Recht dunkel, aber wahr (?): Honoré de Balzacs „Eine dunkle Geschichte“ im Spiegel zeitgenössischer strafprozessualer Rechtsvorschriften

Abstract

Having played a significant role in the development of the literary genre of the crime novel, Honoré de Balzac’s novel „A Dark Affair“ offers remarkable features not only from a literary but also from a legal perspective. In his overarching endeavour to capture the society of post-revolutionary France comprehensively and „physiognomically“, Balzac makes the criminal justice system his most important „magnifying glass“ in „Une ténébreuse affaire“. Beginning with a summary of the novel’s plot, the following considerations examine the extent to which the literary portrayal of criminal proceedings corresponds to the criminal procedural provisions applicable at the time. This analysis is intended to make an exemplary contribution to a detailed legal analysis of the crime novel.