Disgrace Summary, Themes, & Analysis By J. M. Coetzee

Table of Contents

Introduction

“Disgrace” is a novel by J. M. Coetzee, which tells who a 52 years old man who loses his everything after encountering an affair with his student. This novel was first published in 1999 and won the Booker Prize. It has a total of 24 chapters. It is set in post-apartheid South Africa.

About J. M. Coetzee

J. M. Coetzee is a South African novelist, critic and translator noted for his novels about the effect of colonization. In 2003 he won a Nobel Prize for literature. His first published book was Dusklands and this was followed by several others including – In the Heart of the Country, Slow Man, Diary of a Bad Year and Summer Times.

Themes Of The Novel ‘Disgrace’

The first theme that can be focused in the novel is “Lust”. In the novel lust is described as not merely fulfilling desire, but other meaning implied there. Sex is used as a way to fill emptiness and loneliness. In this novel, the author portrays sex as a symbol of domination as in Lucy’s rape. In the case of David and Melanie’s relationship, he seduces Melanie. After some time, after this incident, she made harassment complaints against David in the college committee.

The next theme the author wants us to understand is suffering. Sufferings in Disgrace appear physically, mentally and emotionally.

Soraya is a part-time prostitute having sex with David every Thursday, due to her financial sufferings. We can find physical suffering Lucy’s farm, where the dongs were killed by the introders, David being hit and Lucy was raped by the three men. After Lucy’s rape, she was mentally disturbed which leads to Lucy a psychological wound. We can also see Melanic as a vulnerable personality. She is actually weak and easily hurt physically and emotionally after the relationship with David.

Love and Support are the next themes of the novel. After David loses his reputation in Cape Town for sleeping with Melanie, he goes to his daughter’s far to stay temporarily to have a peaceful life and to escape from the problem. David supports Lucy in the aftermath of her rape. Even though David is a womanizer his love for his daughter is true and pure. But he could not protect her during her rape. David urges Lucy to report about terrible incident, to get justice. She decides not to report her rape in order to secure her privacy.

The Last theme is the society. David is a white man living among the Black society. The novel takes us to the setting of Post- Apartheid South Africa. Where Black people have just gotten their existence and acceptance upon their right to stand in the same position as the whites.

Summary And Analysis of ‘Disgrace’

The Novel starts with the protagonist David Lurie, a South African professor of English who loses everything. He is 52 years old, which means that he is losing his age and his good looks. Then he does something unacceptable, causing him to lose people’s respect and approval.

It is further told that he loses not only his job, but also his reputation, his dreams of artistic success, and even later the ability to protect his daughter. David has married twice and both of his marriages ended in divorce. He is given a daughter from his first marriage, named Lucy. David is a lecturer at a University in Capetown, South Africa. David does not enjoy his job as he is not fond of teaching. He just does it because it earns money.

David regularly meets with a prostitute, Soraya, but when he attempts to push their relationship into something romantic, Soraya denies him. David deals with this rejection by seducing one of the secretaries at his school, but after this success, he ignores her.

Still facing sexual urges, David turns his attention to one of the students in his Romantic poetry class, Melanie Issac, whom he seduces after using his access to university records to stalk her. Though Melanie eventually gives in to David’s relentless and inappropriate pursuit, his obsession is obviously unhealthy. He repeatedly follows her, spies on her, and pressures her into sexual intercourse. Malaine is hesitant during sexual encounters, and at one point, David uses alcohol and other actions to engage in an encounter that is not completely consensual.

After this rape, Melaine’s attendance in class beings to suffer. David becomes suspicious that the other students are aware of the affair. Melanie’s boyfriend confronts David and harasses him, and it implies that the boyfriend vandalizes David’s car. Melanie’s father, Mr. Issacs, confronts David, confirming David’s fears that the relationship is no longer a secret. David avoids Mr. Issacs in order to avoid the confrontation but Melanie soon files a sexual harassment suit against David.

Even this is not enough to spur David into reflecting upon his behaviour. The university gives David an opportunity to seek counselling, apologize, and save his job, but he does none of that. The committee hearings looking into the sexual harassment charge play out like a court case, and eventually, David resigns his position at the university.

David heads to the farm owned by his daughter, Lucy. His time there begins to have a positive effect on him as he settles into the routines of a farm life. He joins Lucy at the farmer’s market and helps tend to the dogs she boards on the property. His positive momentum is disrupted, however, as the political climate in the country changes. Three men attack the farm, rape Lucy, set David on fire and kill several of the dogs. The attackers steal David’s car and leave.

Lucy is deeply scarred, emotionally from the attack, and she becomes lethargic as a result. Though David encourages her to make a full report to the police, she refuses. She has become pregnant by the attackers. David suspects that one of the farm’s black workers was complicit in the attack, and when his suspicions are confirmed, Lucy again refuses to make appropriate reports. The worker is related to one of the attackers. Lucy, it seems, will be forced to marry into her attacker’s family, giving over her farm. David believes Lucy has resigned herself to this outcome.

David leaves the farm and returns to his house in Capetown. In his absence, someone has broken into the building. David tries to attend a theatre performance in which Melanie has a part but is harassed again by her boyfriend. David goes to apologize to Melanie’s father. While there, David encounters Mr. Issacs and Melanie’s younger sister. David is invited to stay for an awkward dinner. Mr. Issacs explained to David that any forgiveness he could offer David was irrelevant. David must find their redemption.

At the end of the novel, David returns to Lucy’s farm. He works with one of Lucy’s friends who operates an animal shelter. When animals are euthanized David’s job is to dispose of them.

Conclusion

Thus, the novel ‘Disgrace’ explores reactions in which humans fight for their rights. It was the post-apartheid era in South Africa when the novel was written. J. M. Coetzee focuses on the events of the characters ’ lives and their sufferings. This novel has cultural issues that can be applied in real life. These kinds of harassment happened not only in South Africa by Professor David Lurie, it happens in every day and in every part of the world. Many women are not ready to report this like Lucy in order to protect their privacy and not bring Disgrace to their families.

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