Stilllll Waiting for Those Barbarians...

So far in reading J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, I have been struck primarily by what seems to be the omission of details of the characters and setting of the story. Instead the author works to skip what many people would consider the basic descriptions –such as the colors, dialects, and even names of the characters- but instead focuses on small details. Two perfect examples of this technique are the narrator and the Barbarian woman. The narrator gives an in-depth description of himself naked in his bedroom, which only leads the reader to the conclusion that he is an old man, and the woman’s scars and wounds are also vividly depicted while her description other than that is referred to only as somewhat “plain.” The one notable exception –other than the magistrates prostitute “bird” woman- seems to rest with Colonel Joll. In being named, the author has made him stand out as an anomaly in the reader’s mind –or at least in mine. This, however, seemed odd to me since Joll, although being named, seems much more of a representation of the system of the Empire than an individual character. In fact, he was the only representation of the government other than the “soft” magistrate other than the visiting Lieutenant, who only reaffirms the harsh system of Empirical rule suggested by Colonel Joll.

In my reading of the story, I have become somewhat fond of this technique due to that it leads the reader to create associations with the personalities of the characters. It also helps to avoid any prejudice due to either the narrator or the reader –a refreshing contrast to Heart of Darkness. It also, through this technique, creates a sense of universality in which that the Empire could exist in practically any location and the story itself can truly be related to any portion of the world.

On a separate note, I was surprised at the lack of action dealing with the “barbarians” in the story –it does seem like an inordinate amount of time of, well, waiting- and the amount of time spent in the magistrate’s bedroom with personal affairs. Could it be that the Empire’s citizens are, in fact, the barbarians? I guess I’ll just have to wait and see -yes, a cliff-hanger. I’m attempting to spice up my blog entries (388).