The Myth of Sisyphus

Albert Camus

The Myth of Sisyphus

Summary

Sisyphus is probably more famous for his punishment in the underworld than for what he
did in his life. According to the Greek myth, Sisyphus is condemned to roll a rock up to
the top of a mountain, only to have the rock roll back down to the bottom every time he
reaches the top. The gods were wise, Camus suggests, in perceiving that an eternity of
futile labor is a hideous punishment.

There are a number of storiesones which are not mutually eclusivethat eplain how
Sisyphus came to earn his punishment in the underworld. According to one story, !eus
carried off Aegina, a mortal woman who was the daughter of Asopus. Sisyphus witnessed
this kidnapping in his home city of Corinth. Sisyphus agreed to inform Asopus as to who
had kidnapped Aegina if Asopus would give the citadel at Corinth a fresh"water spring. #n
making this deal and bearing witness against !eus, Sisyphus earned the wrath of the gods
while earning earthly wealth and happiness for himself and his people.

Another story tells how Sisyphus enchained the spirit of $eath, so that during $eath%s
imprisonment, no human being died. &aturally, when the gods freed $eath, his first
victim was Sisyphus. #t is also said that Sisyphus told his wife not to offer any of the
traditional burial rites when he died. 'hen he arrived in the underworld, he complained
to (ades that his wife had not observed these rites and was granted permission to return
to earth to chastise her. )nce granted this second lease on life, Sisyphus refused to return
to the underworld, and lived to a ripe old age before returning to the underworld a second
time to endure his eternal punishment.

Camus identifies Sisyphus as the archetypal absurd hero, both for his behavior on earth
and for his punishment in the underworld. (e displays scorn for the gods, a hatred of
death, and a passion for life. (is punishment is to endure an eternity of hopeless struggle.

'e are not told how Sisyphus endures his punishment in the underworld* that much is left
to our imagination. 'hat fascinates Camus is Sisyphus%s state of mind in that moment
after the rock rolls away from him at the top of the mountain. As he heads down the
mountain, briefly free from his labor, he is conscious, aware of the absurdity of his fate.
(is fate can only be considered tragic because he understands it and has no hope for
reprieve. At the same time, the lucidity he achieves with this understanding also places
him above his fate.

Camus suggests that Sisyphus might even approach his task with +oy. The moments of
sorrow or melancholy come when he looks back at the world he%s left behind, or when he
hopes or wishes for happiness. 'hen Sisyphus accepts his fate, however, the sorrow and
melancholy of it vanish. Camus suggests that acknowledging ,crushing truths, like the
eternity and futility of his fate is enough to render them less crushing. (e refers to
)edipus, who, having suffered so much, is able to ,conclude that all is well.,

(appiness and the absurd are closely linked, suggests Camus. They are both connected to
the discovery that our world and our fate is our own, that there is no hope and that our life
is purely what we make of it. As he descends the mountain, Sisyphus is totally aware of
his fate. Camus concludes* ,)ne must imagine Sisyphus happy.,

Analysis

Camus has argued that the absurd hero sees life as a constant struggle, without hope. Any
attempt to deny or avoid the struggle and the hopelessness that define our lives is an
attempt to escape from this absurd contradiction. Camus%s single re-uirement for the
absurd man is that he live with full awareness of the absurdity of his position. 'hile
Sisyphus is pushing his rock up the mountain, there is nothing for him but toil and
struggle. .ut in those moments where Sisyphus descends the mountain free from his
burden, he is aware. (e knows that he will struggle forever and he knows that this
struggle will get him nowhere. This awareness is precisely the same awareness that an
absurd man has in this life. So long as Sisyphus is aware, his fate is no different and no
worse than our lot in life.

'e react to Sisyphus%s fate with horror because we see its futility and hopelessness. )f
course, the central argument of this essay is that life itself is a futile struggle devoid of
hope. (owever, Camus also suggests that this fate is only horrible if we continue to hope,
if we think that there is something more that is worth aiming for. )ur fate only seems
horrible when we place it in contrast with something that would seem preferable. #f we
accept that there is no preferable alternative, then we can accept our fate without horror.
)nly then, Camus suggests, can we fully appreciate life, because we are accepting it
without reservations. Therefore, Sisyphus is above his fate precisely because he has
accepted it. (is punishment is only horrible if he can hope or dream for something better.
#f he does not hope, the gods have nothing to punish him with.

The theory of tragedy is a vast and complicated sub+ect beyond the scope of this
commentary, but a brief discussion of Camus%s angle on tragedy may be valuable. Camus
tells us that the moment Sisyphus becomes aware of his fate, his fate becomes tragic. (e
also alludes to )edipus, who becomes a tragic figure only when he becomes aware that
he has killed his father and married his mother. (e also remarks that both Sisyphus and
)edipus are ultimately happy, that they ,conclude that all is well., Tragedy, Camus seems
to be suggesting, is not pessimistic. )n the contrary, it represents the greatest triumph we
are capable of as human beings. So long as Sisyphus and )edipus continue to hope and to
deceive themselves, they are not heroic. 'ith tragic recognition comes a full
acknowledgment of our fate and our limitations, and with that acknowledgment comes an
acceptance of who we are and what we are capable of. Tragic fate only seems horrible in
contrast to the hope for something more. #n accepting their fate, Sisyphus and )edipus
have abandoned hope, and so their fate does not seem horrible to them. )n the contrary,
they have finally found the only genuine happiness.

Camus concludes his essay by arguing that happiness and absurd awareness are
intimately connected. 'e can only be truly happy, he suggests, when we accept our life
and our fate as entirely our ownas the only thing we have and as the only thing we will
ever be. The final sentence reads* ,)ne must imagine Sisyphus happy., .ut why must we
imagine Sisyphus happy/ Camus%s wording suggests that we have no choice in the matter.
.ut is there an alternative/ Sisyphus is the absurd hero, the man who loved life so much
that he has been condemned to an eternity of futile and hopeless labor. And yet he is
above that fate precisely because he is aware of it. #f Sisyphus is not happy in this
awareness, then absurd awareness does not bring happiness. #t would then follow that
happiness is only possible if we evade absurd awareness, if we leap into hope or faith.

#f the leap into hope or faith represents an attempt to escape from the reality of our fate,
and if happiness is only possible through such a leap, then happiness would essentially be
an escape. 0ife itself would be inherently unhappy and happiness would be a sham born
out of denial. 'e must imagine Sisyphus happy if we want to believe in genuine
happiness. Though this is the last sentence of the essay, we might see it as the initial
premise that starts Camus%s reasoning. .ecause Camus essentially believes in the idea
that individual human eperience is the only thing that is real, if he wants to show that
happiness is real he must show that individual humans can truly be happy based on their
eperiences, not on their denial of eperience. #f happiness is real, we must be able to
find happiness without relying on hope, faith, or anything else that goes beyond
immediate eperience. The 1yth of Sisyphus is essentially an elaborate attempt to show
that this is possible, and it concludes with its starting premise* if genuine happiness is
possible, then Sisyphus must be happy.