The Pole

by J.M. Coetzee

Between a man and a woman, between the two poles, electricity either crackles or does not crackle. So it has been since the beginning of time.

Pole in another context

Thomas Kirchwey will turn out to be her true pole, eclipsing the false Pole, the pretender.

Pole again

It is only a matter of chance that the story being told is not about Loreto and her man but about her, Beatriz, and her Polish admirer. Another fall of the dice and the story would be about Loreto’s submerged life.

Author's note