Female’s Silent Resistance against Hegemony in The Scarlet Letter, Bekisar Merah, and Belantik: A Comparative Analysis

Social patriarchy is a gender-biased hegemonic value that is structured for the benefits of men but unfortunately disadvantages women. Lasiyah, the protagonist of Bekisar Merah and Belantik, and Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, experienced those hegemonic values that were oppressive, from their patriarchal societies i.e. Java and Puritans. By using the theories of both Hegemony and Comparative Literature, this discussion reveals the two protagonists’ similar silent resistance against the hegemonic values in that this brought them to become new persons with new personality and identity. They were similarly reborn. Both women had comparable factors driving them to conduct silent resistance: pride, dignity, and love. Woman, who is in general considered weak and powerless, is in fact strong and powerful

THE INNER CONFLICT: CONSCIENCE OR STATE'S RULE

This study examines Antigonê, who is encountering a conflict of whether staying with the conscience or obeying her king’s edict. This inner conflict also represents the power relation between Antigonê and the king. Foucault proposes that power relation comprises the productivity of power and the constitution of subjectivity. He also says that resistance is an endemic fact in the world of power relations. Furthermore, Kabeer states that the power of women signifies the ability of women to make choices, and this ability shows what Giddens says as transformative capacity, the ability to make difference. Based on these concepts of power, this study peels off the ways Antigonê manages herself in encountering choices until she comes to her decision. In determining choices, Antigonê experiences a double struggle, i.e., the inner conflict against herself and the power conflict against the king. In fact, these two kinds of conflicts are intertwined in that her inner conflict i.e., her conscience versus the state’s laws is also reflected through her power relation with her king. With the knowledge that conscience or heaven's values are higher than man’s rule or worldly values, Antigonê seizes her power to deal with her conflicts. The conflict between Antigonê and her king, which is first between heaven and worldly laws, turns out to be a conflict mostly covered by self-pride. This contestation of power leads her to agony and suicide, and this confirms a conclusion that inner conflicts in power relations may end in tragedy

Translational Research and Therapeutic Perspectives in Dysferlinopathies

Dysferlinopathies are autosomal recessive disorders caused by mutations in the dysferlin (DYSF) gene, encoding the dysferlin protein. DYSF mutations lead to a wide range of muscular phenotypes, with the most prominent being Miyoshi myopathy (MM) and limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B) and the second most common being LGMD. Symptoms generally appear at the end of childhood and, although disease progression is typically slow, walking impairments eventually result. Dysferlin is a modular type II transmembrane protein for which numerous binding partners have been identified. Although dysferlin function is only partially elucidated, this large protein contains seven calcium sensor C2 domains, shown to play a key role in muscle membrane repair. On the basis of this major function, along with detailed clinical observations, it has been possible to design various therapeutic approaches for dysferlin-deficient patients. Among them, exon-skipping and minigene transfer strategies have been evaluated at the preclinical level and, to date, represent promising approaches for clinical trials. This review aims to summarize the pathophysiology of dysferlinopathies and to evaluate the therapeutic potential for treatments currently under development