| Camus' philosophical and literary works share an intrinsically common ground relative to consciousness and revolt. However, with little exception, past and present scholarship has tended to corral its investigation of these two key issues at the expense of one genre or the other. Subsequent to the oft-discussed symbiosis linking Le mythe de Sisyphe and L'étranger, an increasingly pronounced cleavage divides Camus' literary and philosophical output. Philosophical works such as “Remarque sur la révolte” and L'homme révolté, while stimulating abundant critical discourse relevant to their respective social and political climates, are now receiving additional attention because of an ever-growing interest in the author's own role as engaged intellectual activist and political radicalist. Not to deny the importance of this scholarly pursuit, its direction has neglected the now seemingly tenuous bond between Camus' philosophical and literary works.; As a means of illustrating this under-appreciated yet vital relationship, this dissertation examines Camus' literature as a workshop of philosophical inquiry. Some critics have studied the problematic implications of consciousness within the context of isolated passages or discrete texts; they do not however lead the reader to or even ask for an understanding of the stages that might be represented by several of Camus' literary works taken together or considered in succession. Indeed, concentrating on individual instances of enlightenment gives the impression that Camus' body of writing does not evolve: it repeatedly addresses the very same problems related to a conscious existence. Quite to the contrary, the goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate the living organism of ontological inquiry within a representative segment of Camus' literary corpus. Examined as works in progress, Camus' fiction and lyrical essays can be seen as an ever-evolving forum in which he addresses and treats philosophical questions. The quests embarked upon by protagonists as they search to understand their existence suggest in their very divergencies a progression of pending responses to the human condition. Literary works examined in depth are: L'envers et l'endroit, Noces, Caligula, Le Malentendu, L'État de siège, Les Justes, La Chute and L'envers et l'endroit. |
