Disgrace

Question 1

Disgrace info

Answer 1

Novel written by J.M. Coetzee in the late 20th century. It is set in post-apartheid South Africa and has a third person limited narrator. The protagonist, David, faces a loss of power and social status as a result of having sex with his student, consequently moving to rural South Africa, where he is forced to confront his sense of morality and dignity.

Question 2

Motif - castration (QUOTES)

Answer 2

“at what age, he wonders, did Origen castrate himself?” (ch1)
“the poor dog had began to hate its own nature. It no longer needed to be beaten. It was ready to punish itself” (ch11)

Question 3

David’s resistance to change (QUOTES)

Answer 3

“his temperament is not going to change, he is too old for that” (ch1)
“I’m old fashioned, I would prefer simply to be put against a wall and shot” (ch7)
“As long as I don’t have to become a better person” (ch9)

Question 4

David’s loss of relevancy (QUOTES)

Answer 4

“Without warning, his powers fled… overnight he became a ghost” (ch1)
“His mind has become a refuge for old thoughts” (ch8)

Question 5

Sex and power (QUOTES)

Answer 5

“to some degree, he believes, this affection is reciprocated” (ch1)
“(Soraya) obeyed, and has never worn it since. A ready learner, compliant, pliant” (ch1)
“If he wanted a woman he had to learn to pursue her; often, in one way or another, to buy her” (ch1)
“how they put her in her place, how they showed her what a woman was for” (ch14)

Question 6

Pursuing Melanie (QUOTES)

Answer 6

“I’m going to invite you to do something reckless” (ch2)
“she does not resist. All she does is avert herself” (ch3)
“no rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core” (ch3)

Question 7

Animal imagery (QUOTES)

Answer 7

“like a rabbit when the jaws of a fox close on its neck” (ch3)
“what should a predator expect when he intrudes into the Vixen’s nest?” (ch1)

Question 8

Formal consequences (QUOTES)

Answer 8

“I have no defense” (ch5)
“I took advantage of my position… I regret it. Is that good enough for you?” (ch6)
“does he accept his guilt or is he simply going through the motions” (ch6)

Question 9

Lucy (QUOTES)

Answer 9

“She is all strength, all purposefulness, whereas the trembling seems to have spread to his whole body” (ch12)
“How can a doctor take care of all eventualities? Have some sense” (ch12)
“no cards, no weapons, no property, no rights, no dignity” “like a dog” “yes. like a dog”(ch22)

Question 10

Bev Shaw (QUOTES)

Answer 10

“he has not taken to Bev Shaw, a dumpy little woman with black freckles, close cropped wiry hair, and no neck” (ch8)
“and let him stop calling her poor Bev Shaw. If she is poor, he is bankrupt” (ch17)

Question 11

Dogs (QUOTES)

Answer 11

“I don’t want to come back in another existence as a dog or a pig and have to live as dogs or pigs live under us” (ch8)
“the dogs that are brought in suffer… most of all from their own fertility” (ch16)
“well now he has become a dog-man” (ch16)

Question 12

The attack (QUOTES)

Answer 12

“By the time she has the door open, Lucy has turned her back on him” (ch11)
“He is as weak as a baby” (ch12)
“It was done with such personal hatred” (ch18)

Question 13

David and Lucy’s relationship (QUOTES)

Answer 13

“Never before have they been so far and so bitterly apart. He is shaken” (ch13)
“I cannot be a child forever. You cannot be a father forever. I know you mean well but you are not the guide I need, not at this time” (ch18)

Question 14

Petrus (QUOTES)

Answer 14

“but does say ‘no more dogs. I am not any more the dog-man’” (ch15)

Question 15

Idea of appearance (QUOTES)

Answer 15

“A woman’s beauty does not belong to her alone.. she has a duty to share it” (ch2)
“He does not like women who make no effort to be attractive” (ch8)
“He is trying to get used to looking odd, worse than odd, repulsive” (ch14)

Question 16

Melanie after David (QUOTES)

Answer 16

“Is it possible that in the months he has been away she has grown up, found herself?” (ch21)

Question 17

Lucy’s baby and marriage (QUOTES)

Answer 17

“It is dangerous, too dangerous. A woman must marry” (ch22)
“I am determined to be a good mother, David. A good mother and a good person” (ch23)

Question 18

Motif - disgrace (QUOTES)

Answer 18

“The whole thing is disgraceful from beginning to end” (ch5)
“They flatten their ears… as if they too feel the disgrace of dying” (ch16)

Question 19

Theme of sex and power

Answer 19

Coetzee scrutinizes the nature of human desire, specifically looking at the link between sexual relationships and power.
Sex is used as a method of domination and gaining positions of power (e.g. Lucy’s rape, David + Melanie), and also as a way of filling some sort of void (David pursuing prostitutes and Bev’s invitation to David). Sex is also a source of shame/disgrace (aftermath of David + Melanie, and Lucy’s rape)

Question 20

David’s sexual relations and power

Answer 20

David’s thirst for power is present in all of his relationships, as he sees himself as superior to all those he sleeps with (“demand. she means command”). However, at the end of the book he is jobless, broke, powerless, disrespected and alone. This proves that he was wrong about himself being more powerful. Coetzee shows how approaching sexual or romantic relationships with such a selfish and objectifying attitude leads to loneliness and despair, not power.

Question 21

Theme of shame, remorse and vanity

Answer 21

David refuses to read Melanie’s allegations of him, instead pleading guilty, allowing him to avoid confronting his immoral actions and experiencing any sense of remorse or shame. Coetzee shows how some people use their own vanity and arrogance to avoid moral responsibility. When he bows down in front of Melanie’s mum, he asks “is that enough?”, suggesting he is looking for superficial forgiveness, just to make him feel better.

Question 22

Lucy’s rape v David pursuing Melanie

Answer 22

There are similarities between Lucy’s rape and David’s pursuit of Melanie - both of the men prioritise their own desires over anything else, even when this means subjugating another human being. David is less aware of the violence he inflicted upon Melanie, as he is surprised when the committee refer to the relationship as an instance of abuse. Coetzee suggests to readers that all instances of sexual harassment and assault, whether physically violent or socially manipulative, are failures of empathy.

Question 23

Theme of time and change

Answer 23

David uses sex as his way of maintaining his youthfulness. He tends to live in the past, shown by his resistance to change and self-improvement. He is also struggling to adapt to the post-apartheid values. He is aware that the world is changing, but he makes no effort to adjust, which has lead to punishment, public humiliation and strained his and Lucy’s relationship. His refusal to being able to change also serves as a way of him avoiding his shortcomings and the implications of his behaviour. Coetzee shows readers that resistance to change is often harmful to one’s own life but also often futile.

Question 24

Does David change by the end of the book?

Answer 24

David’s social status and power degrades even further, as he loses his job, respect, and a lot of his power. His appearance also worsens, due to the attack. It could be argued that his mentality changes slightly in a positive manner, as he learns some empathy and compassion from Bev Shaw and the dogs, and through Lucy’s rape he came to better terms with his role as a father, and he gained perspective on the impacts that his actions had on Melanie. However, he does not seek meaningful forgiveness for, nor does he fully accept the consequences that his actions had on Melanie. The last sentence of the novel, where David gives up the dog, symbolically represents David giving up his youthful identity, and accepting his older, more paternal role.

Question 25

Theme of femininity

Answer 25

The women in Disgrace play major roles, as they show the experience and treatment of women, but with each women showing a unique perspective. Due to the third person limited narrative, readers see femininity mostly through David’s perspective. David places a female’s value in their physicality and their aesthetic and sexual appeal.

Question 26

David and Lucy’s relationship (theme of love and support)

Answer 26

Lucy offers refuge to David, she casually mentioned that she had heard abt what happened but does not press David for details and explanations. However, after Lucy’s rape, David continuously insists that Lucy should talk about what happened to her, rather than allowing her the space that Lucy said she needed. Coetzee shows that sometimes all that is needed is the presence for emotional support, which David doesn’t learn until after he attacks Pollux and Lucy asks him to leave.

Question 27

Dogs

Answer 27

Coetzee uses the recurring references to dogs to emphasize the novel’s interest on social status and personal disgrace. This is shown by how Petrus begins on par with the dogs (dog-man) but throughout the book his social status climbs, severing his relationship with the dogs (David is the opposite). Coetzee often uses the dogs to reflect David’s personal internal problems - as he dives deeper into disgrace, his character becomes more closely aligned with the dogs

Question 28

Melanie rebelling against David (QUOTES)

Answer 28

“she is behaving badly, getting away with too much; she is learning to exploit him and will probably exploit him further”
“[Melanie] raises her chin, meets his eye defiantly”
“she seems to want to say… I am no longer just a student. How can you speak to me like this?”

Question 29

Melanie rebelling against David

Answer 29

Melanie gains a small amount of power within the relationship, due to the twisted social dynamics. The student-teacher relationship has been damaged and when David attempts to get it back, Melanie is resistant and defiant. David only likes imbalances of power when he is the one in charge.