The Concept of Law and Justice in the Select Novels of William Dean Howells

Abstract: The present research paper centers on “The Concept of Law and Justice in the Select Fictions of William Dean Howells”. It is clear from the novels that Howells rejects any concept of law or justice as absolute in human experience. Rather, law and justice are problematic and, in a pragmatic manner, are subject to the test of experience. Man’s knowledge about universal laws, for example, is imperfect and obscure because of the limitations of his human nature. In situations involving a conflict of interests or goods, justice is not automatically secured by following some abstract concept of law. Justice or injustice inheres in a situation according to action taken to resolve a conflict. Criteria for judgment, then, are not absolute but are discovered through inquiry into the actualities of a situation with a view toward effecting consequent good for the persons involved; and good is not only for the short run; it is for the long run as well