The Representation of Otherness in J.M. Coetzee’s Fiction: Hegelian Reading. Case Study: Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace.

Abstract

The present work investigates the representation of Otherness in the South African writer J.M. Coetzee’s fiction following a Hegelian reading. Among his writings, the novels “Waiting for the Barbarians” (1980) and “Disgrace ” (1999) are the selected ones to be analysed. The aim of the present research is to explore whether Hegel’s Master/Slave dialectic is applicable to Coetzee’s representation of Otherness in the selected works. The investigation first outlines the concept of Otherness. Then, it discusses Hegel’s theory and attempts to correlate his concept of the Master/Slave with the Self/Other relationship found in Othering. Both novels portray strong characters; however personal power does not protect them from reversal of status. The history, culture, and political context of South Africa are at the core in transmitting a more complete picture of the opposition between mastery and slavery. South Africa suffered of the oppressive regime of the Apartheid and the recovering from its aftermaths in the post-era was not that easy. To conclude, the South African writer J.M. Coetzee discusses Otherness and the complications of the master/ slave relationship on many different levels by including sex, gender and race.