Politics of Affect of Shame and violation of Human Right in Coetzee's, Disgrace

JM Coetzee's novel Disgrace was written in post-apartheid era of South Africa when South African society had still been in transition, practicing sense of responsibility to others. The byproduct of revolution, and truth and reconciliation process had still been haunting the nation when Coetzee wrote this novel. Furthermore, it was written in a period when Nelson Mandela was in power and it was written in the back ground of Truth and Reconciliation commission (TRC) established. It evokes about what was happening in South Africa at the end of the twentieth century. 
Coetzee’s novel also resonates with the national public spectacle of shame, confession, and forgiveness that was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, problematizing notions of morality. This novel depicts the picture of white domination to black and black outrage towards white while in post-apartheid era. When David Lure raped a black girl he defines as natural desire "I was a servant of Eros" (52), he said he had not done any crime, he is male he must have feeling to girl. "We have right to satisfy our desire " (90). It was kind of exude logic, this is kind of irony that how white justify their guilt of rapping with blacks but his sorts of exploiter logic leads towards human rights violence but David does not realize. But when his own daughter raped by three black, then he knows what rapping is. When he himself under goes there after big transformation took place, his turn at that time, he realized, how that black girl violated. Now he realized the enormity of his deeds. This also suggests a strong (ironic) reference to the Truth and Reconciliation process. Lucy awaiting the birth of a child conceived during a violent rape, a child who will be of “mixed race,” the symbol of a change in “tenancy” of the land, is at the very least an ambivalent message of hope and defeat.  'Forgive and forget' was the aim of TRC as Mandela could not ignore TRC but pushed and later balance it,  blacks should get justice to pressure down the black's trauma. Towards the end of the novel David realizes his guilt and realizes the "shame" paved the way to   the multiple cultural living of South Africa.

As Disgrace, written in the background of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in the post-apartheid South Africa, which created lots of discourse after its publication. Ian Glenn, in his essay, “Gone for Good- Coetzee’s Disgrace”, has categorized reviews of the novel as presenting “pessimistic view of the university” (81), evoking “racist” (81) issue and so on. African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson Jeff Radebe, as quoted in Glenn, issued that “white will lose their cars, their weapons, their property, their rights, their dignity, white women would have to sleep with the barbaric black men… the author of such thoughts should emigrate if he saw things that way” (84). The novel proved “pessimistic statement” (84), to Glenn, when Coetzee decided to migrate to Australia shortly after the publication of the novel in 1999, and announced from there that South Africa can be “no place for whites” (85). But Coetzee’s popularity was climbing high, as he got Nobel Prize for literature in 2003.

Gayatry C. Spivak, in her paper “Ethics and Politics in Tagore, Coetzee, and Certain Scenes of Teaching”, examines ethics and politics behind the portrayal of Lurie and Lucy in the novel. The exploiters in the novel do not realize the shameful life like animals, but Lucy does. She accepts herself to be Petrus’s concubine. She doesn’t want to make abortion. For Spivak, “this is not acceptance of rape, but refusal to be raped, by instrumentalizing reproduction” (21). Spivak sees Lucy’s remarks on the only available animal life as a source of transformation in Lurie toward “ethical lessons of some sort” (21).

 The above researches have not been devoted to the issue of Politics of affect of Shame and human right perspective. Why didn’t David realize his mistake of having sex with his own student? What was the politics of Lucy to the forgive her rapist? Was there any human right violation within the behavior of David lure and 3 black rapists? Is David is person to get reader's sympathy? The reason to create those events in the novel in South African context from rapping to forgiving is to maintain reconciliation among social harmony among whites and blacks in post apartheid South Africa. The unwanted situation, problems of characters and intention of the author are dealt with in this research, are to evaluate the novel from the perspective of politics of Affect of Shame theory in particular and also accounts theory of human rights in novel.

David Lure middle aged 52 a white professor depicted as "Sexual Bug" who has “solved the problem of sex rather well” (1) He seduces his student, Melanie, “thirty years his junior” (12), with “serpent’s words” (16). During the intercourse, “she is passive… her hands slack above her head… frown on her face… she frees herself, gathers her things, leaves the room” (19), these line indicate the sexual exploitation of a black girl. Sexual relation between teacher and student is illegal. His life of disgrace starts from now onwards. . He was “enriched by the experience” (56) but he fails to realize his guilt he said he had not done any crime, he is male he should have feelings to girl. Ruth Leys mentions in her essay From Guilt to Shame that: "Guilt has traditionally belonged to the intentionalist pole of that debate, since guilt has been understood as involving the subject's conscious or unconscious intentions toward some person or object" (125). If David Lure have written apology could have saved him from being sacked from the university. Written apology was “a compromise or commitment for reformation of character” (66), he accepts the charges though. He’d rather “prefer simply to be put against the wall and shot” (66). To Lucy, he “shouldn’t be so unbending” (66). He is unaware of the “feelings of other(s)… trapped in selfish egocentric subjectivity” (Sarvan 26).

 Disgrace is a complex exploration of the collision between private and public worlds; mind and body; desire and love; and public disgrace or shame and the idea of individual grace or salvation. David Lure feels as if he was a servant of Eros, God has acted through him. The justification of his guilt rapping with black girl is irony; the way the exploiter tries to justify his deeds. David does not realize his justification this could lead to violence of human right. Here, Ruth mentions:

Shame is now considered more productive than guilt because it is thought that, whereas the actual or fantasmatic acts that produces guilt feelings are principle irreversible, or at least inexpungeable, feelings of shame concern aspects of selfhood that are imagined to be amenable to correct or changed.(124)

According to Coetzee, he believes that “the self cannot tell the truth of itself to itself and come to rest without the possibility of self-deception. True confession does not come from the sterile monologue of the self or from the dialogue with its own self-doubt, but [. . .] from faith and grace” (Doubling 291). " I have no challenge in a legal sense,' he replies.' I have reservations of philosophical kind but I suppose they are out of bound."(47) When his act come to notice of confrontation he cannot defend his case the way he philosophies himself was wrong kind of philosophy. ".. The claim is that averted downcast eyes of the shamed individual and accompanying bodily sensations are the product of built-in, inherited physiological systems of reaction or "affect programs" that are inherently independent of any intentional object."(Ruth 126) as he feels himself he is a man of desire still he is not ready to go through repentance of his guilt. He is denying his values, values here is his wrong deeds and told the truth clearly. If he had acknowledged feeling of shame could have bring change on him which would allow him to live in present in better way than before. So through this novel Coetzee's politics is to bring shame of post apartheid African in public. "Writing shame as part of an ethical practice. Shame forces us to reflect continually on the implications of our writing"(Probyn, 73). So, shame as an affect which leads to corrective behavior. Shame is a private thing and writing on shame is making public.

When the novel was written in South African set up, at that time people used to use power over powerless. The power dynamics are clear. "He has it; she doesn’t", means to say, he-David-white whereas she Milani-black girl having no powere. The literary dive is to make the comparison with South Africa coming out of apartheid. David is a fascinating character. He is determined to only be himself and not to modify himself to meet the needs or requirements of another. "shame enlarge the man" (Deleuze 1997,121) But he is not a best person; he would have been best person if he could realize shame of his guilt. In the essay Writing shame Elspeth Probyn writes: "Shame as merely a personal affliction. While many have argued the shame as about self-evaluation or more precisely the evaluation of the self by the self"(81).

At the time when this novel was written the side effect of truth and reconciliation process had still been haunting the nation mostly to the white. Blacks were demanding punishment for white. Black found best time to show rage and revenge towards white. Lucy was the one who victimized by the blacks. She is raped by three black men. Lucy was so much traumatized by the incident. She says, "I am dead person and I don’t know yet what will bring me back to life"(161). When Devid turned to what happened with his daughter Lucy he realized, how that black girl violated by him now he realized the enormity of his deeds. His daughter made him realize his own fault. In such way Deleuze:

"A Body affects other bodies or is affected by other bodies; It is this capacity for affecting and being affected that also defines a body in its individuality…..and it is a capacity for affecting and being affected pertaining to the body or thought…thinking is altered in its direction speed intensity, or sensibility..(Deleuze, 1992, 625)

Now David forced to deal with his own brutal assault and horrifying rape of his daughter.  Lucy talks about the absolute hatred she saw in the faces of the three black men who abused her, and David suggests it's "ancestral". "Is it a question? A declaration? What game is Petrus Playing?" (Coetzee 137) David who is mocking at his life but when wrong happens to his daughter's life he feels to get justice to his daughter. "He- this thug- was here before, with his pals. He is one of them. But let him tell you what it is about. let him tell you he is wanted by the police." (Coetzee 137) Here he is demanding needs of human right to his daughter and he wanted to let to those rapist why the police are looking to them. But Lucy protects, one of the rapists, named Pollux. She says, “This can’t go on, David” (208). She doesn’t report her case, being raped, to the police. It shows the Coetzee's politics to show the condition of Post-apartheid quite positively portraying   Lucy as an example who knows situation clearly about the aftermath effects of forgiveness as beautiful, that it stops the chain of violence and revenge. In The Cultural Politics of Emotion Sara Ahmed states in her essay that " Because we love, we hate, and this hate is what brings us together." (45) Lucy, who under goes through Gang-rape, has her certain vision about her life. She doesn not want any interruption form any one: "I must have peace around me. I am prepared to do anything, to make any sacrifice, for the sake of peace" (208). Burggraeve mentions: “justice and human rights cannot be accomplished unless they are rooted in an unconditional willing- good- for- the- other” (107). Burggraeve intention is to forgive the unforgivable hat Lucy ready to forgive the rapist and live in the protection of Petrus. For her, "practically speaking, there is only Petrus left, Petrus may not be a big man but he is big enough for someone like me"(204). The so-called white superior Lucy is compelled to turn toward Petrus, a black Peasant, for protection, which bears the reality of society that everyone he/her own importance in community to run it smoothly. Such situation indicate that post-apartheid African are ready to forget what happened to them in the apartheid Africa, "a unhappy past" and accept the present easily. In the easy Shame before others Sara Ahmed quotes, " the 'nation', in recognizing the wrongfulness of the past is moved by the injustices of the past"(102).

Lucy's acceptance of victimage, takes it as "purely a private matter"(112). David counters her saying this “the crimes of the past by suffering in the present” (112). "how this past injustice lives in the present?" ( Ahmed,102). Coetzee's depiction of Lucy's acceptance of her victimage might be Lucy is living in new Africa, According to Derrida, “forgiveness can only be considered on the condition that it be asked” (34). Forgiveness must lead to “transformation of the guilty” (Derrida, 34). We can understand this as until there is no repentance, no confession, and no transformation, there is no forgiveness. Such case is unforgivable. The rapists in Disgrace do not confess, however, Lucy forgives them, i.e., forgiving the unforgiveable. In the novel, Lucy says , “women can be surprisingly forgiving” (69)  so rapping to as blacks revenge of their painful past that they got form whites. Finally the realization of David's crime the feeling of shame indicate whites realization of their crime to blacks. The redemption and expression of apology was difficult for  David  probably because of in unwanted confession.“With careful ceremony he gets to his knees and touches his forehead  to the  floor” (173) "Shame monitors our sense of self" (Leys 131) The sense of shame in Disgrace can be noticed as a stronger appealing force. According to Sara Ahmed :

"shame is not necessarily evoked by an apology, and nor does it require an apology. An expression of shame can be a substitute for an apology, while an apology can be a substitute for shame. The depends on how it gets taken up. Shame in other words does not require responsible action, but it also does not prevent it” (120.)

When we go through the novel, Disgrace it explores character's shameful condition.  Like Lucy expresses her shameful life, “like a dog” (205) this reminds David his own ashamed inhuman deeds of rapping." Shame can also affect other concepts: such as the body and its relation to writing or rethinking" (probyn, 74)  through the below line Lucy reminds David's in human act:

When you trap her, hold her down, get her under you, pull all your weight on her- isn’t it a bit like killing? Pushing the knife in, exiting afterwards, leaving the body behind covered in blood- doesn’t it feel like murder, like getting away with murder? (158)

Feeling of shame arouses on David when his daughter is raped in front of him, he fails to protect her. This makes him to suffer in shame. Levinas rightly claims, as cited in Agamben, of the “impossibility of fleeing oneself to hide oneself from oneself” (105). David realizes his guilt makes confession out of shame. By reading Disgrace develop sense of shame to the reader. Coetzee has been successful in developing the sense of shame, the greatest moral force.

David seems unable to understand about social situation and Lucy desire to maintain social harmony. David's ignorance and racial prejudice finds Petrus and Pollux mentally deficient and the irony is he himself, a white professor, works under the same mentally deficient black Petrus and Bev Shaw, who are the illiterate black peasants. Lucy finally accepts to be Petru's wife  going to give birth to a mix raced child from the rape. Petrus is ready to do anything to upgrade his class standard. He is even ready to marry Lucy who is going to give birth to child from rape for her land. Lucy is portrayed as homosexual or bisexual by the focalizer but is going to give birth to a mix raced child out of motherly love and care..she is carrying at least equal or even more responsibility for her motherhood than other so called heterosexual characters.  Towards the end of the novel Coetzee indicates towards the hopeful South Africa.

" One morning he glances up to see the faces of three little boys peering at him over the concrete wall. He rises from his seat; the dogs start barking; the boys drop down and scamper off whooping with excitement. What to tell back hom: a old man who sits among the dogs singing to himself!" (212)

The above lines evokes love for black, love for marginalize. He is criticizing English language and demanding new kind of song, song means new language. Because, there is direct connection between language and domination. White Africa should hear the black's exploitation. Unless there is English language they are not going to get justice. Three black boys running away are being afraid by the dog "coughing". David is going to sing this song in opera. His opera song's subject matter would be very ordinary thing like "Coughing". This is what Disgrace is talking about the song which will have black at the center. Final affect of Coetzee lead towards David's realization of shame is very positive. In Sarah Ahmed essay Shame Before others mentions:

"Our shame is as necessary as their pain and suffering in response to the wrong of this history. The proximity of national shame to indigenous pain may be what Offers the promise of reconciliation, a future of 'living together', in which the rifts of the past have been healed"(101-102).

Shame is superior human quality and it is positive thing where as guild is negative thing leads to pessimism. The fictional setting of post-apartheid South Africa of 1990s where the domination and exploitation of whites seems to be expired along with David realization of shame and Lucy ready to live under the protection of Petrus and ready to give birth to a mix-raced of child out of motherly love and care indicates multiple cultural living in post apartheid Africa.

Work Cited

Ahmed, Sara. The Cultural Politics of Emotion: Shame before Others. Edinburgh University Press, 2004.Print.

Burggraeve, Roger. The Wisdom of Love in the Service of Love: Emmanuel Levinas on Justice, Peace, and Human Rights. Marquette University Press, 2002. Web.

Coetzee, J.M. Disgrace. United States of America: Penguin Books, 1911.Print.

Derrida, Jacques. On Cosmopolitanism and forgiveness. New York: Routledge, 2001.Web.

Leys, Ruth. From Guilt to Shame. Princeton University Press.2007. Print.

Probyn, Elspeth. The Affect Theory Reader: Writing Shame. Duke University Press. 2010.Print.

Spivak, Gayatri C. “Ethics and Politics in Tagore, Coetzee, and Certain Scenes of Teaching.” Diacritics (32- 3/4). Autumn- Winter 2002: 17- 31. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1566443>.