Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee Page B

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 not 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