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Minke, an educated native, is captivated by Annelies' gentleness and Nyai Ontosoroh's firm, intelligent, and authoritative personality. In Wonokromo's house, Minke begins to discover a new world that shakes his views on love, dignity, and colonial injustice.
Minke slowly learns about Nyai Ontosoroh's background as a native woman who was made a concubine by Herman Mellema from a young age, but later educated herself to become an intelligent and strong figure.
Summoned by his father, who had just been appointed regent, Minke was asked to translate an official speech before colonial officials. Rather than simply translating, Minke boldly voiced his belief that indigenous people were not inferior to Europeans.
Annelies' concern for Minke's safety led to her falling ill. When Minke visited, he accidentally revealed a dark secret from the Mellema family's past, which only exacerbated Annelies' trauma. The situation became even more complicated when Herman Mellema was found horribly dead in Babah A. Tjong's brothel.
On his graduation day, Minke announced his marriage to Annelies. However, their happiness was soon shattered when Maurits, Herman's son by his legal wife, took over all of Herman's inheritance. Under colonial law, Annelies was declared a minor and forced to leave Surabaya for the Netherlands, separating her from Minke.
The colonial court ruled that Annelies must be taken to the Netherlands because she was considered a minor and was under European legal guardianship. Resignedly and with her increasingly fragile body, Annelies accepted the decision, even though it meant being separated from Minke and Nyai Ontosoroh.
