A Gender Perspective on the Possession of Power in J.M Coetzee's Disgrace : David and Petrus' usage of women

Abstract: This essay deals with sexual power abuse in J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace. The essay focuses on the two characters David and Petrus and their way of acting. The question asked is simply: how do these two men use women to gain their power? And how do they deal with women? The result can be summarized in the following way: at the beginning the male characters tear women apart till they become totally insecure and thus they can control them completely. Petrus remains this way but as time goes by, David’s thoughts of women gradually changes. The essay also focuses on how David and Petrus shift in power. David, who started out as strong, becomes weak, and Petrus develops in the opposite direction and I am going to argue that this is a result of their relations to women. The essay uses a gender perspective and it can be considered a guide to the sexual abuse in Disgrace.