The Title Waiting for the Barbarians. [Short – Notes]

Waiting for the Barbarians (1980)

The Title Waiting for the Barbarians. [Short – Notes]

v  Introduction:-

            Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The novel was published in 1980. It was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. American composer Philip Glass has also written an opera of the same name based on the book which premiered in September 2005 in Erfurt, Germany.

            Coetzee took the title from the poem "Waiting for the Barbarians" by Greek-Egyptian poet Constantine P. Cavafy. It may also be an allusion to Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.[ Inspiration from Dino Buzzati's novel The Tartar Steppe is also evident, both for the title and the plot.

v  Importance of title:-

            Someone has said, ‘Well began is half done.’ The title of most of Coetzee’s novels justifies these words. The title of his famous novels such as, In the Heart of Country, Waiting for the  barbarians, Life and Times of Michael K., Foe, Age of Iron and Disgrace are highly significant and meaningful.

v   African Colonial / Postcolonial Writers:

            Africa had to suffer under the colonial rule for decades and it has not become fully free from the influences of colonialism as yet. African nationalism has overtaken the colonial powers, but it has yet to give itself a new direction and order to remove the complications of the colonial legacy. The colonialists imposed their will and norms on the African society. Africa was heavily exploited by the colonial powers. African people had to live under the laws imposed by them. They had to face the crisis of values generated by the colonial politics. They shook the very foundation of the traditional African values with the entry of the colonial powers into Africa. The relation between the individual society and the government under want a radical transformation as a result, many mal-adjustments appeared between the individuals and the groups in the African society.

            In such present post – colonial conditions, the African writers such as Wole Sobinka, Chinua Achebe and Coetzee function as the guardians of the African conscience. They depict the crisis and contradictions faced by the African people.

v  The plight of the common Africans

            In Waiting for the Barbariansthrough the character of the old magistrate, Coetzee points out that the plight of the common Africans remains the same in the pars as well in the present still their hearts are not free from the known as well as unknown fears. They are in need of proper guidance  and direction. The novelist presents possible challenges to them, the danger zones and the ways open to them to improve themselves. Here he describes the post – colonial social break-up. Even after the end of the colonial rule the end of the colonial rule. The Africans are constantly in the state of fear, uncertainly and insecurity.

Hysteria about the barbarians:-

            The common people are still afraid of attacks from the Barbarians. They are always Waiting for the Barbarians. The barbarians come out at night. Before nightfall the people bring in their goatsand other households commodities children scream in their dreams. ‘The Barbarians are here!’ The people say, ‘The barbarians have dug a tunnel under the walls and they can come and go as they please, take away what they like. No one is safe any longer.’ The farmers fill their fields, but they go in groups, never singly. They work without heart. They are pigeon – chested people. Their women seem always to be pregnant. Their children are stunted. The young girls have fragile beauty. There are signs of ignorance and slovenliness on their faces.

v  The symbol of great re-union:-

            Here the magistrate points out that the barbarians are not actually waiting to attack their fellowmen, but they are waiting for the soldiers to grow tired and go away. When that will happen the barbarians will come out again. They simply want their land back. They want to be free to move about with their flocks from pasture to pasture as they used to. They want nothing but justice, so there is no need to be afraid of their attacks on the contrary. It is barbarity on our part to mistake them as our enemies. Here, the magistrate servers as a beacon light to such ignorant Africans. He is the  synthesizer, the symbol of great re-union.

Conclusion:-

            Thus    Waiting for the Barbarians is quite meaningful and suggestive, the humanitarian message of the novel is:

“Every man wants to live. To live and live and live.

No matter what!”