Darren's case: narrative ethics in Perri Klass's Other Women's Children

Abstract

During the past fifteen years, the relationship between literature and medical ethics has evolved from the occasional use of stories as a substitute for the traditional case study in medical ethics to the emergence of a narrative approach to ethical analysis and decision making. Thus far, literary theory has been more important to narrative medical ethics than have works of literature themselves. Perri Klass's novel Other Women's Children deserves special scrutiny, however, because an analysis of it demonstrates ways that a narrative approach could enhance traditional philosophical and legal approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas in medicine.