Law, Life, and Literature: A Critical Reflection of Life and Literature to Illuminate How Laws of Domestic Violence, Race, and Class Bind Black Women Based on Alice Walker's book The Third Life of Grange Copeland

Authors

Angela Mae Kupenda, Mississippi College School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Abstract

Consider Law, Life and Literature. Which of the three is the most real, honest, and inclusive? Many would answer the law because it takes into consideration all of the facts and circumstances to formulate a clear and consistent rule, and literature is the most unreal, the most fictional of the three. However, that is not accurate. Of the three, literature is actually the most real, honest, and inclusive. It is real because, with brutal honesty, it deals with all of our realities. It is more honest than life, for often in our outer (and even inner) lives we are afraid to tell the plain truth. Literature is more real than the law, for often our laws ignore the realities and truths for many of us. In this article, I use literature and life to explore the impact, especially on black women, of divorce laws and the movement toward fault.

Recommended Citation

42 How. L.J. 1 (1998).