novels; this payment may not have been direct, but in the form of goods or services, or a donation to Sarekat Rakyat. Joehana displayed a sense of humour that was well received by his contemporaries: for instance, the frog chaser Karnadi of Rasiah nu Goreng Patut describes his trips to the rice fields to catch frogs as "going to the office" and the stick with which he kills the frogs as his "pencil", whereas the Dutchman Van der Zwak of Tjarios Agan Permas uses the most polite register of Sundanese while speaking to his dog. Some of these jokes have remained popular; Rosidi records one, about how to speak Dutch, as having survived into the 1980s. Themes The dominant theme in Joehana's work is social criticism, particularly regarding socioeconomic conditions. In Rasiah nu Goreng Patut, he criticised those who sought material wealth above all other things through the Eulis Awang and her family, who are so enraptured by their greed that they do not realize that the man asking for Eulis Awang's hand in marriage is not who he claims to be. In Tjarios Eulis Atjih, the main characters Arsad and Eulis Atjih, while both exemplifying greed and its inevitable repercussions, further show that wealth is not eternal: both lose their wealth and societal positions, then must earn a living. In the novel, Johanna calls on the rich to support and defend the poor, not despise them. That both rich and poor should receive equal treatment is emphasised in Tjarios Agan Permas: Another traditionally respected group which Joehana criticizes is the hajjis, those Muslims who have been on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The hajjis in Joehana's stories are generally greedy and lustful, without any interest in the good of humanity. In Tjarios Agan Permas, for instance, Hajji Serbanna displays his hypocrisy by damning usury as haraam (sinful) while charging high interest rates for a loan, and refuses to complete the mandatory prayers because he is waiting on a guest bearing large gifts. The hajji is portrayed as wearing so much make-up that, in the opinion of Kartini et al., it is as if he is deliberately dressing as a clown. Although Joehana rejects forced marriage—a common practice among the Sundanese in the early 20th century—and promotes the idea of marriage for love, he also warns against the dangers of overly free interactions between men and women. Through Kalepatan Poetra