[lit-ideas] Re: Murder in two cultures

Norman, our sojourner!  We kept a light on in the window for you all this time 
and you returned!  What an interesting premise.  I can't answer your question, 
but I believe France has a "crime of passion" defense.  Since we don't have 
that, turning one's self in in France is less riskier than in the U.S., where a 
jail term is guaranteed.  Seems to me that whenever I hear about a man killing 
his wife and/or kids in the U.S., he usually follows it by killing himself.  I 
can't think of any case in the US where a man killed his wife and then turned 
himself in.  
  



-----Original Message-----
>From: Norman Miller <nm1921@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Apr 11, 2007 9:43 PM
>To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [lit-ideas] Murder in two cultures
>
>Here's a problem I've been working on.  US newspapers frequently 
>report cases of men killing their wives, then turning themselves 
>in.  Presumably it happens in France, though I don't know.  What 
>I do know is that where murder followed by surrender shows up not 
>infrequently in French literature and film (Julien Sorel, 
>Lacenaire, etc.) I have not been able to find a single example in 
>American fiction or films.  If this is so there's room for some 
>interesting speculation, but before wasting time on the latter it 
>would be prudent to make sure that my survey of the American 
>scene is accurate.
>
>I would therefore appreciate learning of any work of American 
>imagination in which a murderer doesn't try to escape but instead 
>surrenders to the state.
>
>Norman Miller
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------
>To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
>digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

------------------------------------------------------------------
To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,
digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html

Other related posts: