American Literary Realism and the Failed Promise of Contract

In American Literary Realism and the Failed Promise of Contract, the author explores the interplay between contract law and literary realism in late nineteenth-century America, a time when both contract law and realism shaped cultural, legal, and social landscapes. The text argues that while contract law in theory emphasized the freedom to negotiate obligations among individuals, it fell short in practice by failing to dismantle deeply entrenched inequalities associated with race, class, an...