Old Myths – Modern Empires : Power, Language and Identity in J.M. Coetzee’s Work

This study gives substantial coverage and close critical attention to a wide range of Coetzee's published writings, in the attempt to situate his œuvre within the framework of both postmodernist and postcolonial theory and criticism. In addition, it links the political and social aspects of Coetzee's work, its South African provenance and its often oblique engagement with contemporary issues, with formal questions regarding structure, rhetoric and narrative strategies as tackled in his novels. By approaching Coetzee's fiction from a variety of critical angles and taking into account both the transformations in the socio-political context of South Africa, and the recent changes in critical reception (exemplified by the Nobel Prize he was awarded in 2003) this book therefore offers a thorough assessment of the author's œuvre. Contents 9 Acknowledgements 9 11 List of Abbreviations 11 13 Preface 13 15 Introduction: The Work of J.M. Coetzee – Thematic, Linguistic and Structural Correspondences 23 25 Section 1: Coetzee’s Denunciation of Western Metaphysics of Power 61 Introduction to Section 1 61 63 Chapter 1: The Representation of the Natives 67 69 Chapter 2: Coetzee’s Critique of Liberal Humanism 93 95 Chapter 3: Replicas of Empire 123 125 Section 2: Shadows of the Self 157 Introduction to Section 2 157 159 Chapter 4: The Struggle for Recognition 163 165 Chapter 5: The Search for Identity 201 203 Section 3: Textual and Political Resistance 219 Introduction to Section 3 219 221 Chapter 6: The Language of Silence 223 225 Chapter 7: Deconstruction and the Politics of South Africa 251 253 Conclusion: Final Ambiguities 273 275 Works Cited 285 287 Appendix: Het Relaas of Jacobus Coetsé Jansz 1760 303 305 Index 313 315 Michela Canepari-labib. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 285-302) And Index.