Quotes:

  • “To begin with you don’t understand what happened to me that day. You are concerned for my sake, which I appreciate, you think you understand, but finally you don’t. Because you can’t.” (Coetzee 157)
  • “Maybe, for men, hating the woman makes sex more exciting. You are a man, you ought to know” (Coetzee 158)

 

Comment:

            These two quotes are pulled from chapter eighteen. They stem from the conversation that Lucy and David have in the car after finding out that the car found in New Brighton was not actually theirs. This conversation is one of the first times they really speak openly about the incident. David is attempting to show Lucy that he understands her pain, however Lucy sees that there is no way for David to truly understand. It would seem that David is unable to grasp this concept.

            This entire conversation reminded me of Catharine MacKinnon’s “Toward a Feminist Theory of the State.” Within her work, MacKinnon crafts an argument saying that the state, and therefore society, is seen from a male’s perspective, therefore women who are put in similar situations to Lucy often aren’t able to bring their attackers to justice. It is because the male mindset is unable to see things from the women’s point of view. Lucy’s situation is just that. She seems to not want to come forward because of the current societal climate and her lack of protection from those in power around her. David fails to understand or see this.

            In her work MacKinnon attribute quite a lot of this societal viewpoint to the media in particular the pornography industry. She blames it for portraying violence in a way that becomes accepted and even expected in today’s world. The second quote I chose seems to follow a similar train of thought. It would seem that Lucy is observing very similar things to what MacKinnon saw. What I think is particularly interesting is the fact that this book takes place in South Africa, a country that was not described or discussed by MacKinnon. I think it might be notable that such viewpoints can be shared across national boards.

 

Question:

            Is it possible for David to understand what Lucy is going through? Is it right that he is at least trying? Why or why not?