A Metafictional Reading Of J. M. Coetzee’s Foe

The South African writer J. M. Coetzee,2003 Nobel Laureate, is claimed to be one of the most influential writers in contemporary times. Published in 1986, Foe is Coetzee’s fifth novel in his writing career, which brings him the Jerusalem Prize. Positioned as a revision of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Foe is added with a new female --- Susan Barton. The whole story of Foe develops from the perspective of Susan and the main concern here is not about the telling of the island story but about the telling of telling the story. In the process of turning the story to literature form, Susan and Mr. Foe, two author-figures, ponder over the art of writing and the nature of literature.Different from the previous studies focusing on the themes such as postmodernism, post-colonialism, existentialism and feminism, this thesis, under the framework of metafictional theory, sets its study from the perspectives of the characters and writing techniques in Foe and then explores the metafictional significance in this novel.Besides introduction and conclusion, this thesis consists of three chapters. In the introductory part, it introduces works and literature achievements of Coetzee, the studies on Foe abroad and at home and the development of metafiction and features of metafiction. Chapter One focuses on three main characters in Foe. Through the study of Susan’s self-reflexivity, Mr. Foe’s manipulation and the unidentified narrator’s indeterminacy, this chapter explores the metafictional sense in Foe. Chapter Two explores the metafictional strategies such as intertextuality and multiple endings, which help to show how the artificiality of Foe is exposed. Chapter Three studies the metafictional significance in Foe from the perspectives of both authors and readers. By means of the metafictional form, Coetzee questions the relationship between fact and fiction. By intentionally exposing the fictionality in Foe, Coetzee reminds readers of the characters who are marginalized or have disappeared in post-colonial narrative such as Friday and Susan. For readers, in the process of interpreting metafiction, they are granted with more freedom. Meanwhile, through the self-awareness and exposure of fictionality in Foe, readers are inspired to reflect on the relation between fact and fiction and be more aware of the nature of fiction --- a pure verbal construction.From all the analyses, this thesis comes to a conclusion:Foe is a classic metafictional novel. Here, Coetzee has successfully explored the relation between fact and fiction, expressed his reflections on the nature of literature and underlined the important role of readers in metafiction, which provide the inspiration for writers of current times. Through exploring the metafictional sense and significance in Foe, this thesis helps present the charm of this postmodern work and enrich the previous studies on this text.