‘All are equal before the law.’ Discuss with reference to the codes and conventions in Fontane’s Effi Briest

Introduction

Equality before the law is a principle that seeks to denote that every independent being should be treated equally under the law. The premise of this principle is that all people are subject to the laws of justice in society¹. This infers that no one should be discriminated against as all are entitled to equal protection under the law. Notably, societies have existed with the disproportionate treatment of people under the law with privileges granted to the elites. However, the notion of equality has evolved throughout history whereby the elites are subjected under the same rule of law¹. Primarily, societal practices have made elites subject to the same laws as all people are bound by the common law. The social and moral conventions in the novel Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane depict the fact that all people are subject to societal laws during this period.