Margreet in Nederlansch
Indie is a historical fiction novel that explores the life
of Margreet, a mixed Indo-European girl growing up in the colonial Dutch East
Indies. Told from her first-person point of view, the novel captures her inner
conflicts as she navigates between two worlds, neither fully accepted by the
Dutch nor by the native Indonesian. The objective of this creative work is to
explore the emotional journey of identity formation through the lens of
psychosocial development, especially in the context of adolescence. Instead of
focusing only on cultural or racial identity, the novel highlights the internal
struggle for belonging and self-compassion. Inspired by postcolonial theory, the
concept of hybrid identity and my grandmother’s story, this work was developed
through observation, interviews, and document study to ensure contextual and
emotional authenticity. The results of this creative work show that the novel
successfully gives voice to those who feel emotionally and socially
marginalized by being a place for them to find comfort, self-compassion, and
reminding them that being different is not a problem.
