Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Disgrace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Desire and Power
Shame, Remorse, and Vanity
Violence and Empathy
Love and Support
Time and Change
Summary
Analysis
David Lurie is fifty-two, twice divorced, and has “solved the problem of sex” by visiting a prostitute named Soraya every Thursday afternoon. In an apartment rented by the prostitution agency, he and Soraya have sex and pass the time. He has even begun to feel truly affectionate toward her because he “takes pleasure in her,” and he can almost convince himself that she feels the same. In fact, he has considered asking to spend time with her when she’s not working, but he knows he’ll lose interest in her in the morning if they ever spend a night together. This, he knows, is his “temperament,” which he doesn’t believe can change, since he’s “too old for that.”
From this initial snapshot of David Lurie, it’s clear he’s a man driven first and foremost by desire. Instead of focusing on romance, David sees sex as a “problem” that can be “solved” by simply having it on a regular basis. He also isn’t ashamed of his sexual yearnings or the fact that he is only interested in Soraya as a sexual being. By believing that he’s “too old” to change his “temperament,” he effectively gives himself an excuse to continue doing what he wants without having to examine his impulses, ultimately avoiding genuine self-reflection in order to pursue his sexual appetite.
Themes
David frequently “unburdens” himself by talking to Soraya about his private life, but she doesn’t tell him stories in return. Despite his willingness to talk about personal matters, he avoids speaking about his job at Cape Technical University, mainly because he thinks he’ll bore her. He used to be a professor in Classics and Modern Languages, but was recently demoted to an adjunct position when his department was reconfigured into a Communications department. Now he teaches courses he doesn’t care about, except one class in the Romantic poets, which the university has allowed him to continue offering. This is somewhat demoralizing, since he has written three books about poetry and opera, but none of this seems to matter to anyone anymore.
David’s demotion has led him to feel underappreciated, as he considers the fact that his new colleagues don’t care about his scholarly work. His career doesn’t lend him a sense of fulfillment, which is perhaps why he so unabashedly follows his sexual desires, since this is one way he can eke out satisfaction in an otherwise unrewarding life. The fact that he’s comfortable speaking to Soraya about his personal life suggests that he feels at liberty to say and do whatever he wants in her presence, whereas she has to remain guarded. In turn, readers see that David has no problem engaging in sexual connections that have uneven relational dynamics.
Themes
The fact that his ninety-minute sessions with Soraya satisfy him so much surprises David. Indeed, he “used to think he needed a wife, a home, a marriage,” but now he sees that all he needs is a weekly appointment to have sex with a woman who won’t even share her real name with him. Unfortunately for him, though, his arrangement with Soraya changes when he sees her and her two sons walking in the city one day. Making eye contact, he immediately “regrets” spotting her in public. Not long after this encounter, Soraya tells him she won’t be returning to the prostitution agency because she has to “take a break” to care for her ailing mother. When he asks how he’ll be able to reach her, she tells him to call the agency.
Again, Coetzee underlines the fact that David is primarily interested in satiating his sexual desires, not engaging in actual romantic relationships. However, he soon discovers that even transactional relationships like the one he has with Soraya can be delicate and complex. Indeed, as soon as he (accidentally) works his way into Soraya’s private life, their impersonal arrangement suffers, ultimately demonstrating that no matter what he’d like to tell himself, Soraya doesn’t actually care about him on a personal level.
Themes
Several days later, David calls the prostitution agency and asks for Soraya, but they tell him they can’t give out her information. He books an appointment with another woman who has taken the fake name Soraya, but he finds her “unpractised” and unsatisfying. For his entire life, David has benefited from his striking good looks, never having any trouble attracting women. Now, though, he is disconcerted that women don’t look at him the way they used to, which is why he has started seeing prostitutes. He has also flung himself into several ill-advised affairs with his colleagues’ wives. In the wake of Soraya’s disappearance, he takes his department’s secretary out and, on their second date, they go to his house and have sex, though he avoids her in the following days.
It’s again made clear how little David thinks about other people when it comes to his personal (and sexual) relationships. A vain man who takes pride in his ability to attract women, he now feels desperate to satisfy his desires—so desperate that he won’t hesitate to sleep with the spouses of his colleagues, nor will he think twice about rudely using a coworker to relieve his sexual yearnings. David prioritizes what he wants over all else.
Themes
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Sometimes David thinks it would be better to be castrated than to see the death of his sexual powers. This, however, isn’t something a person can ask a doctor to do, so he continues to obsess over Soraya, eventually tracking down her number and calling her at home. When she answers, she says, “I don’t know who you are. You are harassing me in my own house. I demand you will never phone me here again, never.”
For a man who’s so focused on his own sexual desires, it’s surprising that David thinks—even in an offhanded way—about castration. However, it’s obvious that he only fantasizes about this because it would make his own life easier, not because he recognizes the fact that his fixation on his yearnings ends up hurting other people. In keeping with this failure to consider how his actions make other people feel, he calls Soraya at home, violating her privacy even though it’s clear she wants nothing to do with him anymore.
Themes
