The Relationship between Law and Literature in Contemporary German Literature

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between law and literature in contemporary German literature. Current trends of this relationship will be discussed, starting from the long tradition of the so-called Dichterjuristen (lawyers who are also writers), such as Goethe, Kleist and Kafka. Firstly, theoretical backgrounds of law in literature will be presented, after that specific topics, genres and aesthetic particularities of the texts in question will be identified. The contribution analyzes novels by the German authors Juli Zeh and Ferdinand von Schirach and their adaptions for cinema and TV (the TV series Crime for the German TV channel ZDF based on Ferdinand von Schirach's collection of short stories of the same title, and the miniseries A Menina sem Qualidades, an adaptation of Juli Zeh's novel Spieltrieb for MTV Brazil).