by Aaron Dollhausen

Created on: September 23, 2010   Last Updated: September 25, 2010

Lord Byron in Coetzee’s Disgrace

    In J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, David Lurie attempts to write an opera about the time spent in Italy by the British poet Lord Byron. In certain passages of the novel, Coetzee approaches aspects of Byron’s life which may show roles in relation to events of the story. These roles may suggest parallels between Lurie and Byron. As the novel progresses, Coetzee shows how Lurie’s opera changes over time.

Coetzee introduces Lurie as a professor of communications who teaches a course about Romantic poets (Coetzee 3). Even though Lurie’s opera is not referenced, Lurie’s lecture on Byron’s poetry is the first time Byron is substantially referenced. During a lecture on Byron, Lurie recites a line from the poem “Lara”: “An erring spirit from another hurled” (32). Lurie indicates the “erring spirit” is Lucifer and explains, “Erring: a being who chooses his own path, who lives dangerously, even creating danger for himself” (32). Attending the lecture is Melanie, a student Lurie has an affair with, and her boyfriend (27, 30). When the boyfriend confronts Lurie about the affair, he says, “And don’t think you can just walk into people’s lives and walk out again when it suits you” (30). After the confrontation, Lurie discovers that his car was vandalized and suspects the boyfriend (31). Conducting an affair with a student which causes confrontation and vandalism suggests Lurie could be an “erring spirit.”

Lurie reads another passage:
 
He could
At times resign his own for others’ good,
But not it pity, not because he ought,
but in some strange perversity of thought,
That swayed him onward with a secret pride
To do what few or none would do beside;
And this same impulse would in tempting time
Mislead his spirit equally to crime. (33)

Lurie asks for an explanation of Byron’s depiction of Lucifer: “So, what kind of creature is this Lucifer?” (33). The boyfriend answers, “He does what he feels like. He doesn’t care if it’s good or bad. He just does it” (33). This answer suggests the inclusion of Lurie and Lucifer in the pronoun “he” and suggests Lurie acts without ethical consideration. When Lurie makes love to Melanie despite her reluctance, he does not believe he commits rape: “Not rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>