Analyzing gender roles in J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace

Abstract

J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace appropriately represents multiple voices in order to explore the socio-political scenario of post-apartheid South Africa. He presents white, as well as native marginalized men and women in the novel distinctly. Throughout the story, the male figures have been portrayed as predators who show no remorse towards the women who become their prey. The issue of sex is also very complicated which includes crossing of boundaries in the form of rape, prostitution and forcing one to curb one’s natural sexual desire. This paper is written from the perspective of gender which centres on how men use women to gain and possess her power. It deals with the changing power dynamics between men and women and sexual abuse as portrayed in the novel.