History Characters / BuruQuartet

* AmbiguousDisorder: Described as being usually competent and level-headed as an overseer of her father's business, but behaves like a child around people she is emotionally dependent on and family-related problems could upset her so badly she'd cry or even fall badly sick and faint at the drop of a hat. In ''Bunga Penutup Abad'' Chelsea Islan playing as her could be seen trembling, hyperventilating and then breaking down in hysterics after [[spoiler: arriving from a humiliating summons at the White Court]].

* GoldTooth: Has a gold-plated incisor, which [[spoiler: Robert Mellema]] immediately notices when she smiles.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Subtly with [[spoiler: Jean Marais]] on the latter half of the first book. They [[spoiler: [[TheyDo finally do]] in the third book, happily]].

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Subtly with [[spoiler: Nyai Ontosoroh]] on the latter half of the first book. They [[spoiler: [[TheyDo finally do]] in the third book, happily]].

* DemotedToExtra: A large chunk of his backstory and unpleasant history with Mr. Telinga got AdaptedOut in both the movie and ''Bunga Penutup Abad'', but the latter adaptation didn't tone down his crucial significance as Minke's mentor and [[spoiler: Nyai Ontosoroh's eventual LoveInterest]]; in the movie he's practically a SatelliteCharacter whose narrative revolves entirely around being Minke's best friend and motivator, [[spoiler: his awkward yet affectionate first encounter with Nyai Ontosoroh entirely trimmed out]].

The protagonist of the quartet. As the son of a Javanese aristocrat, he enjoys the privilege of being able to attend the HBS ''(Hogere Burgerschool)'', a Dutch-managed high school offering prestigious Western-oriented education, which at the time the novel begins was still reserved for those of European and indigenous aristocratic descent. This allows him to be more aware than most of his fellow natives of the tumultuous new modern period the East Indies is transitioning into at the start of the plot. Largely inspired by Tirto Adhi Soerjo, known in Indonesia as the father of modern national press.

* CategoryTraitor: Initially. His family and some of his friends repeatedly chastise him for being indifferent toward native traditions and insisting on writing in Dutch instead of Javanese. His tedious journey in unlearning these internalized prejudices is one of the quartet's most crucial narratives and one of its strongest messages as well: in colonial societies, revolutionary ideas often come from the upper classes thanks to their privilege, yet those ideas will only become meaningful if these learned elites are willing to see through the unfairness of the society they've benefited from and use their positions not to speak over the marginalized, but allow their voices to be heard along with their own.

* {{Determinator}}: Was once this when he was younger; in an ironic tragical twist young Paiman was just as determined to escape the plague that killed his parents and siblings as his daughter is to defy Plikemboh's ScarpiaUltimatum by deliberately infecting herself with the pox.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: To be born as the son of a high-ranking government official is an exceptional privilege in itself, especially when one is a native in the colonial times, but to Minke--whose inferiority complex runs deep against the current of Western post-Enlightenment ideals--it's nothing short of an embarrassment. He refuses to even confirm his parentage in front of Nyai Ontosoroh, a concubine to a white man and a woman of technically much lower social standing than he is who's nonetheless equally intelligent despite not being born with the same kind of privilege in the slightest.
* BlueBlood: Native nobles who are not quite on par with the European elites in terms of privilege and yet are certainly much higher in rank than the rest of their fellow natives. Unlike their son Father and Mother take their ancient lineage and the responsibilities that come with it much more seriously.

A fierce warrior from Madura who serves as a chief personal bodyguard of the Mellema family, though his allegiance lies firmly on Nyai Ontosoroh, her daughter and the latter's boyfriend, Minke.

* BattleButler: A colonial Indonesian variation. Darsam is, in colonial era-terms, an ''oppas''/'opas', a personal household staff who is specifically hired for security purposes but are expected to carry out a number of other chores as well, like running errands. His Madurese heritage made for a plus point in those days because the people of Madura, even now in present-day Indonesia, are often known for their assertiveness and penchant for combat.
* BookDumb: Academically uneducated, but is willing to continue learning when Nyai Ontosoroh gives him the chance to. Aside from that, he's also physically reliable and aware of the right cause to spend all that fighting prowess on.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Ends the quartet [[spoiler: likely a very wealthy man as the new owner of ''Boerderij Buitenzorg''--at that point ''Boerderij Wonocolo'']]. When Minke finally gets the chance to [[spoiler: see the renewed company at the end of ''House of Glass'', Pangemanann notes how he beams with pride upon hearing the implication that the formerly rough warrior Darsam has transformed into a diligent, sophisticated businessman]].

* NeverLearnedToRead: Like many working-class natives in colonial times Darsam didn't have the privilege of formal education but Nyai Ontosoroh sees to it that he receives substantial lessons in reading and writing under her service. In the movie he is seen relying on one of his daughters to read Minke's newspaper article [[spoiler: criticizing the colonial government's decision to anull his marriage as per Maurits Mellema's request]]. His willingness to continue to educate himself under Nyai Ontosoroh's wing later [[spoiler: serves him ''very'' well as he, along with Nyai Ontosoroh, make a great team in restoring ''Boerderij Buitenzorg'' to its former glory following the vacuum created by Maurits Mellema's humiliating exit at the end of the second book]].

* UndyingLoyalty: To Nyai Ontosoroh and everyone she considers her family--except [[BlackSheep Robert Mellema]], which is why he [[spoiler: immediately snitches the latter's order to murder Minke right to the target himself]].

The private doctor of the Mellema family, a keenly observant man whose field of interest is clearly not limited to the science of physical health.

Herman Mellema's legitimate eldest son from his wife, Amelia. An engineer and later a veteran of [[UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar the Second Boer War]]. He and his mother are vengefully intent on claiming Herman's enormous newfound wealth in the Indies even if it meant [[DiabolusExMachina tearing apart the new life he had built there without so much as a warning]].

Born Paiman, he is the older brother of Nyai Ontosoroh. Follows exactly in his father's footsteps not only as a native employee of the Tulangan sugar factory in Sidoarjo but also as an ambitious man willing to give up even the dignity and freedom of his daughter to earn the favor of its white higher-ups.

* {{Determinator}}: Unlike poor Nyai Ontosoroh in the past she is more adamant to go against her father's heartless wish to make her Plikemboh's concubine, making him see the consequences of his own greed at the cost of her physical well-being and presumably also her only chance to secure a more comfortable living via marriage. [[spoiler: Thankfully not the case in the end as she gradually gets better--see EarnYourHappyEnding below.]]

* {{Determinator}}: Unlike poor Nyai Ontosoroh in the past she is more adamant to go against her father's heartless command to make her Plikemboh's concubine, making him see the consequences of his own greed at the cost of her physical well-being and presumably also her only chance to secure a more comfortable living via marriage. [[spoiler: Thankfully not the case in the end as she gradually gets better--see EarnYourHappyEnding below.]]

* ShellShockedVeteran: In the second book [[spoiler: much of the event he witnesses during his time serving at [[UsefulNotes/TheSecondBoerWar the Second Boer War]] wears down a lot of the bite and vitriol he used to previously show; by the time he [[spoiler: returns to Wonokromo near the end of the book]] Maurits has turned into a much more restrained, regretful man, which gives [[spoiler: Nyai Ontosoroh, Minke, Kommer and Jean the upper hand to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu finally drive him away]] from ''Boerderij Buitenzorg'' [[EarnYourHappyEnding for good]].]]

* PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher: Unlike other teachers at the school Minke goes to it's quite apparent how much she tries to instill a more decolonized approach to her teachings in class, passionately teaching about Multatuli at an age where many in Dutch literary circles regard his writings with skepticism. Later she also wholeheartedly supports Minke's humanizing depiction of marginalized native individuals (e.g. concubines, like Nyai Ontosoroh) in the writings he publishes as Max Tollenaar. [[spoiler: Unfortunately these behaviors crossed the threshold of what was considered acceptable sympathetic behavior towards natives in colonial Dutch society and put her under scrutiny of the government, who then [[FiredTeacher proceeds to deport her back to the Netherlands at the end of the school year]].]]

The daughter of Nyai Ontosoroh's older brother Sastro Kassier and a survivor of pox. Her unfortunate condition was partly brought about by her father's desperate attempt to curry favors with the [[AngryWhiteMan cruel administrator]] of the factory he's working at.

Born Paiman, he is the older brother of Nyai Ontosoroh. Takes after his father not only as a native employee of a large sugar factory but also a power and money-hungry man willing to give up even the dignity and freedom of his daughter to earn the favor of its white higher-ups.

* OldMaid: The Delacroix sisters expresses amusement at how Minke refers to Magda as a ''Juffrow'' (which means "Miss" in Dutch), indicating this trope.

!!Magda Peters
->'''Played by:''' Angelica Reitsma ''(Bumi Manusia)''

Minke's homeroom teacher in HBS and a Dutch socialist, whom he admires--initially for her academic intelligence, not her radical beliefs regarding native rights to freedom from colonial oppression.

!!Delacroix family
!! Herbert, Sarah and Miriam
->'''Played by:''' Tom De Jong (Herbert), Dorien Verdouw (Sarah), Salomé van Grunsven (Miriam) ''(Bumi Manusia)''


Herbert Delacroix is the Assistant-Resident (colonial European vice regional overseer) of B--, the native regency which Minke's father has been recently appointed as the ruler of. Sarah and Miriam are his astute daughters and alumna of the HBS Minke goes to. Their interest in the betterment of education for the natives as part of [[WhiteMansBurden their duty as the white ruling class]] drew them to Minke's intelligent bearing, awakening his sense of duty to fellow natives in the process.

* BrokenPedestal: Nyai Ontosoroh lost whatever trace of love and respect she'd begun to harbor for him the moment he began to experience a rather swift SanitySlippage following [[spoiler: a traumatizing verbal beatdown from his biological son Maurits, who suddenly confronted him after years of abandoning his legal wife and the former in the Netherlands]].

** The movie also gave a humanizing touch to her relationship with Herman by showing her and Dr. Martinet [[spoiler: patiently calming him down after coming home dead-drunk from his usual trip to Ah Tjong's brothel]], something her counterpart in the source material would likely deem to be beneath her. She and Ann also demonstrate a much more emotional reaction to [[spoiler: his death]] here. In the novel their reaction is so jaded and emotionless that Minke briefly stops in his pursuit of [[spoiler: Fatso]] to remark just how pathetic it is that [[spoiler: Herman had died in such a shameful manner--choking on his own vomit in a brothel--without even getting mourned by his former partner and daughter]], while in the movie [[spoiler: the discovery of his corpse sent Ann into a crying shock and definitely agitated Nyai Ontosoroh to the point of yelling at everyone dumb enough to taunt her, like Maiko.]]

An officer of the colonial police force assigned on surveillance duty to monitor Minke and other intellectuals showing anti-colonial inclinations. He is of Minahasan descent yet adopted by French parents and received a prestigious education in Paris; as such he finds it difficult to sympathize with other natives, especially their rising urge to be independent from colonial authority. After a brief EarlyBirdCameo in ''Footsteps'' he overtakes Minke's role as narrator and protagonist in this book. Like the latter, his character is also heavily inspired by a literary figure from Indonesian colonial history--[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._D._J._Pangemanann Frederick Pangemanann]], a newspaper journalist of Minahasan descent.

* DisabledInTheAdaptation: Unlike his historical counterpart, Minke is [[spoiler: [[TheLoinsSleepTonight completely unable to sire children,]] as the third book reveals.]] Tirto Adhi Soerjo meanwhile [[spoiler: had about 5 from his three wives combined, the descendants of whom still survive until today]].

An officer of the colonial police force assigned on surveillance duty to monitor Minke and other intellectuals showing anti-colonial inclinations. He is of Minahasan descent yet adopted by French parents and received a prestigious education in Paris; as such he finds it difficult to sympathize with other natives, especially their rising urge to be independent from colonial authority. After a brief EarlyBirdCameo in ''Footsteps'' he overtakes Minke's role as narrator and protagonist in this book.

Characters from Pramoedya Ananta Toer's 1980s Indonesian historical fiction novel series ''The Buru Quartet'', sorted by the book in which they make their first appearance[[note]]with the exception of Jacques Pangemanann, who first appears as a side character in ''Footsteps'' but [[AscendedExtra gets a promotion as protagonist]] in ''House of Glass''[[/note]]. Under construction.

A prostitute working under Ah Tjong, she represents the rarely-mentioned history of Japanese prostitution in 19th-century Southeast Asia.

* ADayInTheLimelight: The entirety of Chapter 10 is told from her perspective [[spoiler: as she is one of the witnesses present in the discovery of Herman Mellema's body]]. AdaptedOut in the movie adaptation however.

Characters from Pramoedya Ananta Toer's 1980s Indonesian historical fiction novel series ''The Buru Quartet'', sorted by the book in which they make their first appearance. Under construction.

An officer of the colonial police force assigned on surveillance duty to monitor Minke and other anti-colonial activists. He is of Minahasan descent yet adopted by French parents and received a prestigious education in Paris; as such he finds it difficult to sympathize with other natives, especially their rising urge to be independent from colonial authority. Overtakes Minke's role as narrator and protagonist in the final book.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:''House of Glass'']]

->'''Played by:''' Mawar Eva De Jongh (2019 movie), Chelsea Islan ''(Bunga Penutup Abad)'', Madina Wowor ''(Nyai Ontosoroh)''

->'''Played by:''' Hans De Kraker (2019 movie), Lukman Sardi ''(Bunga Penutup Abad)''

->'''Played by:''' Ciara Nadine Brosnan (2019 movie), Sabia Arifin ''(Bunga Penutup Abad)''

->'''Played by:''' Giorgino Abraham

->'''Played by:''' Peter Sterk

->'''Played by:''' Whani Darmawan

->'''Played by:''' Jeroen Lezer (2019 movie), Rudy Wowor ''(Nyai Ontosoroh)''

->'''Played by:''' Angelica Reitsma

->'''Played by:''' Tom De Jong (Herbert), Dorien Verdouw (Sarah), Salomé van Grunsven (Miriam)

->'''Played by:''' Donny Damara (Father), Ayu Laksmi (Mother)

->'''Played by:''' Chew Kin Wah

->'''Played by:''' Iqbaal Ramadhan (2019 movie), Reza Rahadian ''(Bunga Penutup Abad)'', Temmy Melianto ''(Nyai Ontosoroh)''

->'''Played by:''' Sha Ine Febriyanti (2019 movie), Amanda Khairunnisa (2019 movie, young), Happy Salma ''(Bunga Penutup Abad,'' 2015-2018), ''(Nyai Ontosoroh)'', Marsha Timothy ''(Bunga Penutup Abad,'' 2018--)

->'''Played by:''' Kelly Tandiono (2019 movie), Sita Nursanti ''(Nyai Ontosoroh)''

* ADayInTheLimelight: The entirety of Chapter 10 is told entirely from her perspective [[spoiler: as she is one of the witnesses present in the discovery of Herman Mellema's body]].

* ButNotTooForeign: French father, native [[spoiler: Acehnese]] mother. Minke notes that she mostly takes after her father, though her actress in ''Bunga Penutup Abad'' made it seem like she takes after her mother more in that adaptation.

* IAmNotPretty: Suurhof called her ''the'' most beautiful girl in all of Surabaya but she never appeared to be actively conscious of her own beauty. Hearing Minke compliment her at the beginning of ''This Earth of Mankind'' came off as such a shock to her that she had a mini-freakout afterwards, presumably because she isn't used to hearing it from anyone else other than her mom.

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: The narrative ''really'' wants you to know that she's the prettiest character in the whole first book; Minke and many other characters can't help but stop the plot for a few moments just to gush about how beautiful she is.

* AdaptationalVillainy: On top of being less socially awkward, the movie shows him being more openly antagonistic and racist towards his own mother and Minke, whereas in the novel he at least knew how to be outwardly polite to Minke when possible and is implied to be very intimidated by his mother's presence (largely thanks to Darsam) that his attempts to talk back to her often come across as meek and wimpy. He also [[spoiler: goes out of his way to wound Darsam]] during his attempt to escape from [[spoiler: Babah Ah Tjong's brothel and Surabaya altogether]].
* BigotWithACrush: For someone who thinks that "there's nothing greater than to become a European and for all the Natives to bow down to him" (in Annelies' words) he sure lusts over a lot of women of Asian descent. Namely, [[spoiler: Maiko, the Japanese prostitute from Ah Tjong's brothel, Minem, one of the female workers of the ''Boerderij'']], and even [[spoiler: '''''[[BrotherSisterIncest his own sister]]''''']].

* NoSocialSkills: Shares this trait with Annelies to a different degree. Unlike the latter's more affectionate sort of awkwardness Robert's lack of social skills are displayed through callousness, emotional insensitivity, and inability to form a genuine friendship even with someone who actively sought one from him, like Robert Suurhof. He also has a habit of creepily staring at people he doesn't like.

* BigotWithACrush: Essentially a BoomerangBigot white supremacist but is clearly head-over-heels for Annelies, who's not only also mixed race and not the pure-blooded white woman he claims to exclusively has a type for, but also identifies herself as a native Javanese.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: To be born as the son of a high-ranking government official is an exceptional privilege in itself, especially when one is a native in the colonial times, but to Minke--whose inferiority complex runs deep against the current of Western post-Enlightenment ideals--it's nothing short of an embarrassment. He refuses to even confirm his parentage in front of Nyai Ontosoroh, a concubine to a white man of technically much lower social standing who indirectly intimidates him due to being equally intelligent despite not being born with the same kind of privilege in the slightest.

* OpenMindedParent: Mother, despite her adherence to traditional values, isn't at all opposed to the idea of her son courting a woman who's not only of European descent, but also born from an illegitimate union, and later even [[spoiler: shows up to Wonokromo in person to be a legal witness at the wedding, forming a deep friendship with Nyai Ontosoroh in the process]]. It should be noted that [[spoiler: she still went through all that trouble despite her husband's clear displeasure of their son's blatant disregard of aristocratic norms]], thus making her approval a demonstration of uncharacteristic independence for married Javanese noblewomen at the time.

* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: His speech is written in a derogatorily stereotypical fashion completely non-standard to the usually eloquent dialogue of other characters regardless of ethnicity or social class; for example, "[[spoiler:Sinyo Lobell]]" when referring to [[spoiler: Robert Mellema]].