Fiction For Feminist Jurisprudence: The Power Of The Literary Reality In Feminist Legal Scholarship

This paper asks what can it mean when we take women's stories and their realities seriously and allow them to paint a more nuanced portrayal of life and law? I will argue that a feminist legal theory — which aims to recognize and remedy the subordination of women seen through the legal system — needs a literary counterpart. Furthermore, I will argue that subtleties and nuances that make literature so alluring to us can also benefit in part from the structure and clarity that feminist jurisprudence can offer. One of my central aims is to show that we can create a more meaningful, empathetic, and truly just study and practice of the law by rearranging how to address feminist jurisprudence in a way that doesn’t draw from the same problematic power dynamics it hopes to remedy. I want to show my readers that literature must be part of the solution because it has a unique capability to profoundly reframe our perspectives on social norms and practices. I urge us to consider that this very capacity for reframing our perspectives on life can extend within our legal system and become an essential part of working toward a more representative and just law.