Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
This paper argues that A Mirror for Magistrates's fascination with the mutilated bodies of its subjects, and its compulsive retelling of ambition punished offer evidence of cultural trauma. The works of legal theorist Margaret fane Rodin and psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan are combined to explore the subjective consequences of changing conceptions of property.
This essay has benefitted greatly from suggestions made by Ian Sowton, Kim Micasiw, Elizabeth Harvey, and the two readers for RQ, Frank Whigham and Paul Budra. Thanks are also due to Mary Chan for introducing me to the work of Margaret Radin.