Recently I have been reading a lot of Albert Camus. He is a XX century writer who centres suicide as man´s first concern. What I loved about him was how mature he was regarding suffering. He doesn´t suggest that we can overcome it easily, or that we can just get over it. He instead finds a way to give meaning to life in the fight itself against it. Even if we fail to eliminate it from our life, there is dignity in not surrendering to it, and satisfaction in understanding it.
One of the last chapters of his book, "The Myth of Sisyphus", he re-tells the story of a Greek man by the same name.
Sisyphus was a man with a special disliking for the gods. He was perplexed and annoyed that they kept demanding things from him, while he had not chosen to accept anything in return. He felt alienated from promises of eternal life or divine glory, and cared only about his life on earth. At the time Zeus had kidnapped the daughter of the river god, Achelous, to rape her. Sisyphus knew, and to obtain a gift of ever-flowing water for the city he lived in, he told to the river god about it. This angered Zeus, who sent Thanatos, or death himself, to come pick up Sisyphus so he could be chained in the underworld forever.
However, in a clever manoeuvre, Sisyphus asked Thanatos how the chains which he was being held with worked, and when Death put them on as a demonstration, he quickly fled again to the land of the living. He cheated the gods twice again and managed to stay alive for more time than the gods were embarrassed to admit. But finally Hermes was sent to bring to death, and a personal punishment was prepared for him, for the rest of eternity.
Sisyphus was to roll a rock up a hill, only to watch it fall, over and over again, the excruciating pain being the artificially placed hope in him that each time, the last time, he would succeed, only to be disappointed. This was meant as the ultimate Greek tale of why you should not disrespect the gods, why you should be weary of clinging to much to life, and what the worst possible punishment looks like.
However, Albert Camus, the French writer, turns the entire story around. He argues Sisyphus knows that he will never get the rock to the top. He is seen as a defiant man who is dignified in his rebellion to oppressive forces that torment him: first the gods, then the punishment. Imagine the tormented rebel in this way:
When he sees his rock fall from the mountain, Sisyphus is aware of the futility of his task. Herein lies the cruelty of the punishment. Watching it roll away, he knows that there are no more illusions. His destiny is in front of him. He breathes, and leaves the summit. Descending, he remembers the hopelessness he once felt. When the memory of life was too hurtful. But no more. Down is his rock, and he reaches for it. With great, heavy strides, he descends. This moment is his crowning glory: he sees perfectly himself, and what he faces. He knows this enough makes him wiser than most men. He understands his position in the Universe, and this is all he needs. Tired, but hastily, he arrives at the foot of the mountain. Confronted with the rock, he understands it and is not scared, even if he can´t be rid of it. Once again, Sisyphus rests his sore hands on the rock and looks up. His destiny is his, the clairvoyance that was to be his torment is his weapon. He uses it to rebel against something that undoubtedly surpasses him. But his soul is undefeated. He starts to push, and a smile spreads across his face. All is well.
Camus is trying to say that suffering is mighty, it is sometimes unavoidable and ever-present, ever-lasting, but this does not take everything from us. Instead of giving in, we may choose to fight it, and however futile the results are, the act itself is empowering, and enough to give meaning to a troubled life. His last line in the book is:
"The struggle to reach the summit is enough to fill a man's heart. We must imagine Sisyphus happy."
One of the last chapters of his book, "The Myth of Sisyphus", he re-tells the story of a Greek man by the same name.
Sisyphus was a man with a special disliking for the gods. He was perplexed and annoyed that they kept demanding things from him, while he had not chosen to accept anything in return. He felt alienated from promises of eternal life or divine glory, and cared only about his life on earth. At the time Zeus had kidnapped the daughter of the river god, Achelous, to rape her. Sisyphus knew, and to obtain a gift of ever-flowing water for the city he lived in, he told to the river god about it. This angered Zeus, who sent Thanatos, or death himself, to come pick up Sisyphus so he could be chained in the underworld forever.
However, in a clever manoeuvre, Sisyphus asked Thanatos how the chains which he was being held with worked, and when Death put them on as a demonstration, he quickly fled again to the land of the living. He cheated the gods twice again and managed to stay alive for more time than the gods were embarrassed to admit. But finally Hermes was sent to bring to death, and a personal punishment was prepared for him, for the rest of eternity.
Sisyphus was to roll a rock up a hill, only to watch it fall, over and over again, the excruciating pain being the artificially placed hope in him that each time, the last time, he would succeed, only to be disappointed. This was meant as the ultimate Greek tale of why you should not disrespect the gods, why you should be weary of clinging to much to life, and what the worst possible punishment looks like.
However, Albert Camus, the French writer, turns the entire story around. He argues Sisyphus knows that he will never get the rock to the top. He is seen as a defiant man who is dignified in his rebellion to oppressive forces that torment him: first the gods, then the punishment. Imagine the tormented rebel in this way:
When he sees his rock fall from the mountain, Sisyphus is aware of the futility of his task. Herein lies the cruelty of the punishment. Watching it roll away, he knows that there are no more illusions. His destiny is in front of him. He breathes, and leaves the summit. Descending, he remembers the hopelessness he once felt. When the memory of life was too hurtful. But no more. Down is his rock, and he reaches for it. With great, heavy strides, he descends. This moment is his crowning glory: he sees perfectly himself, and what he faces. He knows this enough makes him wiser than most men. He understands his position in the Universe, and this is all he needs. Tired, but hastily, he arrives at the foot of the mountain. Confronted with the rock, he understands it and is not scared, even if he can´t be rid of it. Once again, Sisyphus rests his sore hands on the rock and looks up. His destiny is his, the clairvoyance that was to be his torment is his weapon. He uses it to rebel against something that undoubtedly surpasses him. But his soul is undefeated. He starts to push, and a smile spreads across his face. All is well.
Camus is trying to say that suffering is mighty, it is sometimes unavoidable and ever-present, ever-lasting, but this does not take everything from us. Instead of giving in, we may choose to fight it, and however futile the results are, the act itself is empowering, and enough to give meaning to a troubled life. His last line in the book is:
"The struggle to reach the summit is enough to fill a man's heart. We must imagine Sisyphus happy."
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