 Not long afterwards, Nurbaya unhappily offers herself to marry the abusive and rich Datuk Meringgih as a way for her father to escape debt; she is later killed by Meringgih.It ends with Samsulbahri, then a member of the Dutch colonial army, killing Datuk Meringgih during an uprising and then dying from his wounds.Written in formal Malay and including traditional Minangkabau storytelling techniques such as "pantuns", "Sitti Nurbaya" touches on the themes of colonialism, forced marriage, and modernity.