J. Coetzee - Disgrace

In the old days he would, at this point, have stormed out. But tonight he does not. They have grown thick skins, he and Rosalind, against each other.

The next day Rosalind telephones. 'David, have you seen today's Argus?'

`No.'

`Well, steel yourself. There's a piece about you.'

`What does it say?'

`Read it for yourself '

The report is on page three: 'Professor on sex charge', it is headed. He skims the first lines. `. . . is slated to appear before a disciplinary board on a charge of sexual harassment. CTU is keeping tight-lipped about the latest in a series of scandals including fraudulent scholarship payouts and alleged sex rings operating out of student residences. Lurie (53), author of a book on English nature-poet William Wordsworth, was not available for comment.'

William Wordsworth (1770-1850), nature-poet. David Lurie (1945-?), commentator upon, and disgraced disciple of William Wordsworth. Blest be the infant babe. No outcast he. Blest be the babe.

SIX

THE HEARING IS held in a committee room off Hakim's office. He is ushered in and seated at the foot of the table by Manas Mathabane himself, Professor of Religious Studies, who will chair the inquiry. To his left sit Hakim, his secretary, and a young woman, a student of some kind; to his right are the three members of Mathabane's committee.

He does not feel nervous. On the contrary, he feels quite sure of himself. His heart beats evenly, he has slept well. Vanity, he thinks, the dangerous vanity of the gambler; vanity and self-righteousness. He is going into this in the wrong spirit. But he does not care.

He nods to the committee members. Two of them he knows: Farodia Rassool and Desmond Swarts, Dean of Engineering. The third, according to the papers in front of him, teaches in the Business School.

`The body here gathered, Professor Lurie,' says Mathabane, opening proceedings, 'has no powers. All it can do is to make recommendations. Furthermore, you have the right to challenge its makeup. So let me ask: is there any member of the committee whose participation you feel might be prejudicial to you?'

‘I have no challenge in a legal sense,' he replies. 'I have reservations of a philosophical kind, but I suppose they are out of bounds.'

A general shifting and shuffling. 'I think we had better restrict ourself to the legal sense,' says Mathabane.

'You have no challenge to the makeup of the committee. Have you any objection to the presence of a student observer from the Coalition Against Discrimination?'

‘I have no fear of the committee. I have no fear of the observer.'

`Very well. To the matter at hand. The first complainant is Ms Melanie Isaacs, a student in the drama programme, who has made a statement of which you all have copies. Do I need to summarize that statement? Professor Lurie?'

`Do I understand, Mr Chairman, that Ms Isaacs will not be appearing in person?'

`Ms Isaacs appeared before the committee yesterday. Let me remind you again, this is not a trial but an inquiry. Our rules of procedure are not those of a law court. Is that a problem for you?'

`No.'

‘A second and related charge', Mathabane continues, 'comes from the Registrar, through the Office of Student Records, and concerns the validity of Ms Isaacs's record. The charge is that Ms Isaacs did not attend all the classes or submit all the written work or sit all the examinations for which you have given her credit.'

`That is the sum of it? Those are the charges?'

`They are.'

He takes a deep breath. 'I am sure the members of this committee have better things to do with their time than rehash a story over which there will be no dispute. I plead guilty to both charges. Pass sentence, and let us get on with our lives.'

Hakim leans across to Mathabane. Murmured words pass between them.

`Professor Lurie,' says Hakim, 'I must repeat, this is a committee of inquiry. Its role is to hear both sides of the case and make a recommendation. It has no power to take decisions. Again I ask, would it not be better if you were represented by someone familiar with our procedures?'

‘I don't need representation. I can represent myself perfectly well. Do I understand that, despite the plea I have entered, we must continue with the hearing?'

`We want to give you an opportunity to state your position.'

‘I have stated my position. I am guilty.'

`Guilty of what?'

‘Of all that I am charged with.'

`You are taking us in circles, Professor Lurie.'

‘Of everything Ms Isaacs avers, and of keeping false records.'

Now Farodia Rassool intervenes. 'You say you accept Ms Isaacs's statement, Professor Lurie, but have you actually read it?'

I do riot wish to read Ms Isaacs's statement. I accept it. I know of no reason why Ms Isaacs should lie.'

`But would it not be prudent to actually read the statement before accepting it?'

`No. There are more important things in life than being prudent.'

Farodia Rassool sits back in her seat. 'This is all very quixotic, Professor Lurie, but can you afford it? It seems to me we may have a duty to protect you from yourself ' She gives Hakim a wintry smile.

`You say you have not sought legal advice. Have you consulted anyone - a priest, for instance, or a counsellor? Would you be prepared to undergo counselling?'

The question comes from the young woman from the Business School. He can feel himself bristling. 'No, I have not sought counselling nor do I intend to seek it. I am a grown man. I am not receptive to being counselled. I am beyond the reach of counselling.' He turns to Mathabane. 'I have made my plea. Is there any reason why this debate should go on?'

There is a whispered consultation between Mathabane and Hakim.

‘It has been proposed', says Mathabane, 'that the committee recess to discuss Professor Lurie's plea.'

A round of nods.

`Professor Lurie, could I ask you to step outside for a few minutes, you and Ms van Wyk, while we deliberate?'

He and the student observer retire to Hakim's office. No word passes between them; clearly the girl feels awkward. 'YOUR DAYS ARE OVER, CASANOVA.' What does she think of Casanova now that she meets him face to face?

They are called back in. The atmosphere in the room is not good: sour, it seems to him.

`So,' says Mathabane, `to resume: Professor Lurie, you say you accept the truth of the charges brought against you?'

‘I accept whatever Ms Isaacs alleges.'

`Dr Rassool, you have something you wish to say?'

`Yes. I want to register an objection to these responses of Professor Lurie's, which I regard as fundamentally evasive. Professor Lurie says he accepts the charges. Yet when we try to pin him down on what it is that he actually accepts, all we get is subtle mockery. To me that suggests that he accepts the charges only in name. In a case with overtones like this one, the wider community is entitled -'

He cannot let that go. 'There are no overtones in this case,' he snaps back.

`The wider community is entitled to know', she continues, raising her voice with practised ease, riding over him, 'what it is specifically that Professor Lurie acknowledges and therefore what it is that he is being censured for.'

Mathabane: ‘If he is censured.'

‘If he is censured. We fail to perform our duty if we are not crystal clear in our minds, and if we do not make it crystal clear in our recommendations, what Professor Lurie is being censured for.'

‘In our own minds I believe we are crystal clear, Dr Rassool. The question is whether Professor Lurie is crystal clear in his mind.'

Иxactly. You have expressed exactly what I wanted to say.'

It would be wiser to shut up, but he does not. 'What goes on in my mind is my business, not yours, Farodia,' he says. 'Frankly, what you want from me is not a response but a confession. Well, I make no confession. I put forward a plea, as is my right. Guilty as charged. That is my plea. That is as far as I am prepared to go.'