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The Challenge of Building an Inter-Communal Rule of Law in Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona

Abstract This article uses Helen Hunt Jackson’s 1884 novel Ramona to ground an exploration of the problems associated with building an inter-communal rule of law. A close reading of Jackson’s text reveals a rudimentary philosophy of law that comprises three central tenets: (1) a strong element of natural law thinking, which enables Jackson to construct an ideal of justice based on her conception of all individuals as members of a common humanity; (2) a critique of misunderstanding, most often rooted in ignorance, as a central stumbling-block to establishing a common legal system that unites different communities within a single territory; and (3) a deeper critique of incommensurability—the fundamental incompatibility of perspectives and values—as the greatest threat to the long-term possibility of an inter-communal rule of law, and consequently to the harmonious coexistence of different communities within a single territory.