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Meursault (and Caligula) avec de sade: on the relations between the literary absurds and Camus’s philosophical discourses
journal contribution
posted on 2014-11-20, 00:00 authored by Matthew SharpeThis article considers the relation between L'Etranger and Caligula, with Camus' philosophical discourse. It aims at mediocra firma between the idea that the literary 'absurds' just illustrate Camus' philosophy; and the idea that they are wholly autonomous from that philosophy. Following threads from Camus' own responses to Melville, du Gard and others, we argue that Meursault and the crazed emperor Caligula are not illustrations of the absurd, let alone Camusian ethical ideals. They embody 'temptations' to forms of philosophical suicide and murder Camus systematically opposed in his philosophical writings, whose paradigm in The Rebel is the Marquis de Sade. Rather than rebelling against the unjust irrationality of the world, these figures (either passively or actively) become agents of this irrationality. Camus the man, or his thinking, should not be identified with them, as such, any more than Shakespeare should be identified with his Iago, or sundry other villains.
History
Journal
Journal of Camus StudiesVolume
2014Article number
7Pagination
117 - 144Publisher
Albert Camus SocietyLanguage
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, Albert Camus SocietyUsage metrics
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