Chapter 156: Violence kills, belief heals

Ickapoo seeks meaning. Meaning is not material or force, it is spiritual.

Not rape, not quite that, but undesired nevertheless, undesired to the core. As though she had decided to go slack, die within herself for the duration, like a rabbit when the jaws of the fox close on its neck. (Coetzee, 2000:25)

This quote refers to the time David has intercourse with Melanie at her flat and she is also described as holding back. Parallels between this situation and the later rape of his daughter may be drawn as it Melanie does not reveal whether she experiences the seduction as rape.Although she files a complaint against him, we and David never discover the details of her complaint and she does not speak about this here or elsewhere in the novel. Because of her lack of testimony, David’s morality is depicted as ambiguous and nebulous.

Scandal. A pity that must be his theme, but he is in no state to improvise. (Coetzee, 2000: 31)