I can't think of any (American) 'serious literature' serious literature in which a killer turns himself in immediately after the act, although I'll bet that there are some mystery/detective novels in which this happens. I'm not sure what this says about the French and American psyches, so I'd be interested to know what Norman's conjecture is, and how it would be confirmed or disconfirmed by finding such examples in American literature.
Irene is mistaken in thinking that the 'crime of passion' version of the 'provocation defense' isn't used in the US, or that if used, fails. It once was fairly common although I think that most states have abandoned it. However, if you can show that you acted 'on the spur of the moment,' because of extreme provocation, you'll escape Murder One (by definition). I think that in Texas, and in the South generally, the stereotypical enraged husband might, not all that long ago, have escaped serious punishment for killing his wife's lover, upon finding wife and lover discussing the Romantic poets, in bed. I'm sure some part of that is no longer true.
Murder-suicides are indeed quite common in the US but they're not what I'm after. While less common, we read of murder-calls to the sherriff from time to time. As for the crime passionel defense, the literary examples I have in mind (Le Rouge et le Noir, Les Enfants du Paradis, Casque d'Or, etc.) plead guilty tout court and head straight for the guillotine. That is indeed the point of the story. But not it seems in the American imagination. I only hope that someone comes up with examples to prove me wrong.
Since I no longer read serious literature, I'm unlikely to. But I'll keep my ears open.
Robert Paul The Reed Institute ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
