David Lurie is a grown man with a desire for love-making. In the beginning of Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee, Lurie sleeps with one of his students. She files charges against him, and Lurie is questioned by a school council for his actions.
While being questioned by the committee, Lurie is asked his opinion on his actions. He pleads guilty, but he will not admit to being wrong. While Lurie does not read the statement the student made, he knows that she is complaining about the affairs they have had together. To this, he pleads guilty, acknowledging that the he did indeed sleep with his student. However, when asked to admit he was wrong in doing so, Lurie refuses. He claims he “became a servant of Eros (52).” Lurie does not think he was wrong in sleeping with his student because he dilutes himself into thinking he is in love with his student, and should be able to act on his desires. The male persons on the council try to help Lurie out of his situation, granting him options, such as taking up counseling, to which he replies, “I am beyond the reach of counseling (49).” This gives insight into Lurie’s mind. He believes men should be able to act on their desires. He chooses not to take this way out of his problem because he does not feel the need to admit he was wrong. By admitting he is wrong, he is admitting he is not superior to women, he should not be allowed to act on his desires, and he was not acting for love. Lurie is a stubborn man and holds strong views. He will not yield to change, and thus, accepts that he must leave the school. To Lurie, this punishment is not as great as if he had admitted he was wrong, because it makes his views wrong.
When Lurie leaves, he goes to live with his daughter, Lucy, in the country. After living there for a few days, three men appear and attack them. The house is robbed, the dogs are killed, Lurie is set on fire, and ironically, Lucy is rapped. When Lurie rapped his student he said it was an act of love, but when his daughter is rapped, he says “it was a crime (111).” Lurie is worried for his daughter and shows his fatherly side when he repeatedly asks if she has seen a doctor and “he wishes [the men] harm (107).” He wants to make sure is daughter is not hurt, physically or emotionally. During these moments, it seems as though Lurie is changing, beginning to understand that rape has permanent consequences on the woman. However, there continue to be comments which suggest Lurie still does not see his past actions as wrong. The statement “How they put [Lucy] in her place, how they showed her what a woman was for (115),” shows that Lurie still sees women as objects. The way this is stated, as a fact that women are for pleasure, depicts Lurie’s view of women. It shows that he has not changed his views and that he thinks men have reason to act on their desires. He is truly hurt that this has happened to his daughter, but he cannot bring himself to change his views, and continues to see women as pleasurable objects.
Because it is Lucy who is rapped, and not just another girl, it seems as though Lurie has potential to change his views. He may finally accept that rape is wrong and hurtful action. However, at this point in the story, his views are still clouded by his past beliefs and he is unable to change his opinion. While he has not yet changed, there is hope that he still might be able to.
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I agree with what you said as Lurie seeing women as mere objects. He only really acknowledges the attractive women because they are the ones that he sees as being sexually desirable. He feels no shame in wanting these desires and feels men should act on them, rather than see the opportunities pass by. However, when his own daughter gets raped, he sees the true consequences of a man's desire. He realizes that the rape that they implemented on her was these men's desire. He realizes now how acting upon a desire could in fact negatively affect someone else. So I agree with how you state that he does show the "potential" to change. Overall I liked how you integrated the quotes within your blog. You did well in explaining why these quotes were needed to explain your point. There are a few misspells but other than that, this explains some aspect of how David Lurie has changed when he moved to the country.
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