WHITE GUILT IN POST-APARTHEID NOVEL DISGRACE

A Dissertation

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School

of Pokhara University

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Philosophy

by

Shree Krishna Suwal

Institute of Advanced Communication, Education and Research (IACER)

December 2013
 ABSTRACT

This thesis proposes a reading of J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace to bring forth 'white guilt'

which is pervading in the post-apartheid period of South Africa. The main aim of this thesis is to

provide a brief insight into the historical, cultural and political development of South Africa

some time before and some time again after black got freedom. Nearly seventy years back there

was racial segregation in South Africa where black had to suffer in the name of racism. What is

proposed is that, Coetzee has highlighted a key issue that in post-apartheid period white has to

suffer from black and white takes this suffering as a part of atonement. Instead of complaining to

the police, white accepts it as a part of their destiny.

The purpose of this thesis is to show the white guilt through the main character of novel

Disgrace, Lurie. Lurie is raped in her village and her house is vandalized but she refuses to

report it to police but accept it as a fate. Lurie wants to suffer because she thinks that it is

reparation of guilt what her ancestors had committed on black in the name of racism.

I have examined closely on it especially the act of Lurie on that particular situation and

found that it is merely not a white guilt that not let her to complain about the assault but it is

merely a white submissiveness to continue a life in such a pervasive situation. If Lurie

complains, she will be killed and if she wants to continue her life in that bizarre milieu she has to

keep mum and accept what is going on. I have chosen this novel Disgrace for several reasons.

Firstly, it is considered to be a typical post-apartheid novel containing terrible condition of post-

apartheid people. Secondly, it is a novel that deals with the peculiar behavior of character in post-

apartheid situation. And finally, J. M. Coetzee is considered to be one of the most significant

authors of the 20th-century literature.