Open AccessStarting From a Ground Level: A Hope of Reconciliation in Lucy’s Silence and Subjection in Disgrace
Author(s) -
Xue Chen
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
theory and practice in language studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-0692
pISSN - 1799-2591
DOI - 10.17507/tpls.1111.13
Subject(s) - scapegoat , hatred , silence , interpretation (philosophy) , forgiveness , white (mutation) , gender studies , sociology , psychoanalysis , history , psychology , art , theology , law , social psychology , political science , philosophy , aesthetics , politics , linguistics , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
This paper focuses on Lucy’s double predicaments as a white woman in post-apartheid South Africa in J.M. Coetzee’s novel Disgrace. As an heir of settler history and as the other to men in the patriarchal society, Lucy becomes a scapegoat of history and is raped by three black men. With a post-colonial interpretation of Lucy’s rape, this paper interprets Lucy’s silence about her rape and subjection to the blacks as her efforts to achieve a peaceful relationship with the blacks. Her determination to love the child bred in hatred by the black rapists shows a hope of reconciliation between whites and blacks through forgiveness and love.