A Literary Study of Camus and Revolut

Albert Camus is often categorised as an existentialist, but this is a simplification. While he engages with similar questions—our search for meaning in an indifferent universe...

Albert Camus is often categorised as an existentialist, but this is a simplification. While he engages with similar questions—our search for meaning in an indifferent universe—his focus remains on what he calls the absurd. His works, especially The Myth of Sisyphus, stand in conversation with thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard but take a distinctive stance. Camus refuses to seek solace in either faith or reason, instead advocating for an acceptance of life’s lack of ultimate meaning without retreating into despair or false hope.

It can seem like quite a dire perspective to take but it's not as depressing as Neitzsche. Perhaps it’s the perfect middle ground for those who are struggling to believe in anything.

Why Sisyphus

I think it’s always important to understand a title of philosophical work or the metaphor that underpins the text. It can help make the complex arguments make more sense!

The figure of Sisyphus, condemned to roll a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll back down, serves as a metaphor for the human condition. While the task appears futile, Camus insists that "we must imagine Sisyphus happy." In his unceasing struggle, Sisyphus embodies the human capacity to persist without appeal to higher meaning. In embracing the absurd, we find a quiet joy—not in achieving ultimate purpose but in the simple act of defiance.

‘There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn’

The absurd hero, in choosing to continue his task, finds a form of liberation in the very rejection of hope.

The Absurd

The Absurd in short is a tension between desire and reality.

For Camus, the absurd arises from a fundamental clash—our deep longing for meaning and the universe’s refusal to provide it. Unlike Sartre, who views absurdity as the lack of inherent meaning, or Kierkegaard, who transforms the absurd into a leap of faith, Camus identifies the absurd as a confrontation. We demand order, coherence, and significance; the world answers with silence. Recognising this tension does not mean surrendering to it. Instead, Camus argues that true freedom lies in acknowledging the absurd and continuing to live in defiance of it.

‘Rising, streetcar, four hours of work, meal, sleep, and Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday, according to the same rhythm—this path is easily followed most of the time. But one day the 'why' arises and everything begins in that weariness tinged with amazement.’

The realisation of the absurd dawns suddenly, forcing us to confront life’s apparent futility.

This confrontation with absurdity often leads individuals to what Camus calls philosophical suicide—the act of seeking comfort in external systems of meaning such as religion or ideology. In doing so, Camus believes we abandon the honest reckoning with our existence, choosing instead the reassurance of false narratives.

Nostalgia

It is through nostalgia we are attempting to escape the Absurd.

One of the most pervasive responses to the absurd is nostalgia—the yearning for an imagined order or unity that reality fails to deliver. Camus identifies this tendency in philosophical systems that attempt to impose meaning onto existence, such as Saint Augustine's religious faith or Hegel’s rationalism. While he does not determine either set of beliefs wrong, he does not see them as fulfilling.

Both, he argues, fall into the trap of seeking an absolute answer where none exists. Nostalgia, then, is not just a longing for the past but a desire for certainty, an attempt to smooth over the rough edges of experience with comforting illusions.

"Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable"

Camus identifies three authentic responses to the absurd:

1. Revolt

Acknowledging the absurd without resignation or false hope. This is a moral stance that affirms human dignity and resists oppression.

2. Freedom

Recognising that life has no inherent meaning liberates us to create our own values while respecting others’ freedom.

3.Passion

Fully engaging with life’s experiences without seeking ultimate justification.

In contrast, philosophical suicide—whether through religion, ideology, or metaphysical constructs—represents a refusal to confront life’s inherent uncertainty. Camus argues that by resisting this temptation, we assert our freedom and responsibility.

Literature as Revolt

In literature, nostalgia manifests in the tendency to structure narratives around resolution and coherence. Stories often present a world where meaning can be uncovered, where characters find redemption or closure. Camus challenges this, suggesting instead that literature should reflect the world’s inherent ambiguity and resist the impulse to impose order where none exists.

There are few contemporary novels that come to mind when I think of Camus’ view of literature that explore themes of uncertainty and disconnection, resisting the traditional arc of resolution.

In Cusk’s Outline trilogy, the fragmented narrative and detached protagonist challenge the reader’s desire for a neat story, reflecting the chaos and ambiguity of human existence. The trilogy eschews conventional storytelling techniques, opting instead for a series of conversations that gradually reveal the contours of the protagonist’s identity through the voices of others. This narrative technique mirrors the fluid, often elusive nature of selfhood and highlights the instability inherent in human relationships and personal reinvention.

Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation (while not my favourite) presents a character who rejects conventional meaning-making in favor of detachment and inertia, embodying Camus’ absurd hero in a modern context. The protagonist’s attempt to sleep for a year, numbing herself with a cocktail of prescription drugs, serves as both an act of rebellion against societal expectations and an exploration of existential emptiness. The novel critiques contemporary consumer culture and the relentless pursuit of self-optimisation, questioning whether true rest or escape from societal demands is ever possible. Moshfegh's protagonist embodies a passive resistance to the pressures of productivity and fulfillment, highlighting the futility of imposed meaning.

And Offill’s Dept. of Speculation (again not my favourite!) similarly avoids nostalgic closure, instead presenting life as a series of fragmented thoughts and unresolved tensions. Through its aphoristic style and collage-like structure, the novel captures the interiority of a woman navigating marriage, motherhood, and creative ambition. Offill employs brevity and wit to explore the contradictions and uncertainties of modern life, presenting a protagonist who is both introspective and elusive. The novel resists linear progression, instead favoring a mosaic of observations and reflections that speak to the disjointed nature of personal experience and memory.

If nostalgia represents a retreat from the absurd, literature can act as an arena of revolt. For Camus, literature should not offer false consolations but rather serve as a testament to human resilience in the face of meaninglessness. By resisting totalitarian narratives—whether political, religious, or philosophical—art affirms life without illusion. In this way, literature becomes an act of rebellion, a celebration of our capacity to create even in the face of absurdity.

Camus’ philosophy challenges us to reject nostalgia and embrace the present, however uncomfortable it may be. Literature, when it resists the pull of false resolution, offers a way to grapple with life’s uncertainties while celebrating the richness of human experience. To live without illusion is not to deny the longing for meaning but to engage with it honestly, in full recognition of its limits. In doing so, we achieve a quiet, enduring form of defiance—an affirmation of life not in spite of the absurd, but because of it.