locals were more interested in being reliant on the capitalist system, culminating in the formation of I-san female protagonists who navigated the social context until it became "acceptable" in society.