Student Question
In J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, why doesn't Lucy report her rape?
Quick answer:
Lucy does not report her rape because she views it as a form of communication rather than just a violent act, reflecting her pragmatic approach to societal pressures and her identity as a lesbian. She believes the attack was an unconscious attempt to "mate" rather than purely assault. Lucy's decision to accept her pregnancy and continue living by her principles on her farm demonstrates her resilience and refusal to let the incident define her life.
Disgrace is an award-winning 1999 novel by J.M. Coetzee.
In the novel, David Lurie goes to live with his daughter Lucy after he is fired from teaching for sleeping with a student. Lucy is a lesbian and a farmer, and tries to help her father deal with his personal issues. When she is raped, David is shocked and furious, and wants her to press charges against the rapists, but she refuses.
Lucy's acceptance of the rape and her pregnancy from it is an example of her attitudes towards men and women, and towards societal pressures. She sees the rape as a method of communication, not strictly violent assault, as the men around her do not accept her lesbian lifestyle. Lucy also accepts her pregnancy because she believes that her rapist unconsciously wished to father a child: "They were not raping, they were mating" (Google Books). Lucy's attitude is pragmatic and somewhat passive, but she also seems to accept herself as a part of a larger world without needing to subjugate herself to it; after the rape, Lucy continues to live on her farm according to her own principles, refusing to allow the rape to define her life.
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