Alienation amidst the collapse of ethical values in contemporary novels

Resumen

In contemporary literature, alienation emerges as a central theme in novels that portray the collapse of ethical values in modern society. The 21st century reflects a world marked by accelerated sociopolitical change, digital fragmentation, spiritual emptiness, and the weakening of collective belief systems. Alienation transcends personal psychological struggle, becoming a structural condition produced by the disintegration of traditional moral frameworks that provided meaning, identity, and belonging. This article examines the complex relationship between ethical decline and alienation in selected modern novels, exploring Western and Azerbaijani literary traditions. It analyzes how the erosion of moral values—honesty, loyalty, responsibility, and compassion—contributes to the psychological isolation, emotional numbness, and existential hopelessness of contemporary characters. These protagonists inhabit morally ambiguous worlds where ethical norms are relativized or rendered obsolete by modern ideologies, consumerism, or post-truth culture. Particular attention is paid to the representation of alienated individuals in urbanized, secularized, and technologically saturated environments. The characters appear trapped between individual autonomy and social disconnection, between internal moral conflict and external chaos. The study identifies recurring narrative patterns: loss of family ties, spiritual detachment, social apathy, and an overwhelming sense of purposelessness. Finally, it is argued that the alienated figure in the modern novel functions as a mirror of contemporary existential reality, reflecting the collapse of moral universals in a relativistic age and inviting the reader to confront the psychological and ethical costs of modernity.