Demythologizing The Myth of Sisyphus: Practically applying Camus’ philosophy of the absurd

While Albert Camus was quite firm in denying himself to belong to the existentialist movement of his time, his works certainly pose strong existential ideas.[1] In one of his most famous essays The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus describes the absurd, a feeling that arises during the desperate search for the meaning of life in an unreasonable world that refuses to present any. Camus sets out multiple responses to the realization of the absurd, of which the first is simply suicide; if life has no meaning, why even bother to live? However, Camus further argues that suicide is not the correct answer to this somewhat nihilistic awakening, rather, one must take up action and revolt to this meaninglessness, and live a life filled with passion. By overcoming the agony of nihilism, one can become the absurd hero. He describes three examples of absurd heroes: Don Juan, the actor, and the conqueror. Camus finishes his essay with his own version of the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphus, which tells the story of a man who was condemned by the Gods to endlessly push a boulder up a hill. He compares Sisyphus to the absurd hero in everyday life and ends the essay with his famous words “one must imagine Sisyphus happy”.[2]            

In this paper, I will first present what I believe to be the most important and interesting ideas Camus introduces in his essay. These ideas are the problem of suicide, the realization of the absurd, and the different possible responses to this feeling. This introduction will be followed by a discussion of Camus’ interpretation of Homer’s Myth of Sisyphus.                               

Since Camus discusses ways of dealing with life after having realized the absurd, I believe it would be interesting to theorise on how it could affect a person’s thinking and functioning, and possible problems that arise with that. Therefore, in the second half of this paper, I will hypothesise on the practical application of his philosophy; I will analyse to what extent the lifestyle and philosophy he promotes are justifiable, in what way they could influence the way we interpret the people around us, and if they could shape our morality differently. I will use the practical implications of Camus’ philosophy to end this paper with a self-written short story about a modern-day woman who realizes the absurd, and the changes in her life that follow.

Do not kill yourself!

Camus starts off his essay by stating that “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.”[3] He justifies this statement by explaining that there is no other philosophical problem with consequences of equal gravity; other philosophical problems are not about choosing between life and death. He goes on to say that people who decide to kill themselves have judged life as meaningless, or at least not worth living. This nihilistic[4] judgement, is what he refers to as the feeling of absurdity. He explains that most people go through life with a certain sense of meaning; they believe that their actions in everyday life are all founded on an idea of purpose, and that these actions are logical and necessary to achieve their aims. However, from time to time, some people experience a feeling of disconnection with their everyday action and perceive them as purely habitual. People can lose their sense of freedom and view themselves almost as robots. This realization can result into a mini-existential crisis; all our actions, driven by desires, then seem futile and absurd. This realization is what Camus considers the absurd. He famously describes the absurd as “born of this confrontation between the human need (for meaning) and the unreasonable silence of the world.”[5] Many people experience the absurd at some point in their life, when nothing seems to go right, and then ask themselves “What is the point? Why do I keep going?”. However, most of them can shrug this feeling off and attempt to resume their search for meaning. But not all; some recognise the validity of this realization. These people often feel estranged from those around them, as if they were exiled from the comforts of a reasonable society that revolves around meaning.               

At first glance the absurd seems like an impossible feeling to live with; you either escape from it by ending your life, accepting that life is not worth living, or you deny the meaninglessness of life by blinding yourself with hope. However, Camus disagrees. He believes there must be an alternative answer to this problem; though the absurd is essentially a difficult state of conflict, it must be liveable. In his essay, he intends to examine the relationship of the absurd and suicide and the degree to which suicide is a solution to the absurd. Overcoming or solving the absurd denies the problem of the absurd instead of facing it and is not what Camus is interested in studying. He intends to describe the possibilities of living with the absurd. The problem of suicide thus lays out the groundwork for Camus’ ideas on how to live with the feeling of absurdity.

He refers to his alternative, the person that can live with the absurd, as the absurd man. This person denies anything that he cannot know for certain; the only fact he accepts as true is the existence of the absurd. The absurd man’s essence can be characterized by three virtues: revolt, freedom, and passion. Instead of committing suicide, the absurd man lives life to the fullest, a life filled with as many passionate experiences as possible, and so revolts to his tragic fate with every breath he takes. By accepting the absurd, individual elements of life, like values, lose their meaning; if there is no purpose in life, one action is never intrinsically more valuable than another. Therefore, the absurd man is free in determining how to fill any passing second, on the condition that he experiences as much passion as possible and is thus always living in the moment.[6] Camus presents three possible forms of the absurd man, which I will describe in the next paragraph.

Not all heroes wear capes

In contrast to the first part of his essay, which represents a rather theoretical discourse on the concept of the absurd, the second part of Camus’ essay deals with practical applications of his account. He presents three examples of identities that embody the virtues of the absurd man, which he then refers to as absurd heroes. These identities are: The Don Juan, the actor, and the conqueror. Before describing the individual personalities, Camus explains what qualities they share. The absurd hero is innocent, he is free from any wrongdoing. Since morality is either provided by God, in which he cannot believe, or made up by humans to defend their behaviour, the absurd hero is excluded from morality. He is therefore not immoral, he is amoral.[7] I will now portray the different absurd heroes.

Don Juan, also known as the seducer, is the absurd man who lives his life by gliding every woman he crosses paths with into bed. He is a seduction genius, who has perfectly mastered a certain set of techniques to seduce any woman. His goal is to seduce as many women as possible, and though he loves each woman he seduces passionately, he never stays with the same one for a long time. He has no interest in getting attached to anyone, he is driven solely by his lust for seduction. People often accuse Don Juan of being dishonest, to others and to himself; he is just desperately searching for true love, depressed about his inability to find it, stuck in the same routine, and will grow up to be a lonely old man. Camus rejects these accusations, by stating that Don Juan is not a simple seducer, he does not hold any hope about finding more than what this life can give him in the moments he experiences; he is motivated by the passions of the present. He thus differentiates himself from the ordinary seducer by not searching or longing for anything beyond the act of seduction. Moreover, Don Juan is also fully aware of his fate; he knows he will grow old, lose his seducing ability, and eventually die. But he accepts his fate and is therefore not depressed by it.[8] 

The actor is the absurd man who is dissatisfied with going to the theatre to experience the life of another. Dreaming of the possibilities that living multiple lives could offer would namely be a form of hoping, and the absurd man does not hold on to hope. Therefore, the actor does not simply observe the lives of others with a glimmer of aspiration in his eyes; he ingrains the various lives of the characters he plays as if they are his own, in a sense, he lives them. Just like Don Juan’s lovers, the lives of the actor’s characters are short-lived, but so is his own. That is, because the actor Camus describes is a stage actor, whose fame relies on the reaction of an audience. The actor cannot forever be found on a screen or in a book, and though he may wish to achieve this immortality, he is fully aware of his temporality. This awareness translates to his motivation to live in the present; he is aware that his act has no virtue beyond itself. Again, just like Don Juan, the actor reuses the same tools to achieve his goals; he uses the same body and voice to imitate the many characters he plays. Yet the actor is still aware of the fact that he is playing a role, he knows he is not playing himself. However, since he can live many different lives through playing his roles, he can fit an abundant number of passionate experiences in his own life. This, together with the fact that the actor accepts his fate by continuing to play his roles while recognising them as futile, is what characterises him as the absurd man.[9] 

The conqueror is the absurd man chooses action over contemplation. He is vigorously engaged in political struggle and is eager to place himself at the front of the battle. He does not aim to conquer any actual territories; his sole aim is to fight. He does, however, conquer himself. With that, Camus means that, though the conqueror is aware of his inability to a achieve an everlasting victory by making a big difference in the world, he continues his fight. Camus believes that this fight, this political revolt in sense, though ultimately futile, brings out the most in humans and gives them the liveliest experience; in knowing that his actions possibly bring about his death, the conqueror truly lives in the moment.[10]                                         

Camus continues by stressing the fact that these absurd heroes are just sketches and do not offer a certain moral code. The examples “merely represent a style of life”[11] and are not the only possible types of absurd heroes, in fact, anyone who becomes aware of the futility of their struggles but continues to fight and live in the present can become an absurd hero.[12]

The Myth of Sisyphus

Camus follows his chapter about the possible forms the absurd man can possess with an analysis of Homer’s Myth of Sisyphus. He begins by retelling the myth, of which multiple interpretations exist, all of which I will combine to retell it myself.                                       

Sisyphus was the king of Corinth, who angered the gods because he had deceived them and/or had stolen their secrets. Esopus, a river God and the father of Egina, was greatly shocked to find out that his daughter had been taken away by Jupiter and came to Sisyphus to ask for help.[13] Sisyphus promised the father that he would tell him what had happened to her on the condition that the father would provide him with a new eternal fountain for the city. After Esopus happily created the fountain, Sisyphus named Jupiter as his daughter’s abductor. Esopus became enraged with Jupiter and chased after him but was forced to back down when Jupiter sent his thunderbolts after him. Because of Sisyphus’ betrayal of Jupiter’s trust, Zeus sent Death to come fetch him as punishment. However, Death stood no chance against Sisyphus’ cunnings; after asking him to demonstrate how they work, Sisyphus managed to put Death into his own chains. Sisyphus thus managed to escape Death, but before long Death was set free by Ares and Sisyphus was once again in the hands of Death. However, Sisyphus managed to avoid Death once more. Shortly before his descend into the underworld, he asked his wife to give him an improper burial. Pluto, the God of the underworld, was dissatisfied with his improper burial, and granted Sisyphus permission to return to the surface of earth, only to arrange a proper burial. However, Sisyphus did not intend on returning to the underworld; he continued to enjoy his life on earth for many years, after which he eventually died of old age. When he died, the gods were truly angry with him and destined to condemn him with the most dreadful punishment thinkable: eternal futile labour. Sisyphus was sentenced to endlessly roll a giant boulder up a mountain, which rolls back down every time he nearly reaches the top. [14]         

Camus interprets Sisyphus as a prime example of the absurd hero; he shows great passion for living, despises the gods, has an aversion to death, and faces a hopeless and endless fate. His aversion to death, however, is interesting because I believe it can be interpreted in contrast with the characteristics of the absurd man Camus noted earlier. By escaping death, you perhaps exhibit a great passion for living, which is in line with the typical absurd man. But it can also be viewed as a rejection of our inevitable fate, a splash of hope for something more than what this life has to offer, which is in contrast with the absurd man, who embraces his fate. Let us assume that Camus proposed the former explanation to be true and continue.

A moment that particularly interests Camus is the moment when the boulder rolls down the mountain, as Sisyphus heads down shortly free from labour, but lucidly aware of the absurdity of his fate. Since he understands his hopelessness and the eternity for which he will have to endure his punishment, his fate becomes tragic. While his fate might be tragic, he grows superior to it by his clear understanding of it. Because by understanding his fate, Sisyphus embraces it, and is not haunted by its tragedy. After stating this, Camus identifies Sisyphus with the common labourer of today, arguing that they suffer the same fate. He says: “The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks and this fate is no less absurd.”[15] Since Camus believes the absurd is intimately connected to happiness, he even dares to suppose that Sisyphus might enjoy the approach of his task each time.[16] He concludes this chapter by stating that “One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”[17]         

I wonder if Camus deliberately chose the word imagine, because it implies that Sisyphus is not necessarily happy, we have to pretend that he is. This pretension is akin a sense of false hope; we hope that Sisyphus is happy. Paradoxically, this interpretation contrasts the hopelessness that typifies the absurd man. I thus wonder if Camus intentionally worded the last sentence of this chapter to sound ironic, to those who pay close attention, for the purpose of mocking himself. Or did Camus finish his chapter by unknowingly contradicting himself?  

This was not the only question that reading Camus’ essay raised in me. While he presents three examples of embodiments of absurd heroes, I wonder how his philosophy of the absurd could translate into individuals if it were more generally applied and practised. Would we perceive each other differently? Would our morality perhaps change? The following paragraph will be my humble attempt to answering these questions.

An absurd reality

As I mentioned earlier, Camus emphasises the fact that his absurd hero examples are mere sketches, and that he does not promote a certain moral code that they might represent; he is presenting a lifestyle. Yet, lifestyles intrinsically convey a certain view on morality. There must be a moral code Camus’ ideas represent, of which I believe the content could be interesting to analyse. Therefore, in this paragraph I will explore that idea.

Camus considers the absurd hero to be amoral. This does not mean that he deliberately goes against the rules of morality; he is not immoral. Being amoral means that the rules of morality simply do not apply to him. He cannot experience any moral emotions like guilt or remorse since realizing that life is intrinsically meaningless has led him to devaluate all values. To him every action is equally permissible, as long as he lives in the present. He is therefore free from any wrongdoing and completely innocent. If we were to practically apply this ideal of the absurd hero to people in society, it could have drastic consequences; if everyone were to act and think like the absurd hero, almost anything would be allowed. This could take form in the disappearance of minor conventional norms, but also in the disappearance of moral rules which we traditionally perceive as inflexible, rules upon which our morality is founded.

Take Don Juan for example, if we replace his seductions with murders, would he still be an absurd hero? I think so; he has mastered the skill of assassination and is passionate in every kill. He kills for the act of killing, not for a transcending purpose, he does not hope for more. He does not reminisce his past murders either, he truly lives in the moment while fully aware of the fact that he is nothing more, and will never be more, than a man who enjoys killing people. Thus, the serial killer could also be a possible example of the absurd hero.

An example of a modern absurd hero could be someone who refuses to help saving the environment. Let us call him the polluter. While everyone around him is becoming vegetarian and riding their bike to work more often, the polluter likes to drive his 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat everywhere. He also goes for purposeless joyrides in it and loves to do burnouts.[18] This car has an extremely powerful 6.2 litre HEMI, supercharged V8 engine, which makes a colossal 717 horsepower at 6000 rounds per minute, and 656 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rounds per minute. It has a fuel consumption of about 16 miles per gallon, which is the polar opposite of economical. The polluter is fully aware of the negative effects on the climate that repeatedly accelerating his car from 0-100 kilometres per hour in 3,5 seconds has, but he simply does not care[19]; if life is meaningless, what reasons would he have for saving the planet? He justifies his behaviour by stating that he is passionate about driving his Dodge; it gives him immense joy and lets him live in the present.

While these examples might seem innately problematic, this is not necessarily the case; it depends on whether every member of society is an absurd hero. If not, then yes, it would be problematic since there would be a morality clash. Some would live life with a sense of purpose, in the ignorance of its meaninglessness, while absurd heroes could possibly ruin their innocent bliss. Though if everyone were an absurd hero, there would not be any moral rules since they are all amoral. This would not be a problematic situation, since each member of society is aware of their shared, meaningless fate, and would therefore not judge another as being wrong.    

To portray the mentioned implications of practically applying Camus’ philosophy to members of society in a more literary fashion, the next and final part of this paper will present these implications in the form of a short story.

The absurd life of Albertine

“Good morning you beautiful souls and thanks for tuning in to Never Stop FM with Henry Laurent! It is six ‘o clock sharp, and from where I am sitting it looks like today will be another wonderfu…”

Albertine violently whacks here radio-alarm clock and yawns as if she hasn’t slept for a week. “Shut up Henry” she says, while slowly getting out of bed. She looks back at the bed, which looks extremely comfortable and warm, and feels a strong urge to jump back in and just stay home today.

“Who would miss me anyway?”

She slaps herself in the face in the hope it will put an end to these thoughts, and it does. She is suddenly filled with a surge of determination that easily overrules her desire for comfort. Still rubbing the unsatisfyingly short sleep out of her eyes, she looks at her calendar.

“Today is the day, today I will win.”

Having taken a taking a quick, cold shower, she is left standing in front of her closet and takes more time than she can afford to wonder what to wear. She eventually decides to go with her navy-blue pantsuit, as it seems the like the perfect combination of professional and playful, and because she feels powerful while wearing it, though she will never admit that to herself. Realising the time, she rushes to the kitchen to grab a quick coffee before heading out. While pouring the steaming hot coffee into her cup she sits down and checks her phone for any important messages. Briefly distracted from the coffee, she accidentally pours it into her lap. She screams.

“Ouch, fuck!”

“Not today, this can’t happen today” she thinks while she runs back to her bedroom. Without much thought she picks something else to wear; right now, being on time is more important than looking perfect. Having changed, she hurries out her front door as if being chased by a pack of hungry wolverines.

Halfway through her ninety-minute drive to work, she realises she left the Bernardus Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge, which she bought to drink together with her co-workers at the end of the day.

“Oh well, I guess I’ll drink it by myself tonight then, it will taste just as lovely” she says to herself. She arrives at work early, but notices that she’s not the first. “My competition, they don’t stand a chance” she thinks dauntlessly. After their morning briefing, Albertine and three of her co-workers are called into the conference room by their boss. She's tense, but not anxious, she's confident.

“As you all know, I’m retiring in July” Jacques, her boss, states. “And as you all know, my position as regional manager will require replacement. And as we are all aware, you four are the candidates for that position.” Albertine can’t help but smirk. She knows exactly what he’s going to say; the position is hers and all her hard working hours were more than worth it. “After having thought long and hard, I decided that none of you are a good fit for the job. Bear with me here. All of you are too valuable at your current position, we simply can’t risk the consequences of this reformation. Therefore, I have decided to offer the job to my nephew, Jean. I know, he's only 21, does not work here and he doesn't even have an official degree or whatnot, but I can assure you that he suits the job perfectly. He’s very charismatic, good with computers, and really radiates business.”

Albertine, a 39-year-old, single woman, who has been working sixty hours every week for the past four years for this promotion, is at a total loss for words.

The rest of the day passed without Albertine speaking a single word. She was too busy wondering what she had done wrong in the past four years, but she couldn’t think of anything. She was not only the top salesperson, but she was also always online, helped wherever she could, never late, and even got lunch for the whole team every Tuesday. And why Jean? He is obviously not qualified for the job. Is the company she’s devoted her life to the past few years just one big farce? Still puzzled from what her nearly retired boss had told her in the conference room that morning, she went home.

It didn’t take long to finish the entire bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Angry, sad, and more than just a little bit tipsy, Albertine looks back at what should have been the most climactic day of her career but ended up like any other. Lying flat out on her couch she sees her own reflection in her TV. She can see the wrinkles from here, is reminded of her age, and thinks back at when she decided to choose her career over a possible family; she broke up with her boyfriend because he wanted children. All of it seems useless now, all of it was for nothing; her hard work hasn’t gotten her anywhere in life.

Albertine wakes up the next morning, still laying on the couch with most of her clothes still on. She looks at the time on her phone.

“Shit! 8:30?! I’m late!”

She flies through her house as if she could get ready for work so fast it’ll win her back two and a half hours. She hops in the shower and reaches for the knob. But then, something happens. She turns up the heat; she decides to increase it to a comfortable 38 degrees, rather than her usual nine. Additionally, she stays in the shower for fifteen whole minutes, which is twelve minutes longer than she usually does. Albertine gets out of the shower feeling relieved, something inside her has changed, and she knows it. Instead of going to work, she picks up her phone and dials the number of their receptionist.

“Hi Lili, this is Albertine speaking, could you please tell Jacque that I quit? Could you also tell him that his breath smells like he has a rotten carcass for breakfast every morning? Thank you.”

She hangs up the phone and feels chills running down her spine. She can’t believe what she just did. She feels amazing and powerful, as if she can do anything.

“I worked years for that promotion, and it flew past me like I wasn’t even there. Why would I care if they don’t?” she says to herself.              

As time passes, Albertine seems to gradually change her habits. She goes to bed whenever she wants and stays in there for as long as she wants. She eats whatever and whenever she feels like eating. Being jobless, she suddenly has much more time on her hands and fills this with hobbies she forgot she had, one of which is painting. She spends most days painting and drinking Sauvignon Blanc, without worrying about her future or reminiscing the past. Since she has been working hard and has lived by herself in a small apartment for the last years, money isn’t an issue.

One day, on one of her weekly paint-supply runs, Albertine finds herself in the paint shop with a sudden but strong urge to grab a small paint jar and put it in her bag. Without any hesitation, she places the jar in her bag and quietly leaves the shop.

“That was easy” she thinks.

On her way home, she walks past a flea market, and notices an attractive man selling comic books. She spots a woman standing near him.

“That must be his wife” she thinks.

Unbothered by the woman, she confidently approaches him.

“Hi, I love comic books, The Incredible Hulk is one of my favourites. How much are they?”

As she talks, she moves closer to the man until she is so close that she needs to tilt her head backwards to be able to look him in the eyes.

“Hi, the books are 3 eu…”

Albertine doesn’t let the man finish naming the price, grabs his face, and quickly thrusts her lips onto his. Before the man can realise what is happening to him, she is already back on her feet and on her way out. The kiss was quick but passionate, just the way she likes it. As she walks away, she can hear the woman getting angry at the man, and laughs.

Albertine feels like no rules apply to her, she can get away with anything, she is God; she makes the rules. On a hot summer day, she starts to wonder why everyone always wears clothes. Who made up that rule? Even on hot days like these, when clothes stick to your body and make you feel like a mummy in the desert, everyone goes outside fully dressed. To her, this behaviour seems foolish. That same day, she walks out of her house wearing nothing but a grocery bag around her shoulder, as if she’s been doing it for years. Shortly after entering the supermarket, Albertine is politely escorted out by a staff member.

“I’m sorry madam, I don’t make the rules, but we enforce a strict ‘no-nudity policy’ in this fine establishment.”

Disappointed by the ignorance of the supermarket staff, Albertine walks back home. When she returns home, she heads to the bathroom to take a shower; she’s been sweating. As she passes the mirror, she pauses to examine her body.

“Well, at least I got a nice tan.”

Cited works

2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Review, Pricing, and Specs. (2022, 11 April). Car and Driver. Consulted on June 21, 2022, from https://www.caranddriver.com/dodge/challenger-srt-srt-hellcat/specs/2022/dodge_challenger-srt-srt-hellcat_dodge-challenger-srt-srt-hellcat_2022/421835

Aronson, Ronald, "Albert Camus", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/camus/>.

Camus, A. (1975) The Myth of Sisyphus (J. O’Brien, Trans.). Aylesbury: Penguin Books.  (Original work publishes 1955)

Stanford, W. B. (1982). Astute hero and ingenious poet: Odysseus and Homer. The Yearbook       of English Studies, 12, 1-12.

[1] Existentialism is the philosophical movement that life is not meaningful in essence; individuals create their own meaning.

[2] Camus, A. (1975). The Myth of Sisyphus. p. 111.

[3] Ibid., p. 11.

[4] Nihilism is the philosophical movement that life is devoid of any meaning.

[5] Ibid., pp. 31-32.

[6] Ibid., pp. 42-45, 50-55.

[7] Ibid., pp. 64-66.

[8] Ibid., pp. 66-73.

[9] Ibid., pp. 73-79.

[10] Ibid., pp. 79-83.

[11] Ibid., p. 84.

[12] Ibid., pp. 84-85.

[13] I am using the names according to Roman mythology to stay in line with Camus’ style.

[14] Ibid., pp. 107-108., Stanford, W. B. (1982). Astute hero and ingenious poet: Odysseus and Homer. pp. 1-3.

[15] Camus, A. (1975). The Myth of Sisyphus. p. 109.

[16] Ibid., pp. 108-110.

[17] Ibid., p. 111.

[18] ‘Doing a burnout’ is car terminology for spinning your wheels when stationary.

[19] 2022 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Review, Pricing, and Specs. (2022).