The Myth of Sisyphus

The Myth of Sisyphus

Cover of the first edition
Author	Albert Camus
Original title	Le mythe de Sisyphe
Translator	Justin O'Brien
Language	French
Subjects	Existentialism Absurdism
Published	1942 (Éditions Gallimard, in French) 1955 (Hamish Hamilton, in English)
Publication place	France
Media type	Print
Pages	185 (original French edition)
ISBN	0-679-73373-6

The Myth of Sisyphus (French: Le mythe de Sisyphe) is a 1942 philosophical essay by Albert Camus. Influenced by philosophers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd. The absurd lies in the juxtaposition between the fundamental human need to attribute meaning to life and the "unreasonable silence" of the universe in response.^[1] Camus claims that the realization of the absurd does not justify suicide, and instead requires "revolt". He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. In the final chapter, Camus compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again just as it nears the top. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

The work can be seen in relation to other absurdist works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the plays The Misunderstanding (1942) and Caligula (1944), and especially the essay The Rebel (1951).