The sword of sufferance : empathy in William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and Andrzej Sapkowski’s ‘The Witcher’

Abstract

This thesis explores how a text can provoke the readers’ emotions, mainly empathy and sympathy, through the use of particular tropes. The first chapter focuses on inhumanity and society by delving into how the suffering of the protagonists, be it mental or physical, invites the readers to empathise and sympathise with characters who appear to be quite inhuman at times. Furthermore, this chapter explores how the protagonists’ social class, as well as social injustices, influence the readers’ empathy, especially when the protagonists being compared are on opposite ends of the societal spectrum. The second chapter delves into how the texts provide an interplay between freewill and predestination, allowing the characters to make their own choices despite being the subject of prophecies. Indeed, freewill is fundamental for the readers’ empathy. Additionally, there is the concept of Otherness, which arises from a multitude of factors, including the protagonists’ choices and the fictional society’s perception. Lastly, the third chapter provides an application of Bertolt Brecht’s theory of the 'Verfremdungseffekt', depicting how particular moments in the texts invite the readers to question the motivations behind the protagonists’ actions and, consequently, their own empathy with the characters.