Transgressive Fathering in J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace

Abstract

This thesis examines David Lurie’s transgressive thoughts and behaviours in J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999) and draws conclusions about their function. Using Michel Foucault’s definition of transgression – which classifies it as a productive means to question tacit laws – the central argument maintains that David’s predatory behaviours, paradoxical rationalizations, and unboundaried ideas about fatherhood are necessary efforts to question various social roles in the context of the post-apartheid period. I also contend that David’s conflation of sexual desire and fatherly care in Disgrace points to one of Coetzee’s larger projects: to dismantle glossy ideas about nuclear family structures and to expose the white patriarchal Afrikaner ideals that persist in South Africa even after the end of apartheid.