Il giustiziere: rappresentazioni cinematografiche e letterarie tra etica dei principi e trascendenza del diritto

Abstract

The object of this article is the conceptual character of the avenger. This figure should be understood in the relationship between ethics of principles and responsibilities. The action of the avenger, often represented in cinema and literature, can suggest the existence of a conflicting but theoretically stimulating connection between established and constituent power. More specifically, the avenger represents the ontological relationship between the law (which considers the crime) and the crime (which sometimes challenges the law in the name of the principle of justice). This key issue orients the private behaviour with reference to the State. As a conceptual character, the avenger represents the critical capacity to transcend the ordinary law through a logic of legitimation of individual actions radically different from those are considered by the ordinary law.