A professor of Religious Studies who serves as the chair of the disciplinary committee that hears David’s sexual harassment case. Like Farodia Rassool, Mathabane recognizes David’s insincerity throughout the disciplinary hearing and repeatedly tries to persuade him to treat the process more seriously. However, it’s also clear that he wants to help David keep his job. In fact, he even calls David at home several days later and tells him that the Rector is prepared to let him retain his position if he issues a public apology—an apology that Mathabane has presumably written himself on David’s behalf. Despite this gesture, though, David declines to issue this statement, prompting Mathabane to say, “David, I can’t go on protecting you from yourself.” Not long after this conversation, David is asked to resign from the university.
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Manas Mathabane Character Timeline in Disgrace
The timeline below shows where the character Manas Mathabane appears in Disgrace. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...place in a room next to Hakim’s office. The committee is made up of Manas Mathabane (a religious studies professor who is chair of the committee), Farodia Rassool, Desmond Swarts (dean...
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“That is the sum of it?” David says when Mathabane lays out the charges. He then says, “I am sure the members of this committee...
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...the “community” deserves to know what, exactly, David has done and why he’s being punished. Mathabane, for his part, adds that the committee is certainly clear about why David is being...
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...what they want him to and that they can’t force him to prove his “sincerity.” Mathabane wraps up the hearing and dismisses him. On his way out of the building, David...
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Not long after the hearing, Mathabane calls David at home. He explains that the Rector will avoid “extreme” disciplinary “measures” if...
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