This document provides a critical analysis of the novel "Waiting for Barbarians" by J.M. Coetzee. It summarizes the major characters, themes, and symbolism in the novel. The story is about the magistrate of an unnamed empire and deals with themes of morality, human cruelty, and the impact of torture. It can be read as an allegorical critique of apartheid in South Africa. The barbarian girl represents the voiceless subaltern subjected to the violence and objectification of those in power.

1. Critical Note On “Waiting For
Barbarian”
Name: Dodiya Meghana
Semester: 4
Submitted to: Department
Of English

2. “Waiting for barbarians” is a
novel published in 1980.
This novel is about morality
and deals with human cruelty.
The title is from a tone from
the Greek post “Constantine
P.cavafy.”
The story was about imagery
Empire.
About the novel:

3. Three Major
Characters
Magistrate
 Colonel Joll
Barbarian girl
Minor Characters
The Boy
Officer mandel
Old Man
Mai

4. Symbolism:
The Empire:
The empire represent power that doesn’t require
that those who serve it love others but merely
perform duties.
Third Bereau:
The third bereau is described as an unsleeping
guardian of the empire being an investigative agency.
Barbarian Tribes:
According to rumours barbarian tribes have been
arming and the empire would have to employ
measures to prevent war.

5. The Magistrate :
He is the story’s first person
narrator.
Territory belonging to an
unnamed Empire.
His work is to give punishment to
Barbarian .
Colonel joll:
He was an official in the
mysterious Third bureau and
an arm of the civil guard.
He was created to protect the
empire,which is threatented
by barbarians.

6. The Barbarian Girl
The Barbarian girl is the
important character to read
feminism in the novel.
Very opening her body is
objectified.
We can read her character as
personification of nation.
She is silent voice in this
novel.
She is the symbol of
magistrate sympathy

7. Theme of Power and Torture
Murder Old Man
Torture by bureau
Cruelty
Violence

8. Helpless
Voiceless
Hopeless
It Presents Picture of Africa before the freedom

9. It was intended as an allegorical
attack on apartheid south Africa.
Magistrate a kind of all an
bureaucrat against and colonel
joll,A Young barbarian women.
The Novel is about The impact
of the torture chamber on the life
of man conscience.
Protagonist protest social unjust
to Empire, but he still look at the
barbarian as a dangerous tribe.
Waiting For Barbarians as an allegorical novel:

10. The identity of barbarians
regarded only “others”.
Magistrate relates that
,there is no women living
alone the frontier who has
not dreamed of a dark
barbarian hand.
No man has not
frightened himself with
vision of the barbarians .
Continue….

11. This Novel mainly based on
“silence “ or “colonialism” or
“neoclassicism.”
Here Girl is silence in the
novel.
She is subaltern here –her
voice is unheard by authority.
For example: Waiting for
Godot and The birthday party.
Silence in The Novel

12. Conclusion:
“Waiting For Barbarians” acan also be
criticized as violence on women .The women
were marginalized by tribe people and by
power show the dark side of the time .so we
can sat that this novel is about human
violence and the waiting which never ends.