Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee
David Lurie
- Intelligent 52-year-old professor in Cape Town (Specialises in Romantic Poets)
- Vain “ladies man” who thinks a lot about sex
- Hungry for power through sexual relationships
- Lucy's father who is twice divorced
Lucy
- In her 20s
- Lives alone in the Eastern Cape
- Had a partner – Helen
- Raped by Pollus during an attack but decides to keep the child
Melanie Isaacs
- 20-year-old university student
- Has a sexual relationship with David but is very passive
o Unable or unwilling to say no
- Files a sexual harassment complaint against David that leads to him leaving the university
Petrus
- Works on the farm with Lucy and lives on the property with his pregnant wife
- Interested in expanding his land and becomes disinterested in the farm
- Friends with the man who raped Lucy (Pollux)
- Offers to marry Lucy to keep her safe
Bev Shaw
- A middle-aged woman living in the Eastern Cape
- Avid animal lover- volunteers for the Animal Welfare League (a clinic)
- One of Lucy’s only friends
- Ends up sleeping with David and cheating on her husband (Bill)
Bill Shaw
- Bev Shaw’s husband
- Simple, but kind
Pollux
- One of three men who attack David and rapes Lucy
- Teenager with cognitive challenges
, Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee
Mr Isaacs
- Melanie’s father
- School principal
Soraya
- A prostitute who David visits at the beginning of the novel
- David stalks her in public and she stops being his prostitute
Ryan
- Melanie’s boyfriend/ex-boyfriend
- Menacing presence – unhappy with David using Melanie
Rosalind
- David’s second wife who is still friends with him
- Supportive of David but admonishes his actions in the novel
The Disciplinary Committee
Aram Hakim – wants to help David
Elaine Winter – “never liked” David
Farodia Rassool – accuses David of not showing remorse
Manas Mathabane – wants to help David
Desmond Swarts – wants to help David
(The men want to help David while the women do not like him)
J.M. Coetzee
David Lurie
- Intelligent 52-year-old professor in Cape Town (Specialises in Romantic Poets)
- Vain “ladies man” who thinks a lot about sex
- Hungry for power through sexual relationships
- Lucy's father who is twice divorced
Lucy
- In her 20s
- Lives alone in the Eastern Cape
- Had a partner – Helen
- Raped by Pollus during an attack but decides to keep the child
Melanie Isaacs
- 20-year-old university student
- Has a sexual relationship with David but is very passive
o Unable or unwilling to say no
- Files a sexual harassment complaint against David that leads to him leaving the university
Petrus
- Works on the farm with Lucy and lives on the property with his pregnant wife
- Interested in expanding his land and becomes disinterested in the farm
- Friends with the man who raped Lucy (Pollux)
- Offers to marry Lucy to keep her safe
Bev Shaw
- A middle-aged woman living in the Eastern Cape
- Avid animal lover- volunteers for the Animal Welfare League (a clinic)
- One of Lucy’s only friends
- Ends up sleeping with David and cheating on her husband (Bill)
Bill Shaw
- Bev Shaw’s husband
- Simple, but kind
Pollux
- One of three men who attack David and rapes Lucy
- Teenager with cognitive challenges
, Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee
Mr Isaacs
- Melanie’s father
- School principal
Soraya
- A prostitute who David visits at the beginning of the novel
- David stalks her in public and she stops being his prostitute
Ryan
- Melanie’s boyfriend/ex-boyfriend
- Menacing presence – unhappy with David using Melanie
Rosalind
- David’s second wife who is still friends with him
- Supportive of David but admonishes his actions in the novel
The Disciplinary Committee
Aram Hakim – wants to help David
Elaine Winter – “never liked” David
Farodia Rassool – accuses David of not showing remorse
Manas Mathabane – wants to help David
Desmond Swarts – wants to help David
(The men want to help David while the women do not like him)
