Articles

Domestic violence in a literary work (Zsigmond Móricz, It is nice and good at the end of the world)

Published:
2017-12-30
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Pápai-Tarr, Ágnes. (2017). Domestic violence in a literary work (Zsigmond Móricz, It is nice and good at the end of the world). Debreceni Jogi Műhely, 14(3-4), 66-76. https://doi.org/10.24169/DJM/2017/3-4/10
Abstract

In my study I am going to present a rather complicated issue, namely a few problems of domestic violence based on a less-known short story by the Hungarian writer Zsigmond Móricz. I chose this story because it is still relevant today, it could even be set in 2017, as it basically depicts domestic violence in its complexity. This story by Móricz proves that the phenomenon of domestic violence is not at all new, given that in the beginning or the middle of the 20th century we can see the same complex social problem which present-day criminal law has to face. Hungarian society 50 or 100 years ago was not exempt from domestic violence either. We may also claim that the factors enhancing domestic violence were even stronger than today. The story aligns several dimensions of domestic violence, as it shows examples of both child and wife abuse. I am going to analyse the crimes depicted by Móricz according to the criminal laws effective today, and I just tangentially touch upon the judgment of the offences in the age of writing. This way, first I analyse the questions of child abuse, focusing on the right of punishment, which is still relevant in today’s criminal system as a cause for miscarriage. Then I present a detailed analysis of the bearing of case of partner abuse in the framework of violence in relationships, which exists in Hungarian criminal law since 2013.