[lit-ideas] Re: Murder in two cultures

I guess I am more interested in contemporary cultures because (I think) I know more about them, but in fact that skimpy knowledge is limited to very few, all of them western. In principle I have no objection at all to literary example from other places and other times.
I think you and Judy Evans are right about the risks of conflating revenge, honor killings and crimes passionels. In fact, I'm working on a new model that basically ignores the act altogether. If I succeed in getting out of the muddle I'm in at the moment, I'll post it forthwith.
Before leaving the present model, however, I wanted to report a modest hit: Raymond Chandler's _The Little Sister_. If I had the strength to wander through the thickets of Yoknapatawpha there might be some finds, though I suspect that they'd more likely occur in the towns and plantation houses of Faulkner's preposterous collection--right out of Walter Scott--of righteous gentlemen. Anyway, I suspect that if there are more literary examples to be found they'll be in the work of our southern romantics and sentimentalists. Poe for instance, if anyone can still abide him. 

nm



JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx Krueger wrote:
You've introduced another variable -- time-frames. Are we talking contemporary literature only? If not, how far past? Is this a free for all since the beginning of literature in every possible culture question? And yes, I agree that the distinction among revenge, honour, and crimes passionel is fairly critical to the question. Norm, are you intending to confine your question to "western" cultures? The possible number of answers/dialogues would explode exponentially if Asia and the Middle East were included in the query.

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