Elizabeth Costello: Analysis of Major Characters
"Elizabeth Costello" is a novel that centers on the life of an aging writer, Elizabeth Costello, as she navigates various philosophical questions through her public speaking engagements and personal encounters. At 70 years of age, Elizabeth grapples with complex themes, including the ethics of consuming animals and the responsibilities of artists in addressing human suffering. Throughout the narrative, she engages in debates with various characters, such as her religious sister Blanche, who challenges her views on religion versus the humanities, and Thomas O'Hearne, a philosophy professor, with whom she discusses animal rights.
Key characters include John Bernard, Elizabeth's son, who supports her during an award event and develops a newfound appreciation for her work, and Susan Moebius, a literary scholar who temporarily complicates family dynamics. Emmanuel Egudu, a former lover and Nigerian writer, sparks tension due to Elizabeth's critical perception of him. Other notable figures include Norma Bernard, John's wife, who feels challenged by Elizabeth's influence on her family, and Mr. Phillips, an elderly artist, who elicits a rare moment of compassion from Elizabeth amid her usual implacability.
The novel explores themes of identity, morality, and the intersection of personal and universal issues, inviting readers to reflect on the nature of artistic expression and human relationships.
Elizabeth Costello: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: J. M. Coetzee
First published: 2003
Genre: Novel
Locale: Williamstown, Pennsylvania; near Boston, Massachusetts; Melbourne, Australia; Zululand, Africa; Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Plot: Literary fiction
Time: the 1990s
Elizabeth Costello, an aging writer. The novel follows Elizabeth through a number of scenarios as she explores philosophical questions through her speaking engagements (and in one case, a speech by her sister that leads the two into debate). The first speech is about realism in the modern novel, and the relationship between a writer and her readership. At age 70, the graying Elizabeth has become implacable in her debates, to the point of being offensive to her opponents, about the relationship between human beings and the animals they consume. She meets up with her sister, who has taken on Catholic vows, and the two debate about the value of religion (Christianity) versus that of the humanities. In the Netherlands, she speaks about the artist's responsibility in writing about evil, only to open a great and uncharacteristic chasm of doubt about herself.
John Bernard, Elizabeth Costello's son. He accompanies his mother to Williamstown, Pennsylavia, where she will be honored with a $50,000 prize for her work. He is her keeper of sorts, seeing that she is on time, gets her to where she needs to be, providing background information and the names of the people she meets. In earlier years, he was somewhat remote with Elizabeth, but after reading her novels, he gains a new respect for her.
Susan Moebius, a literary scholar. A well-dressed, attractive woman with golden blond hair, Susan interviews Elizabeth for a talk-radio show. Susan is happily married with a child when she has a one-night affair with Elizabeth's Costello's son, John.
Emmanuel Egudu, a writer from Nigeria. Egudu is a writer who now makes his living giving lectures about African literature. He is a former colleague of Elizabeth, with whom she had a love affair. In the past, he had been fiery and full of politics. He is a well-dressed, refined African man whose beard has started to turn gray. Elizabeth is not fond of him, considering him a poseur.
Norma Bernard, John's wife. Norma holds a Ph.D in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University. She has not been able to find work, which is a source of conflict between the two. Norma resents Elizabeth's intrusion into their lives, and in particular, Elizabeth's foisting her extreme views about vegetarianism onto Norma's children.
Thomas O'Hearne, a professor of philosophy at Appleton College. A large, blond-headed man, O'Hearne debates Elizabeth about animal rights. More to the point, the debate is about humanity's relationship with the animals it consumes. For O'Hearne, because animals have no self-knowledge, nor the ability to project into the future (and their future death), it is wrong to equate the beheading of a chicken with the beheading of a human being. Elizabeth's point is that it is wrong to assume animals have no ability to project into the future.
Blanche (Sister Bridget) Costello, Elizabeth's older sister. Blanche and Elizabeth have not been close and in fact, had not seen each other in twelve years, prior to Elizabeth's visit to see her sister receive her honorary doctorate from a Zululand university. Beginning as a medical missionary, Sister Bridget worked her way up to hospital administrator at the hospital Marianhill in Africa. She wrote a book called Living for Hope, which became a huge success, raising money for her Order and for the hospital. She and Elizabeth debate about which is more enriching to humanity—Christianity or Humanism, a religious mission or art.
Mr. Phillips, an elderly friend of Elizabeth's mother. Mr. Phillips is undergoing treatment for cancer when Elizabeth first meets him. He has been a companion to her mother, and lives in the same assisted-living facility. He is unable to speak due to his cancer surgery. He is an artist and Elizabeth offers to sit for him. She knows that he is dying, and in a very un-characteristic move, allows him to paint her nude, after he expresses the wish to do so. He is grateful for her gift to him, and Elizabeth experiences a deep sense of compassion for the dying man.
Paul West, a novelist who has written the chilling tale of the fate of Hitler's would-be assassins. Elizabeth criticizes his kind of writing because she feels it perpetuates evil. West never speaks with her.