The representation of women in Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee - Research Paper Example

The representation of women in Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee “Disgrace” is a 20th century novel published by J.M. Coetzee, a South African novelist. Thestory follows a South African professor, David Lurie, throughout a number of turbulent loss including his job and the reputation of teaching. Lurie has been divorced twice, and his disgrace comes from his sleeping with one of his students at his post as professor for English. Part of the irony of situation comes from factual that Lurie is studying Byron with his class at the time of the incident, and acknowledges that Byron himself would think the escapade particularly timid. Lurie goes to live with daughter, and all looks as though to be well, but there is an attack on the farm and his daughter is raped and impregnated. Evidently, there are a lot of scenarios in the story that involve the situation of women in South Africa and the representation of women in literature. Lucy, David’s daughter from his first marriage, is a strong female character who explores the most distressing consequences of patriarchy. The purpose of the paper is to explore how women are represented in “Disgrace” and how Lucy refutes the claims of patriarchy. Representation of Women in Disgrace Obviously any novel that covers important topics such as rape and father-daughter relationships such as “Disgrace” will cover a lot of ground when it comes to gender and the representation of women. “Disgrace” is a South African novel and therefore is likely to portray this in a South African way, so the representation of women is particularly interesting and highlights some important issues. David Lurie, the protagonist in disgrace, is portrayed as somewhat of a womanizer, being married twice and losing his job for having relations with one of his students. Lurie himself seems to view women as interesting and confusing, although he tries for empathy with his daughter Lucy. Whilst his actions may suggest a patriarch, he tells his young lover that he does not “collect women”. One interesting description of a woman is that of Mrs Isaacs, who is “obedient; a good wife”. This suggests that to be a good wife you have to serve your husband as Mrs Isaacs does, a relic of patriarchal society and an interesting thing to put alongside the later events in “Disgrace”. Another interesting way that “Disgrace” examines the role of women is by looking at the father-daughter relationship between Lurie and Lucy. These two characters could not be more different with the father an academic and Lucy choosing to live on a farm, one using ideas and the other using hands. The only thing that they share throughout the novel is shame and disgrace. The representation of Lucy is that she is independent and strong-willed, even after the rape. She refuses the help of her father, saying she “cannot be a child forever”, highlighting again that she is independent and somehow beyond the help of her father. She also calls him David rather than Dad, suggesting that she sees no subservience to him, highlighting her strong independent natures. This portrayal of a women is at odds with the actions that happen to her later, the rape and subjugation of her body and the shame that she feels, but she also does not report the crime a kind of obstinate act of independence again so her spirit does not change. Lucy also tends to refer to herself as an object, using such phrases to talk about herself as “I think I am in their territory. They have marked me. They will come back for me”. This is interesting and kind of different to her independence and strong will, because women being seen as objects is a hallmark of patriarchal society and therefore Lucy’s way of talking about herself is difference to her way of life. Evidently the men that raped her see her as an object too, an object for sex without any view of the consequences that come later (pregnancy, pain, possible veneral disease). This again suggests that women in South Africa have a certain role to play in their part of a patriarchal society and enduring rape is just one part of this which shapes the whole novel and gives an interesting insight. The book itself does not represent women as objects but merely highlights the view by using dialogue from Lucy. There are also examples of this treatment of women in the speech from Lurie’s lover, who asks him if he “collects women”. The Character of Lucy and Patriarchy Lucy is the female protagonist of “Disgrace” and presents some interesting views about the treatment of women in South Africa. One of the most shocking events in the novel is the violent gang rape of Lucy, which her father David Lurie feels powerless to prevent. To the audience, this must seem like shocking evidence of a patriarchal society and it would generally be expected that Lucy press charges. Lucy, however, refutes the claims of patriarchy in a number of ways. Firstly, she refuses to report the rape, describing it as a “personal” matter, a “woman’s burden, a woman’s preserve”. Patriarchy is an interesting claim in the South African context; whilst it evident other factors such as racial segregation play part in the saga. Lucy makes a number of references to the fact that her rapists were black men, which could be playing a part in the reasons why she is not claiming patriarchy as a blame and why she has decided not to report the incident to the authority. Lucy also puts rape into a purely female category alongside menstruation and childbirth, which hints that she might find sexual violence to be a burden of women rather than a violent act by men, again suggesting that it is not the result of a patriarchal society but of something inherent in gender relationships role. The character of Lucy is perhaps most interesting because of her sexuality. The narrator suggests that “Raping a lesbian [is] worse than raping a virgin: more of a blow”, and this may be linked to Lucy’s objection to claims of patriarchy and her reluctance to blame the men that raped her in the story. Lucy prefers the company of women, and it could assume that this is linked to her reluctance to acknowledge patriarchy. If someone does not have experience with something (in this case, Lucy has little experience with men) then they may be inclined to ignore the problems of it, or not understand fully. It should also be noted that Lucy knows that justice will probably not be served to the men that raped her because of the way that society is, and the fact that rape is seen by her and others as a “burden of women” rather than an actual crime. Interestingly many of Lucy’s actions in the novels seem to be informed by a history of patriarchy, terror and oppression, which means that she deals with the claims of patriarchy in her own way on a daily basis. She also refuses the help of men, including her father David, in dealing with her confusion and pain following the incident. She says to her father, “you think you understand, but you don’t”, again highlighting the fact that rape is a purely female concern that Lucy thinks is unnecessary to release into the world of men. Lucy suggests that possible “for men, hating the woman makes sex more exciting”, again suggesting that rape is not the fault of men, but something incidental in their biology. This quote again reinforms the point that Lucy does not necessarily understand men and their mindset for rape, but is inclined to think of it in this way. Conclusion The novel “Disgrace” covers a lot of ground when dealing with gender. David Lurie is an older man exploring his sexuality, having been married twice and disgraced for sleeping with a younger woman. He refusal to apologize from this act suggests that confession is distinctly feminine, something that should be avoided by men and is not necessary in cases of sexual abuse. It is also suggestible that David associates women with sexual pleasure because most of his interactions with women explored in the novel are in the context of sex or marriage, with the exception of his relationship with his daughter Lucy. Lucy in turn presents a very interesting view of female gender. Lucy undergoes gang rape by three men, and refuses to seek justice with the authorities. Interestingly, she suggests that rape is “a woman’s burden”, suggesting that she sees it as a fairly commonplace and intensively private act which should not be put in publics. “Disgrace” also explores how the fact of rape is seen in South African society and how this links with patriarchy and gender-based apologies, so it obvious that traditional gender roles inform many of the actions of David Lurie and Lucy’s rapists. References Coetzee, J. M. Disgrace. Penguin Books, 2000. Print. Read More