Coming to terms with guilt

Guilt may be conscious and unconscious, but it stays with us no matter how much we try to forget it.

Over these past weeks, I came across two pieces of literature that coincidentally had a similar premise. The first one is a novel–‘Atonement’, by Ian McEwan. The novel’s premise lies in the protagonist Briony’s strive to atone (ie, make amends) for a childish naïve mistake she had made as a young girl throughout her adult life. Similarly, the second one is the Shakespearean play ‘Macbeth’, where the protagonist Macbeth, along with his wife, also struggles with the repercussions of their actions. It becomes so heavy for them that they start to lose touch with reality and are driven to insanity.