Echoes of guilt

Abstract

This dissertation examines how conscience, guilt, and moral conflict are portrayed across time through a comparative study of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, and selected modern narratives. It explores how internal collapse unfolds in different historical and psychological contexts. The first chapter analyzes the moral frameworks shaping Macbeth and Raskolnikov ranging from divine order and political authority to existential crisis and nihilism. The second chapter examines their psychological decline using existential and psychoanalytic ideas, demonstrating how inner destruction is caused by guilt and identity fragmentation. The last chapter takes the conversation into the digital era by examining how modern media, such as Fleabag, BoJack Horseman, and online confession culture, change conscience. Despite irony and self-performance, guilt remains central. The study concludes that while the form of conscience changes, its presence remains a constant force in literature and human experience.