Disgrace, #3 (14)
Posted by: vickyleigh on: October 28, 2009
Okay, so, what I’d really like to discuss here is David sleeping with Bev Shaw. I mean, come on!!!! Who here saw that coming?! Honestly?!
I did the reader’s equivalent of a double take when I got to that part. I had to read it twice. It seemed like such a bizarre thing even for someone as screwy as David. He says again and again how unattractive Bev is; how she’s nosy, plain, even ugly (84). He seems vaguely annoyed by her for no apparent reason, although he is mystified by what she does with her animals. Even after they hook up, he says, “…this is what I have come to” (150). That’s so mean!! I just can’t see where he got the motivation to sleep with her. Where did the impulse come from? He doesn’t appear to feel sorry for her. He doesn’t seem overly horny. He’s got much more important things to focus on (i.e., his daughter). And yet, out of nowhere, he decides to do this. Anyone else confused? I just want to know what he was hoping to accomplish here. He mentions “doing his duty”, and that now “Bev Shaw can feel pleased with herself” (150), but I honestly think he’s deluding himself. He didn’t do it for her. He is surprised she’s offering herself to him, and assumes she’s new to affairs. The line that I think would be the biggest clue to his motives here is on 149, when Bev first propositions him: “Almost he asks, ‘Why?’, but then has the good sense not to.” Is he just being a typical male, thinking with his penis? Like, oh, I don’t know why this plain little woman is coming on to me, but I shouldn’t refuse because any ass (no matter how ugly) is still a piece of ass??
I really hope he doesn’t break her heart. I don’t understand Bev’s motives here, either, but I still like her more than I like David. She doesn’t deserve to be used by him. Yes, she propositioned him, but does she have ANY clue what she’s getting into?!
5 Responses to "Disgrace, #3 (14)"
October 29, 2009 at 11:09 am
After reading this encounter with Bev, I was shocked as well. I believe that when he says “this is what I’ve come to..” it goes back to the beginning of the novel where he states that he now has to pursue the women. “Overnight he became a ghost. If he wanted a woman he had to learn to pursue her; often, in one way or another, to buy her.” True that in this case he’s with Soraya and “buying” his satisfaction, but I also think it rings true for Bev. He goes on to say that “ageing is not a graceful business…..proper business of the old: preparing to die.” As he gets older, the choice of women will be few in his mind. And now that he’s in the middle of nowhere, the odds are even worse. Because he classifies himself as a womanizer, he is going to just get what he can get—Bev included, whether he likes the women or not. I think it shows David’s truly self-centered character. Does he think before he acts?
October 29, 2009 at 5:35 pm
I definately did not see this coming either! It came out of nowhere, but I guess there weren’t any other women around and said “she’s not very good looking but I need to have sex right now” lol. What a sicko. This guy will really sleep with anyone. Pretty gross if you ask me.
November 1, 2009 at 12:55 pm
First of all, I think your line, “I shouldn’t refuse because any ass (no matter how ugly) is still a piece of ass” is hilarious, but it also captures David (and probably a big portion of the male population) extremely well. I thought David hooked up with Bev because he was feeling kind of disfigured after that attack and thought that he and Bev were more a like than they were before. I read Bev as being the stronger character in this scene because she goes after what she wants and doesn’t seem to get emotionally attached to David or have any delusions about this encounter ending in a relationship. I saw David as questioning who he is after having his appearance destroyed and using Bev as a way to reclaim a part of who he was before the attack.
November 10, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I was confused by it originally. I still have no solid idea about what was going on or why, but I do have some speculation. At some point in the beginning he made comments on how whores existed to protect the young from the sight of the old in the throws of passion. Perhaps here he is just accepting his age and trying to allow himself pleasure in someone his own age. He hasn’t had any strong relationships previously, so this relationship isn’t likely based on anything stronger than another of his whims. As for Bev I can think of no reason why she should cheat on Bill. He’s such a sweet man I don’t think he could refuse her anything. The only motivation I could think of from her would be that she is unsatisfied with the sexual relationship. It does bother me and makes me wonder if there are any good characters. Everyone seems so jaded, and I hate to say it, but extremely real.
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- tomneeson: Helen's quote about Bob having to be more than Mr. Incredible was really a good bit of foreshadowing, because the whole plot of the movie centers on B
- jennifer m: i agree with you about david being knocked off his pedestal. he was so arrogant at the beginning of the novel about everything. he judged lucy's life,
- Michelle Breitbach: I was confused by it originally. I still have no solid idea about what was going on or why, but I do have some speculation. At some point in the begin
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October 28, 2009 at 11:13 pm
In reading this part I too was shocked. But the more I thought through it all the more I realized this had little to do with a sexual need and more to do with Lurie’s mid-life crisis. He is just realizing that he isn’t this attractive, suave man anymore. The problem he is facing is that even though his appearance has changed, his preference hasn’t. I think that this is his subconscious attempt at accepting his old age.