J.M. Coetzee and the Aesthetics of Disgust
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7258704 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chris Danta (0000-0003-2801-8117, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 3-19 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Angelaki (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-725X • E-ISSN: 1469-2899 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0969725x.2023.2270353 |
| OpenAlex | W4388735574 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
This article contends that we can learn much about how Coetzee tells stories by examining how he treats the subject of disgust. Coetzee represents disgust so often in his fiction, I argue, because disgust figures the subject's relation to the object as both embodied and contemplative. Staging scenes of disgust enables Coetzee to do two apparently contradictory things at once: (1) represent the immediacy of a focalizing character's physical reaction to the world and (2) establish a reflective distance between the focalizing character and object that encourages both character and reader to contemplate the ignoble aspect of human mortality
Aesthetics · Anger · Art · Disgust · African cultural and philosophical studies · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Psychology · Social Psychology · South African History and Culture
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |