| John Maxwell Coetzee, throughout his career, has remained one of the most significant and influential novelists in the20th century. His works chronicle the history of his native country’s transformation from racial dictatorship to a post-apartheid society. What distinguishes Coetzee from many of his contemporaries is his concern with the fates of the white in South Africa in his oeuvre, among which, Age of Iron can be taken as one of the best examples. Published in1986, Age of Iron delineates an old white intellectual, Mrs. Curren’s trauma caused by the violence in South Africa under the apartheid system. Based on the trauma theory, this thesis aims to explore the protagonist’s severe mental suffering and identity crisis, thus enriching the psychological and cultural implications of trauma of this novel.In this thesis, the present writer will first focus on the old white intellectual’s severe trauma from two aspects:psychic trauma and cultural trauma. Then the present author will further illustrate the point of the thesis by exploring the underlying reasons that lead to Mrs. Curren’s trauma. Lastly, this thesis will analyze the ways Mrs. Curren seeks to recover from the trauma and further conclude that due to the evil apartheid system, her efforts to work through the trauma turn out to be futile. By means of trauma narratives of the elder white humanist’s traumatic experiences, the present writer will indicate that the apartheid system not only brings tremendous suffering to the oppressed, but also evokes great psychic pain in the inner heart of the white intellectuals. Through this novel, Coetzee expresses his deep concern about the white intellectuals’fates in South Africa, and shows his humanity spirit and historical responsibility as a white writer. |
