Disgrace: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

That night, David recognizes that he has insulted Lucy, so he gets up from watching TV with Petrus and finds Lucy in her room. “It’s not working out, is it?” he asks. “Shall I leave?” However, Lucy tells him to sit down and then says that everything is fine, adding that she’s “glad” to have him. The only problem, she says, is that David needs a little time to “adjust” to life outside the city. She suggests that he should start helping Petrus around the property and volunteering with Bev Shaw at the Animal Welfare League, though he points out that he doesn’t think he’ll get along with her. “You don’t need to hit it off with her,” Lucy says, but David says this all sounds “suspiciously like community service.”

After talking to Lucy, David goes out to the pens and lies down next to Katy, eventually falling asleep by her side. Later, Lucy wakes him up and the two of them talk about whether or not dogs have souls. David argues that they don’t, and the discussion turns again toward Bev Shaw, who often has to put dogs down. “She is a more interesting person than you think,” Lucy says. “Even in your own terms.” This last sentence gives David pause, as he suddenly wonders what she means by his “own terms.” As he thinks about this, a wave of sadness passes over him for Katy and, in truth, everybody in his life. He apologizes to Lucy for being an inadequate parent, and then agrees to help Bev at the shelter.