Rape And Rape In Literature

Samantha Sipe

Dr. Kara Kvaran

Intro to Women’s Studies

21 April 2014

Rape Culture Highlighted Through Literature

Post-Apartheid South Africa has some of the highest sexual violence numbers in the world. From just 2011-2012 over 64,514 rapes were reported, according to the Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust, while they estimate the true number to be over 500,000. South Africa is considered to be a country with a “culture of violence” that “sees violence as a legitimate means of resolving conflicts – a culture where ‘tough, aggressive, brutal and competitive masculinity is promoted’ and weakness regarded, with contempt, as feminine” (“Rape in South Africa”). This culture of violence and rape is seen in the novel Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. In a time of political unrest and changing power dynamics of Post-Apartheid we see a backlash against women in this novel by both the newly powerful black men and also the white men who are threatened by the change in the status quo. The sexual experiences of the main character David Lurie portray how skewed South African society views women: his sexual experiences run the gamut from a stoic business exchange (his relationship with the prostitute Soraya) to an impassioned and desperate attempt to feel powerful and young (Lurie’s affair with his student Melanie). The implications of sex on a culture’s view of masculinity and femininity appear frequently in Coetzee’s novel. The male characters in Disgrace use and abuse women throughout the novel, David even goes so far as to claim that culture shouldn’t expect creatures to act outside their nature. Sex is a major theme throughout Disgrace; the different purposes behind each sexual experience in the novel shines a light on the resounding power struggl...

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...ng to satisfy desire. This is thrown back in his face when his own daughter is used in a way David usually uses women, and he finally begins to see that the treatment of women in South Africa is horrible and degrading. Why is this still acceptable in the modern world? Why do men feel the need to dominate women to show off their masculinity? These are all issues Disgrace attempts to tackle. Literature is one of the best ways to educate and help move people to a more peaceful and understanding train of thought. Disgrace is definitely a difficult novel to read, but without difficulty there is no growth, no new breakthroughs. Hopefully one day, women will not be afraid to go out alone in South Africa, will not be afraid to raise their voices in disagreement with the controlling patriarchy, and will not be afraid to embrace their femininity and all that it entails.