Ragnhild Eikli

• Saliu, Behare & Eikli, Ragnhild (2025). The Risks of Trust in a Postcolonial World: A Close Reading of Trust and Distrust in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This thesis is a close reading of trust and distrust in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999). It analyzes the (dis)trusting relationships between the characters with an emphasis on the main character and focalizer David Lurie, in order to identify the ways in which past colonialism and apartheid have shaped different aspects of trust and created a “risk society.” The colonial and former apartheid regime limit the characters’ ability to form trusting relationships both interpersonally and institutionally. Coetzee explores and shows the importance of trust by demonstrating the consequences of lack of trust, as well as the consequences when trust is abused.

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