A comparative study of legitimacy and legitimation

Abstract

As brought out by the Shakespearian character in the famous tragedy, illegitimacy is an age-old issue of topical importance giving rise to much controversy and debate throughout the centuries. It is a problem of which the main protagonist is totally innocent, which is more than can be said in other matters. Yet the prevailing view, especially in the West, has been that the child born out of wedlock has perforce to bear the burden of society's ostracism and the discrimination of the law for something of which he or she is definitely not to blame.