Liminality in J.M. Coetzee’s later experimental texts
Literator
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Liminality in J.M. Coetzee’s later experimental texts | |
| Creator | Grobler, Annemie de Lange, A.M. Wenzel, M.J. | |
| Description | Postcoloniality, which is essentially concerned with the transition and transgression of boundaries and borders, contextualises and defines liminality as an ephemeral concept that eludes pinning down. Liminality is continually involved in a dual process of evolving and subverting: dynamic in the sense of promoting the centre, but subversive in its destabilisation of the previous status quo. In the more recent novels by Coetzee (Slow man, Diary of a bad year, Elizabeth Costello), themes that are especially acute in highlighting the subversive nature of liminality emerge repeatedly: the threshold, death, proliferation and imitation. The problem investigated is: how is the concept of liminality developed in these novels? An examination of these novels in terms of the above-mentioned themes and various conceptual and theoretical elements shows that Coetzee encourages the reader to assume a liminal status, not only as reader of the texts but also in relation to contemporary reality. It is concluded that Coetzee uses certain themes that promote liminality, often in a subversive and deconstructive manner, to inform the reader and, thus, influence him or her to effect change in the contemporary world. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2015-07-10 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/lit.v36i1.1167 | |
| Source | Literator; Vol 36, No 1 (2015); 7 pages Literator; Vol 36, No 1 (2015); 7 pages 2219-8237 0258-2279 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1167/1799
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1167/1800
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1167/1801
https://literator.org.za/index.php/literator/article/view/1167/1725
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