August wilson's the piano lesson and the limits of law

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Law, Culture and the Humanities

Publication Date

6-1-2008

Abstract

August Wilson's The Piano Lesson features a debate between an African American brother and sister over the ownership of a richly symbolic piano, a family heirloom that represents the Charles family's slave heritage and its endurance through Reconstruction. Ownership questions like the one presented in The Piano Lesson can usually be resolved in the courts, but Wilson's play suggests that the law might be unable to resolve property disputes so problematically entangled with the legacy of slavery. Wilson offers, instead, a non-legal resolution to the piano debate presented in his play. © 2008 Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities.

Volume

4

Issue

2

First Page

280

Last Page

291

DOI

10.1177/1743872108091477

ISSN

17438721

E-ISSN

17439752

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