Human cruelty in literature

A well-established study course and research path, still flourishing in the Catholic University of Milan, is intent upon exploring the connection between “Literature” and “Justice”, especially with regard to the fields of criminal law and criminology. Literature is deemed particularly apt to reveal and let perceive as “cruel” (and thus obnoxiously superfluous)) not just punishments and penalties of certain kinds (e.g. torture, death penalty, etc.), but in general any overgrown need for the infliction or acceptance of “legitimate” sufferings expressed by our societies. This punitive attitude often stems from mentalities and practices rooted in institutions, social groups or individuals which are unable or unwilling to pay the “due attention” to those unique stories of human beings whose “open end” and “metamorphic” qualities perhaps make up the core of their dignity. It’s just literature which, “cultivating our humanity”, may lead common people and law practitioners to discover and cherish these stories and the dignity therein.