Exploration of Ethical Problem in J.M. Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country

Abstract

J.M. Coetzee's In the Heart of the Country explores the ethical problem in South African white writing. In order to show this problem, Coetzee portrays Magda, a white spinster and narrator of the novel as an immoral and hypocritical character, who initially, hates the immoral activities of her father and wants to struggle with him for the sake of her own identity. But, later, she herself gets involved in illegal sexual relationship with her black servant, Hendrik. She becomes ready to destroy the lives of black servants, Hendrik and his wife Anna because of her self-centeredness, racial prejudice and hypocrisy. It shows that Magda forgets her ethical values and widens the gap in her relation with other. Thus, Coetzee analyzes the problematic in liberal white writers like Allan Paton, Nadine Gordimer and so on. According to Coetzee, these writers exhibit the hypocritical nature in their own writing and produce the fictions under the influence of power. The authority rather promotes their success without reaching into the deeper level. So, Coetzee defends against the closure of authority where the white writers are found in religion or history.