Law as Practice: Hermeneutic Insights into Legal Issues in British Civil Courts from Ian McEwan’s The Children Act

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ian McEwan’s The Children Act serves as a profound narrative inquiry into the intricate legal challenges of British civil court practice. This paper responds to the scholarly omission of the law’s practical portrayal in the novel by foregrounding its hermeneutic dimensions. Beginning with the novel’s illustration of legal contradictions, the study examines law as a form of social praxis. It emphasizes the interpretive nature shared by both law and literature, and applies hermeneutic theory to elucidate the impact of individual subjectivities on the interpretation of law as depicted through the novel’s characters. Concluding with an analysis from the legal practitioners’ standpoint, the research navigates through the paradoxes and pragmatic realities inherent in legal proceedings. By conducting this hermeneutic exploration of The Children Act, the paper enhances our understanding of its thematic underpinnings and provides substantive hermeneutic contributions to the field of legal research.