Of course, Coetzee puts Soraya's disgrace into context. Her case as a Muslim woman engaging in prostitution showed that her being a native of her country did not elevate her status nor improved her everyday life. She remained a prostitute who still felt the effects of poverty. Thus, for Soraya, disgrace is but a reality reserved only for people like David, white South Africans who used to have control and power in their country.
David and Lucy, his daughter, had experienced disgrace in the most conventional manner: David was stripped of his status as a professor and member of the affluent class of society, while Lucy was sexually assaulted by the robbers who invaded their farm. Both had been disgraced, though each had different reactions...
Surprisingly, Lucy accepted what happened to her, and in fact, did not consider what happened to her as a disgrace, the reason being: "...what happened to me is a purely private matter. In another time, in another place it might be held to be a public matter. But in this place, at this time, it is not." Lucy had an understanding that her rape was not a reason for disgrace, in the same way that Soraya did not consider her being a prostitute as a reason to be disgraced (at least when she's with David). It was only David who had difficulty adjusting to the new status and condition of his life who viewed the sufferings in his life as disgraceful events that he should remedy and do something about.
