Abstract

In this article, I explore an aspect of J. M. Coetzee’s novel Disgrace. The novel deals with the complexity of post-apartheid South Africa, in which violence, inequality, and poverty are part of the everyday lives of the people. The central character of the novel is David Lurie, a university professor of English Literature whose specialism is Romanticism but who is disillusioned with the higher education system he now finds himself in. The aspect of the novel I wish to focus on, however, turns the attention more towards his daughter Lucy. A key event in the novel is the gang rape of Lucy, which is partially witnessed by her father. Lucy remains silent about her rape and, when questioned by her father, refers to it as a ‘purely private matter’. As it happens, Lurie himself has been charged with sexually assaulting one of his students. In my discussion, I will examine how Lucy’s silence should be viewed in the light of movements such as ‘Speak Out’, which see speech primarily in terms of political efficacy. While I do not doubt the value of these forms of activism in some respects, I point out their limitations and risks: they may oversimplify the situation and hide ethical responsibilities. I will point out how Lucy, in her silence, resists Lurie’s adoption of the dominant narrative by opening up the possibility of seeing language differently. Speech is to be understood not primarily as a matter of the representation of a state of affairs, but more fundamentally in terms of ethical human relationships with others.