Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-263) and index.
Contents:
Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. From Duty to Moral Choice: Waiting for the Barbarians -- Present-Tense Narration and the Ethics of Representation -- The Magistrate: The Journey from Duty to Moral Choice -- 2. Facile Goodness and Shame: Age of Iron -- Epistolarity: Death, History, and Writing -- Confession: Self-Doubt and Problematic Love -- Shame: Self-Reflexiveness, Social Questioning, and Moral Revelation -- Purgation: The Elusive Character of Redemption -- 3. Sloth and Moral Integrity: Life & Times Michael K -- Narrative Strategies and the Ethical Encounter -- History and Individual Trauma -- 4. Ideals, Sex, and Violence: Disgrace -- Historical Guilt, Humiliation, and Morality -- Self-Deception and Morality -- Conclusion -- The Moral Dimension of Resisting Narrative Closure -- Works Cited -- Index
Summary:
The present study looks closely into the unsettling effects Coetzee's novels have on the reader and explores the interconnectedness between stylistic choices and moral insights. Its overall aim is to disclose the effectiveness of Coetzee's narrative strategies to prompt the reader to engage in self-questioning and radical revisions of personal and social moral assumptions.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.