Disgrace: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

On a walk the next day, David and Lucy talk again about what happened with Melanie, and she gently suggests that he pursue women his own age, though her comments aren’t terribly judgmental or critical. Still, though, David quotes William Blake by saying, “Unacted desires can turn as ugly in the old as in the young,” going on to add that each of his romantic affairs have always made him a “better person.” In response, she says that she hopes he doesn’t also mean that he has made his lovers “better people,” too, though she immediately says she’s joking when he gives her a wounded look.

That weekend, David accompanies Lucy and Petrus to the Saturday farmer’s market, where Lucy has a booth and many loyal customers. At the market, Lucy introduces him to her friend Bev Shaw, who is in charge of the local Animal Welfare League outpost. Although his daughter has clearly taken to Bev, David finds it difficult to like her, since he “does not like women who make no effort to be attractive.” On their way back to the farm, they end up paying a visit to the Animal Welfare League, where David meets Bev’s husband Bill, whom he finds just as plain and unlikable as Bev. On the way home, David admits that, though he respects such ardent animal-lovers, they make him want to “go off and do some raping and pillaging” or “kick a cat.” This offends Lucy, who senses that David is insulting her way of life.