Robinsonaden in the Feminine? J.M.Coetzee´s Foe and Muriel Spark´s Robinson'

This chapter discusses to what extent J.M. Coetzee’s Foe and Muriel Spark’s Robinson are indebted to Robinson Crusoe and whether or not their women castaways manage to challenge the seminal male-oriented Robinsonade and convert it into another type of narrative. As well as examining in what ways female characters in both novels occupy spaces like the island and appropriate adventure and the writing of the story, it is emphasised that Portuguese imperial History (also to be found in Robinson Crusoe and in other island stories and hardly pointed out by critics) becomes crucial to the interpretation of both texts. It is concluded that not only the long History of European imperialism but also the Robinsonade are Friday’s—and ultimately Susan Barton’s and January Marlow’s—foes.