Law And Literature In Dostoevsky And Machado de Assis

Abstract

The interdisciplinary study between law and literature provides a broad view of these two areas of knowledge not only distinctly considered but also in their multiple relationships. Dostoevsky (1821-1881) and Machado de Assis (1839-1908) were endowed with extraordinary talent for entering the depths of the human soul. Both were acutely aware of the injustice of the laws of their time. The Russian author was an assiduous reader of Criminal Law and knew well the intricacies of the Trial by jury to write his masterpiece, the novel The Brothers Karamazov, while Machado de Assis leaned over the Civil Code to write his most famous novel -Dom Casmurro.