The Fragile Boundaries of Power: Imperial Violence and the Ethics of Suffering in Waiting for the Barbarians

dc.contributor.authorDi Clemente, Casandra
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-30T19:27:50Z
dc.date.available2025-09-30T19:27:50Z
dc.date.issued2025-02-25
dc.descriptionThis essay won the Department of English’s 2000-Level Essay Prize in 2025. The Department of English awards prizes for the best essay written in courses at each of the four year levels. Faculty members may nominate students for this award.
dc.description.abstractThe frontier in J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians is not merely a boundary between empire and wilderness; it is a fluid, unstable space where power and morality are tested, and identity unravels. As the Magistrate distances himself from the imperial order, he confronts the fragility of civilization and the ethical void at its core. The empire's escalating paranoia transforms the town into a breeding ground for fear and suspicion, where violence is rationalized, and suffering becomes both inflicted and ignored. Coetzee's sparse, detached prose mirrors the emotional and psychological detachment that enables the empire's machinery to function. In Waiting for the Barbarians, Coetzee rejects the spectacle of suffering, compelling readers to grapple with the ethical ramifications of imperial violence, the limitations of empathy, and the dehumanization of both the oppressed and their oppressors.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/43156
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleThe Fragile Boundaries of Power: Imperial Violence and the Ethics of Suffering in Waiting for the Barbarians
dc.typeOther

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Casandra Di Clemente - Essay.pdf
Size:
81.73 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.83 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: