The wretched of the panoptic city: an evaluation of the spatial power in JM Coetzee’s Foe

Abstract

This article explores Michel Foucault’s heterotopia and Fredric Jameson’s cognitive mapping in JM Coetzee’s Foe (1986). It also finds links between social colonialism and socio-spatial identities within the terrain of the cities of London and Bristol. The paper thoroughly examines the crucial role of cities in shaping the spatial identities of the main characters in the novel. The urban space of London and Bristol is the third space for Susan and Friday, where they strive to find their true selves. Susan Barton and Friday are embroiled in a world divided into center and periphery, where they are grappling with a serious identity crisis. This is all happening within a closely monitored system under Mr. Foe’s watchful eye. The cities bestow a sense of freedom on neither Susan nor Friday and under the supreme power of Mr. Foe, Susan’s endeavor to give voice to Friday ended in a debacle. The novel unequivocally illustrates the perpetuation of urban authority by deploying panopticism and heterotopic space, albeit at the cost of fragmenting identities within the city.

Keywords

• cognitive mapping; heterotopia; spatial identities; third space; urban space.