Narrative (De )construction: Mr Coetzee, in the Basement, with the Quill: A Discussion of Authorial Complicity in J.M. Coetzee's Foe

Abstract

The article offers a deconstructive reading of J.M. Coetzee's Foe and attempts both to explain and to reveal the abusive writing employed by each of the "authors" (Susan Barton, Foe, Daniel Defoe, J.M. Coetzee) in the novel. It operates within a Derridean framework, tracing the concepts of supplementation and origin in the text to indicate how the novel simultaneously collapses and conceals its own narrative practices. Like its object, the analysis presents itself as a piece of intertextual writing which questions not only the construction of the novel (and the apparent presence of meaning inherent in it), but also its own modes of composition. A detailed discussion of Susan Barton's credibility as author is proffered, and a close inspection of Coetzee's use of punctuation aims to suggest that the author, as a fictional being, is present in the novel before Part IV. Ultimately, this article attempts to illustrate, through its self-reflexive nature, the various ways in which Foe betrays the fallibility of language and representation.

Opsomming
Die dekonstruktiewe interpretasie van J.M. Coetzee se Foe poog om beide te verduidelik en te onthul hoe die misbruikende skryfwerk van elk van die roman se "outeurs" (Susan Barton, Foe, Daniel Defoe, J.M. Coetzee) manifesteer. Die artikel werk binne 'n Derrideaanse raamwerk en ondersoek konsepte soos supplementasie en "oorsprong" om aan te dui hoe die teks sy eie narratiewe praktyke terselfdertyd verbrokkel en versteek. Soos die roman, word die ontleding voorgestel as 'n stuk intertekstuele skryfwerk wat nie net die konstruksie van die roman nie, maar ook sy eie konstruksie bevraagteken. 'n Gedetailleerde bespreking van Susan Barton se geloofwaardigheid as outeur word voortgesit, en 'n noukeurige inspeksie van Coetzee se gebruik van leestekens sal daarop dui dat die outeur, as fiktiewe wese, teenwoordig is in die roman voor Deel IV. Na aanleiding van sy eie self-refleksiewe natuur, sal hierdie bespreking poog om die verskillende wyses waarop Foe die feilbaarheid van taal voorstel, te illustreer.