ONLY two men were wholeheartedly loved by Kartini: her father, Mas Adipati Ario Sosroningrat, and her elder brother, Raden Mas Panji Sosrokartono. Both men not only shared her blood, they were friends and guardians during Kartini's lonely years of seclusion.

Sosroningrat always took time after work as the regent of Jepara, Central Java, to talk to his daughter. Kartono was there to satisfy Kartini's thirst for knowledge and support her idea of femal