Survival in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Defending Lurie in Coetzee’s “Disgrace”

Abstract

Coetzee’s “Disgrace” unerringly a work of magnificence, ventures into the life of David Lurie, a white South African professor, in a world where men such as him have been castrated of the powers they once possessed and is induced to re-evaluate his entire being, at an age when he believes change is improbable. Set in Post-Apartheid South Africa, it narrates the journey of Lurie, the trials and tribulations he undergoes and eventually an unwilling acceptance of self, putting up a facade of life. This study endeavours to defend Lurie’s mindset against the charges brought by Melanie at Cape Town and the charges brought by Lucy against his desensitization towards her resolution owing to his own pride. It also endeavours to disenthrall the theme of survival through Lurie’s as well as Lucy’s pursuit of the fine art of living in a culture that lies ravished and the struggles they faced stepping into a new journey. With Lurie’s redemption and Lucy’s resurrection, commence the consummation of each struggle bringing forth a reconciliation with the self.