So far, in Coetzee's novel, Disgrace, David Lurie ends up taking a down fall from all the trouble he has been through. At the beginning of the reading, we find out that David Lurie is a fifty-two year old attractive man and that he is a professor of Communications and Romantics. During his teaching, Mr. Lurie becomes attracted to a young girl, who is one of his students, and starts to have a fantasy by sleeping with the twenty-year old student. During the time Mr. Lurie was sleeping with the student, Melaine Issacs, she eventually confesses to the administration office and makes a complaint towards professor Lurie of sexual harassment. He then gets a notification that arrives in a envelope concerning the complaint that was put forth towards himself. The document described that he will be meeting with the committees of inquiry on behalf of Melaine's complaint.
David was committed and charged for sexual harassment and was fired from teaching. He admitted to all charges that he was guilty and agreed to what Melaine had to say about their relationship. David Lurie told the committee that he was guilty for having an affair with Melaine and so he admits that his actions were wrong. For instance, David mentions to Ms. Issacs "It was wrong, and I regret it" (54). He regrets having an affair with Melaine and said that it was wrong for him to do it because of her young age and she was one of his students.
After committing his charges and being fired from teaching, David decides to leave Cape Town and move to the country to see his daughter Lucy. David believes that leaving Cape Town would help him escape the media and the temptations of thinking about Melaine.
During his stay, David starts to change in a way of being more of a father figure towards Lucy and she describes him as an old man. He also seemed to have aged a lot now since he's been in the country. Before David came to the country, he had this mentality of seeing himself as a young man who had all these relationships with different women. During his past relationships,when he was living in Cape Town, he was very controlling towards women. Now that he is living in the county, we begin to see a change of character for David; which made him not the person he was before. David Lurie seems to have evolved into a character that's now older than younger. Women, however, are now controlling David by having him take over their responsibilities. Even his daughter Lucy has him helping out at the clinic with Bev Shaw.
We also see a change of character for David when three men violently attacked him and his daughter Lucy gets raped. He is trying to be more of a father now after the brutality that occured to him and his daughter. He is very concerned about the men who did this and now he wants justice to be served for the men who caused this significant trauma to his daughter.
Overall, I believe David is not the person he was before. Ever since he moved to the Country, he's encountered a lot of down falls towards himself. His attractiveness has faded away due to the burns on his face and now women are being controlling towards him. From the way it looks for David, I do believe, he is a complicated man where his life is just getting worse and worse.
Robert, this a good analysis, but I disagree on one thing. I do not think David feels he was wrong for sleeping with a student. He believes he is guilty by law, but by his own ethics and morals, he does not believe he is guilty. I think the only reason why he said, "It was wrong. I regret it" is because he was excessively pushed by members of the committee to admit his wrong. He only did it because he wanted to leave, so his words did not come from true feelings of regret. I do agree that he is now becoming the father figure for Lucy. He constantly worries about her daughter during and after the attack. Also, he is now doing his daughter's errands. Before he moved into the countryside, his only concern was satisfying his sexual desires with women whose circumstances he did not really put into consideration.
ReplyDeleteI think it is odd that you say Lurie admitted to being wrong during the committee session. I think this was only said to please the committee, and he never meant it, thus he never admitted to being wrong. While I agree that he has shown signs of change since he moved to the country, I don’t think he has completely changed his way. I wish you would have provided more examples to support your claims because I do not agree with your statement that his personality has changed drastically, and I do not feel convinced now. I agree with you and Shirla's comment above that he is becoming a father figure, and is more readily accepting his duties as such, as you say we can see while he is at the farm. I think you make a fair point that Lurie is changing, but I do not think he has accomplished a complete change in personality.
ReplyDeleteGreat detail in the beginning. But i have to agree with the two posters above me. David did not admitt he was wrong, but he did admitt he was guilty. Although after the dramatic events he experienced with lucy in the country, if he were to have to chance to stand in front of the school board once again, i believe his attitude and answer would be completely different.
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