Comparative Analysis of Victor Hugo’s The Last Day of a Condemned Man and Leonid Andreev’s The Seven Who Were Hanged: A Thanatological Study

As the world modernizes, expectations for the enhanced enjoyment of basic rights often contrast with the reality of their contestation or reinterpretation. The right to life, one of the most fundamental rights, has increasingly been interpreted merely as the right not to be killed. Literature, as a reflection of societal values, offers a unique lens to explore this evolving interpretation of the right to life. This study examines Victor Hugo’s The Last Day of a Condemned Man and Leonid Andreev’s The Seven Who Were Hanged through comparative literature and thanatology, focusing on death and the defense of the right to life. Employing a comparative-thematic approach guided by thematology, it incorporates René Wellek and Austin Warren’s humanist perspective, Susan Bassnett’s interdisciplinary lens, and Sigmund Freud’s Eros-Thanatos psychoanalytic framework. The analysis systematically explores key motifs, such as nature, time, and psychological states, and themes of execution and freedom, unveiling death’s biological, psychological, and sociological layers. The findings reveal that both authors critiqued the death penalty and upheld life’s sanctity within a thanatological context, bridging their unique cultural settings. The study demonstrates how the right to life serves as a unifying force across disciplines, geographies, and cultures, highlighting literature’s role in understanding this fundamental right.