Literature as revolt: the philosophical thought in the novel of Albert Camus

Abstract

The main goal of the present paper is to demonstrate the centrality of the subject of revolt in the fiction of Albert Camus. Besides theorizing about revolt in a philosophical treatise, the Franco-Algerian writer also inserted this existential philosophical debate in his literary writing through novels, plays, and stories. The relation between absurd and revolt composes his literary project, in which the characters distinguish themselves as revolted individuals. From this perspective, Camus elaborates his literature as revolt. The author, in order to do this, uses the philosophical foundations of the existential thought of Stirner and Nietzsche. The death of God, for these philosophers, supplants the modern project of man and society, culminating in nihilism. For Camus, this radical philosophy contributed decisively to the project of overcoming modern European nihilism in the search for a new humanism. This journey of human liberation through revolt is transfigured literarily in the elaboration of his novels.