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tionoftheimagesbecomesevenclearer,sinceDostoevsky’sentire
effortisspentoncreatingPavel’simageastheineffablyinnocent
victim(whoseultimateidentificationisChrist–theparadigmofan
enigma)–inordertodissimulatehispoliticalengagementagainst
theFather(God-Tsar-Dostoevsky)representedbyNechaev.what
ismore,suchmanipulationbyDostoevskyisonlypossiblebecause
Pavelisalreadydeadandonlyasdeadcanhisimagebemaintained
asbenign.
ThistruthhavingbeenregisteredonKneutral”grounds,thenext
novelcanreturntothecolonialcontextandstartwithwhatit
foundinPetersburg,thatis,withtheimageofthejouisseur.But
notonlythat:whatissuperimposedonsuchanimageisprecisely
theliberaldiscoursesofamiliarfromtheearliernovels,butbecause
ofsuchasuperimpositiontheobscenesmileofenjoymentlurksin
itscracks.Thus,DisgraceisCoetzee’sbestnovelpreciselybecause
itisleastsentimentalandleastdeluded.AlthoughinAgeofIron
theperverseenigmatisingdevicewasabandonedandtheconfronta-
tionbetweenthetwoincompatiblefiguresoftheotherwasposed,
yetassoonastheywerepresentedtheybecametotallysentimen-
talisedbyCurren’smelodramaticdiscoursewhichtranslatedthem
intoalovableandunlovableother(theunlovabledestroyingand
thelovablesupportingKhumane”identifications).InDisgrace,there
isnovictimonthesideoftheotherandthemomentithappens
identificationwiththeotherbecomestotallyimpossibleforthelib-
eralLurie.Henceweencounterthelimitoftheliberalnovel:the
momentthevictimdisappears,andwithhimourexultationinour
outrage,whichistheultimatesupportofliberalidentification,we
becomeconfrontedwiththemonstrousanddisgustingotherwho
thoroughlytraumatisesourdiscursivespacesincehedoesnotseem
toenjoyourliberalvalues.whenthereisnovictimavailableon
thesideoftheother,suddenlyallthesentimentalisingassumesits
properplace,andratherthanbeingspentoncreatingthespaceof
theineffablewithinthediscourse,itisspentbyLurieonmourning
himselfandhisvictimiseddaughter.Yettheultimateachievement
ofthenovelliesintakingastepfurtherandpresentingawhite
victim,Lurie’sdaughterwhohasbeenrapedbyblacks,whodoes
notacceptthesentimentalising/aggressivediscourse(twosidesof
thesamecoin)inwhichLurietriestoexplainawayherreaction
totheirnewplacewithinthepostcolonialspace.
Afterwhathasbeensaidabove,thefailureofSlowManisnot
surprising.Init,Coetzee’susualmannerofwritingistakenoutof
thecontextinwhichithadbeenpossibletostiritsKcompassionate”
~12~
