: A Rebel with a Cause

From impoverished beginnings to an untimely death, Albert Camus continues to steal the attention of readers worldwide. Camus is known as a writer, playwright, actor, philosopher, political activist, and is distinguished by works such as The Stranger and . While he has received much notoriety for his works and views, little is generally known about the man behind the pen and paper. The philosopher of freedom and absurdity began his life in poverty, excelled as a student, survived a death sentence by tuberculosis, repeatedly committed adultery during his two marriages, acted in the French resistance during World War Two, and participated in many other unique experiences. Using psychoanalytic theory and social learning theory, I intend to illuminate how developmental crises and reinforcements as a child contributed to recurring themes - solidarity, rebellion, absurdity, and the seeking of passive women - in Camus‟ work and personal life.

General Biography Albert Camus was born November 7th, 1913, in Mondovi, Algeria. His father, Lucien Camus, was a native of Algeria. His mother, Catherine Sintés, was born and raised in Minorca, Spain and later moved to Algeria. Lucien and Catherine were both impoverished. Lucien worked at a vineyard as a simple farm laborer while Catherine was taking care of Albert and his older brother, Lucien Jean Etienne Camus. Because of poor living conditions in Mondovi, Lucien Camus planned to move his family to in order to escape the onslaught of malaria (Todd, 2000, p.5). When Germany declared war on on August 3rd, 1914, Lucien was drafted and shipped off to the front lines of Southern France. On October 11, 1914, Lucien died of battle wounds leaving Catherine widowed and young Lucien and Albert fatherless. Financially incapable of providing for her sons, Catherine Sintés-Camus was forced to move in with her mother in Algiers. Catherine‟s mother, Madame Sintés, lived in a three-room apartment in a poor working-class neighborhood. The apartment was occupied by Madame Sintés, Catherine, Lucien and Albert, and Albert‟s uncles Etienne and Joseph. There was no running water or electricity in the apartment, requiring the family to retrieve their water from a nearby pump (Todd, 2000, p.8). The family‟s neighborhood consisted of a mixture of nationalities: Arab, French, Spanish, and Italian. The inequality and contempt between the French and Arab population would later become an important political theme for Albert. Albert‟s family dynamic consisted of a passive mother and a grandmother who was clearly in charge. Catherine Sintés-Camus - illiterate, partly deaf, and afflicted with a speech impediment - was perceived as mute or mentally retarded by others in the city (Todd, 2000, p.7). Because of her disability, Catherine often stood aside in family matters and communicated very little with Albert. Albert‟s grandmother took an authoritarian approach to raising Albert and Lucien. His grandmother was unreasonably strict and would whip Albert and Lucien while Catherine would stand to the side, suggesting to her mother that she not hit the boys too hard (Todd, 2000, p.9). In 1923, Albert was going to a boys‟ primary school, ten minutes away from the apartment. Albert excelled as a student, especially in French. His teacher, Louis Germain, saw great potential in Albert and began giving him private lessons outside of the classroom. Albert wished to go to high school, but the family could not afford to send him. Albert‟s mother worked towards applying for a scholarship, but Albert‟s grandmother refused, claiming that Albert should work for a living like his older brother (Todd, 2000, p.11). With help from Louis Germain, Albert‟s grandmother was eventually convinced that it would be a wise investment for Albert to work towards a high school diploma. Albert‟s application was accepted and he was granted the scholarship to attend high school. Albert began attending high school in 1930. He enjoyed high school, as it allowed him a reprieve from his family. Albert developed a love for soccer and developed a reputation as a good goal keeper on the school‟s team (Todd, 2000, p.14). He would frequently visit the library and continue to build his knowledge of philosophy and literature. Albert began to feel different from his classmates; while they enjoyed their summer vacation, he was forced to work because of his poverty. Just after his first academic term was over, Albert was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which was generally a death sentence to the impoverished families in Algiers. This physical development changed Albert‟s attitudes and beliefs, and would later inform many of his philosophical themes. Because tuberculosis was contagious, and Catherine and Madame Sintés could not properly provide for him, Albert‟s uncle, Gustave Acault, agreed to take him to his apartment where Albert would be taken care of. Living with uncle Gustave provided Albert the first loving father figure in his life. Gustave engaged in political discussions with Albert and strongly reinforced Albert‟s intellectual endeavors. Living with Gustave also showed Albert a new way of living - in an environment with luxuries and choices (Todd, 2000, p.19). The next few years of Albert‟s life consisted of drastic changes. Because of his tuberculosis, Albert had to give up playing soccer and swimming. Albert also graduated high school and gained entrance to The University of Algeria. During these years he met and married Simone Hié, an attractive woman with a morphine addiction. Uncle Gustave refused to let the nineteen-year-old Albert sleep with women, especially Simone, in his room. That resulted in Albert leaving his Uncle‟s apartment and moving in with his brother, Lucien (Todd, 2000, p.25). Penniless, Albert took odd jobs including selling car parts, analyzing meteorological data, journalism, and teaching. In 1935, with some initial hesitation, Albert joined the Communist party. Albert claimed to have joined only because Communism promoted equality and Albert wished to have equality between the Arabs and Europeans in Algeria (Todd, 2000, p.37). Albert began to take action and speak publicly about his views on politics. Albert also created a theater group which staged multiple plays before being banned by the city. During 1937, Albert not only divorced Simone, as a result of infidelities by both Albert and Simon, but was also labeled a political agitator by the Communist party (Todd, 2000, p.62). Albert left the Communist party, but continued to hold onto his values of equality concerning Algeria. In 1936, Albert sustained a Master‟s thesis as the University of Algiers on “Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism” (Amoia, 1989, p.13). Albert had wanted to teach at the university, but he couldn‟t be hired because of his health record. During 1937, Camus met Pascal Pia, a friend who would work hard to keep Albert employed over the course of Albert‟s life. Pia provided Albert a job working at Alger Republicain, a newspaper where he primarily wrote about his protest of French mistreatment in Algeria (Amoia, 1989, p.14). At the outbreak of World War II, Camus applied to join the army but was denied because of his health. The military rejection coincided with the closing of his newspaper, leaving Albert unemployed. In 1940, Pascal Pia, having lost his job, found another job at -Soir, a newspaper in France. Pia secured Albert a job at the newspaper and, gratefully, Albert accepted the offer (Amoia, 1989, p.28). In the same year, Albert met Francine Faure, a mathematician from , Algeria. They married on December 3, 1940, and lived in Lyons, France. Less than a month later, Albert‟s position at the newspaper was terminated, and Albert and Francine were forced to return to Oran and take up teaching positions. They remained in Oran for two years, but Albert despised the city and the hot summers were negatively impacting his health (Amoia, 1989, p.28). In the summer of 1942, Albert and Francine were allowed to return to France. This was the same year that Albert published the novel he‟d been focusing on, The Stranger, which would become his most famous and acclaimed novel. Four months later, Albert published his philosophical essay on suicide, . Meanwhile, Francine had returned to Oran. Albert planned to join her in November, but allied forces had landed in North Africa while the Germans invaded Southern France, preventing Albert from traveling (Amoia, 1989, p.29). The couple remained separated for the following two years. In 1942-1944, Albert was trapped in France. He found a job at the publishing house of Gallimard, where he would work for the majority of his remaining life. Between working, Albert would submit anonymous articles criticizing Nazism to resistance newspapers (Amoia, 1989, p.29). Pascal Pia once again came through and found a job for Albert as an editor at the leading resistance newspaper in France, Combat. Albert also managed to publish his first play, . Following the liberation of Paris in 1944, the newspaper Combat emerged as France‟s most prestigious newspaper in circulation, with Pascal Pia as director and Albert as chief editor (Amoia, 1989, p.30). In October of 1944, Francine returned to France to live with Albert. The following year, on September 5, 1945, Francine gave birth to twins: Jean and Catherine (A 30). As a writer, Albert was concerned about how he was going to continue writing with a wife and babies around (Todd, 2000, p.213). Having children did not stop his continual affairs, most notably with the actress Maria Casarés. At the Gallimard publishing house, Albert had become the director of the Espoir collection, which brought him publicity in the French intellectual circles (Amoia, 1989, p.30). In June of 1947, Albert quit his job with Combat due to fatigue and conflict with Pascal Pia. Albert wasn‟t set back financially because he simultaneously published , his largest novel, which was a major success literarily and financially. This success was balanced with the failure of the play he produced, State of Siege, which appeared on stage in 1948. In 1951, Albert found even more unrest in his life when he published , a philosophical essay denouncing communism and Stalinism. Albert‟s long time friend, Jean-Paul Sartre, a strong supporter of communism, ignited a large argument with Albert which eventually broke the two friends apart. Albert and Sartre never saw each other again, distancing Albert further from the French intellectuals around whom he already felt uncomfortable. Between 1952 and 1956, Albert traveled, gave lectures, and directed multiple plays. Albert became distressed when the Algerian war was declared in 1954. He was torn between supporting the Arabs, whom he felt deserved their independence, and French colonials to whom Albert felt he belonged. He proposed a truce between the two factions, but was ridiculed for the simplistic political wish. He was unwilling to side with either of the extremists which led him to a vow of silence on the issue (Amoia, 1989, p.33). In 1956, Albert published his last novel, The Fall, which was considered by many to be his greatest work (Amoia, 1989, p.33). In 1957, Albert was offered the Nobel Prize for Literature “for his important literary works which shed light on the problems today facing the human conscience” (Amoia, 1989, p.34). The same year, he gave a lecture at the University of Stockholm where he gave a famous speech suggesting that he believed in justice, but if terrorism threatened his mother he would defend his mother before defending justice (Amoia, 1989, p.34). This speech brought him ostracism from all sides and his refusal to take sides concerning the war in Algeria consequently left his voice unheard (Amoia, 1989, p.34). 1959 brought Albert‟s final success. He adapted Dostoyevsky‟s novel, , into a stage performance. This adaptation was regarded as his most challenging work on stage and was held in high regards in France and later to Venice and Lausanne (Amoia, 1989, p.35). In November of 1959, he bought a nice family home in Southern France where he intended to work in peace and quiet with his wife and two children. He had been working on an autobiographical novel called and contemplating a play based on one of his favorite literary characters, Don Juan. Tragedy struck on January 4, 1960. Albert and his close friend and publisher, Michel Gallimard, were driving to Paris when their car lost control and crashed into trees along the roadside (Amoia, 1989, p.35). Albert was killed instantly, while Michel died a few days later from his injuries. Albert‟s son and daughter, Jean and Catherine, hold the rights to all of his works.

Examined Works

The Stranger (1942): Arguably Camus‟ most famous literary work, The Stranger contains within it the story of an individual devoid of feelings towards an indifferent world. The anti-hero of the plot, Mersault, is portrayed as a man without any commitments to the world except a fundamental belief in the truth and meaninglessness. The story begins with Mersault being notified of his mother‟s death. The first lines of the book set the tone: “Mamam died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don‟t know” (Camus, 1942, p.3). We learn that Mersault was unable to care for his mother, which resulted in him sending her to a retirement home. He attended the funeral, but acted in very apathetic manner. When Mersault was given the chance to see his mother in the coffin he declined, but instantly felt embarrassed like he had said something wrong (Camus, 1942, p.6). Mersault‟s apathy towards his mother‟s death ultimately leads to his own. Mersault murders an Arab on an Algerian beach, for which he is arrested and put on trial. Rather than condemn him for murdering the Arab, the judge is repulsed by his indifference to the death of his mother. The Judge asks Mersault if he loved his mother, to which he responds, “Yes, the same as anyone” (Camus, 1942, p.67). The passionless answer offends the judge causing him to turn to religion. The judge places a cross before Mersault, asking him to try and negate it, to which Mersault denies any belief, angering the judge (Camus, 1942, p.67). Because of the apathy he shows to the judge and the apathy the jury sees within him, he is found guilty and sentenced to death. In essence, Mersault is punished not for murdering the Arab, but for emotionally murdering his mother. Important themes such as absurdity, a passive girlfriend, the detachment from the mother and the death by guillotine resound back to Camus‟ personal life. Camus was an atheist throughout his life. He didn‟t believe in any objective meaning to life; he thought people have to create meaning for their own lives. Mersault found meaning in his life as soon as he knew he was going to be killed. In a similar way, Camus, having been diagnosed with tuberculosis, felt that life was fundamentally absurd and that revolt was the only legitimate stance against death. Mersault‟s girlfriend, Marie, wanted to get married, but was met with indifference. When Marie asked him if he wanted to marry her, he says, “it didn‟t make any difference…that we could if she wanted to” (Camus, 1942, p.41). Marriage was not serious to Mersault and similarly Camus struggled with his marriages. Camus was married twice, but in both situations felt restricted and continued having multiple affairs. The death of Mersault‟s mother is symbolic of Camus‟ relationship with his mother. Mersault had felt moments of embarrassment in having been improper about his mother‟s death. Camus, when he was young, would be embarrassed whenever he had to admit who his mother was and the menial work she did for a living (Todd, 2000, p.13). Mersault was essentially silent in his feelings about his mother‟s death. Camus and his mother forever had a barrier between them due to her lack of participation in his life, along with her usual silence. Mersault being sentenced to death for his apathy towards his mother‟s death may be Camus‟ way of symbolizing his shame for neglecting his mother in his adulthood. Mersault‟s sentence was to be beheaded by the guillotine. This is important in Camus‟ life because the only important thing he knew about his father was an anecdote concerning the death penalty. Camus‟ father, Lucien, went to see the execution of a man in town. The sight of the man under the blade brought terror to Lucien, causing him to run home, refuse to speak to anybody, and to then be seized by intense vomiting (Amoia, 1989, p.20). It is then fitting that Mersault die by the guillotine for having been indifferent to his mother, for it was Camus‟ mother who shared the story with Camus.

The Fall (1956): The Fall has been regarded as Camus‟ best written piece and is possibly the most revealing. Having been published four years before his death, the analysis provides a portrait of Camus‟ feelings and regrets about the life that he has lived. The Fall is written in the form of a monologue. The main character is Jean- Baptiste Clamence, a self-described judge-penitent. The story tracks Clamence‟s life, starting as a respectable judge in France and eventually degrading into a lowly man who spends each day in a bar in Amsterdam. Thus, the entire novel is written as a confession. The novel is ultimately a veiled confession of Camus‟ own inner downfall. One of the first things noticeably different about The Fall is the setting. The majority of Camus‟ novels and plays take place under the Algerian sun, a place where Camus felt great joy. Amsterdam represents a city below sea-level and wet, rather than sunny, warm, and invigorating. This clue suggests Camus‟ feelings towards Algeria and France during the 1950s. Camus felt beaten by the Algerian war, refusing to take sides on the issue. He had become an exile in his favorite country; the country of his birth. He was heavily ostracized from all sides, no matter how outspoken or silent he remained. One of the major themes throughout The Fall is Clamence‟s love of heights. Clamence says, “I could readily understand why sermons, decisive preachings, and fire miracles took place on accessible heights” for “living aloft is still the only way of being seen and hailed by the largest number” (Camus, 1956, p. 24-25). Clamence feels most comfortable in higher places, physically and metaphorically. The comfort experienced at higher elevations is suggestive of Camus‟ need for power and domination. The need is explicitly expressed when Clamence says, “Even in the details of daily life, I needed to feel above” (Camus, 1956, p.23). The elevation also is suggestive of Camus‟ tuberculosis. In France, they would send those suffering from tuberculosis to sanitariums in the mountains, presuming that the air quality is cleaner and easier to breathe. The portrayal of women in The Fall resembles Camus‟ actual interpersonal relationships outside of his marriages. Clamence says, “you must know that I always succeeded with women – and without much effort. I don‟t say succeed in making them happy or even in making myself happy through them. No, simply succeed” (Camus, 1956, p.56). This represents Camus‟ mannerisms within his personal life. Camus had innumerable affairs with women outside of his two marriages. Clamence says, “I used to achieve my ends just about whenever I wanted. I was considered to have charm” (Camus. 1956, p.56). Camus was said to be very charming and could get whichever woman he set his gaze upon. When he speaks of his ends, he doesn‟t mean a loving relationship. Clamence achieved his goal when he dominated another woman. Camus, it would seem, played Clamence‟s game and wished to dominate the various women throughout his life.

Camus’ Development: Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Albert Camus had a difficult childhood which developed into a difficult adulthood. Erik Erikson‟s theory of psychosocial development appears to capture the picture of some of Camus‟ struggles. I will now attempt to define key events in Erikson‟s first two stages of development, which led to the formation of a personality of chronic self-doubting and detachments in relationships.

Basic Trust vs. Mistrust: During the first stage of development, the child is absolutely dependent on the maternal figure/primary caregiver. In this stage the infant determines whether or not he/she will be provided for. Depending on whether the child‟s needs are met, ignored, or overindulged, the child will develop a basic trust or mistrust concerning the world. Camus was born to an impoverished family in Algeria. Camus‟ father died in combat leaving his mother, Catherine, to care for him and his brother Lucien. Catherine couldn‟t provide for her children alone which resulted in her moving to her mother‟s apartment in Algeria. Catherine was partially deaf, had a speech impediment, and often detached herself from family conflicts. As Todd (2000) describes, her “life was one of silence and work” (9). Camus‟ childhood was primarily influenced by the grandmother, Madame Sintés. While Catherine worked for a living, the grandmother stayed at home yelling and defaming Catherine and mistreating the brothers. At one point the Catherine cut her hair, to which the grandmother exclaimed that Catherine was a whore (Todd, 2000, p.9). The uncomfortable atmosphere of the household accompanied with the lack of resources most likely left the dependent Camus physically and emotionally malnourished. We can envision Camus receiving little physical comfort from his family, instilling in him a notion of an unpredictable and hostile world. The physical and emotional limitations likely provided young Camus with a mistrust concerning life. Camus‟ mistrust toward life may have resulted in his life philosophy, and his independence in relationships; he believed that the world had no inherent meaning and that people have to create their own meaning in order to survive. This way of looking at the world casts a shadow over nature, suggesting that the world is unfriendly and that it‟s up to one to decide one‟s own fate. Camus also may have developed a general mistrust of women during this stage, eventually turning into an unconscious hatred of women. In his adult relationships, Camus didn‟t wish to be dependent on anybody else‟s money or love - his relationships were on his own terms.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt: During the second stage of development, the child begins to control bodily functions. At this time, the child has to adapt to taking orders from the parents, yet also maintain self-control. The child must figure out who‟s in charge and depending on how relaxed, authoritative, or authoritarian the parents are, the child can develop a sense of autonomy or shame and doubt. As Camus‟ muscular control began to develop, many restrictions were imposed upon him. It was clear that the grandmother was in charge and that the entire family bent to her will. There is no specific information concerning how Albert was toilet-trained, but one can make some general inferences based on the family structure and Camus‟ adulthood of self-doubting and shame. His grandmother‟s apartment had no electricity or running water. The apartment had Turkish toilets - essentially a hole with a drain - on the landings, and emitted an awful stench (Todd, 2000, p.8). This unpleasant situation, accompanied with the strictness of the grandmother, could have resulted in an unpleasant toilet-training experience. The grandmother tolerated very little, and probably tolerated eliminative accidents even less. The grandmother also preferred that Camus stay at home when not at school. At every moment she wished to be in control of Camus. The forbidding will of the grandmother most likely restricted the necessary explorations that Camus needed to experience at that age. Thus it is likely that Camus developed a sense of shame and doubt which manifested itself in control issues and self-doubt concerning his written work. Camus‟ lack of control as a child could be the reason that he had an abundance of promiscuous relationships outside of his marriages. Having potentially developed an unconscious hatred of women during Erikson‟s first stage, the tension of that hatred could have been released in his philandering. As we recall from The Fall, Camus expressed the desire to dominate. It is possible that Camus thought that he could take control of his life by controlling the lives of women. Camus didn‟t appear interested in finding one woman to love, but rather in conquering as many women as he could within his lifetime. Camus reserved a different treatment for his wives. Instead of attempting to dominate them, he treated them like his mother; the marital relationships lacked communication, lacked love, and were often distant; both geographically and metaphorically.

Social Learning Theory From the onlooker‟s point of view, Camus‟ life was far from boring. Many people came and went, but a special few left a strong impression upon Camus. Without the devotion of a school teacher and the loving care of an Uncle, Camus may have never reached global fame, let alone survived.

Louis Germain: Louis Germain was Camus‟ teach in primary school. Germain was aware of Camus‟ intellectual promise and wished to furnish his further education. As an adult, Camus received a letter from Germain saying, “Your pleasure at being in class was always apparent, and your face was so optimistic that looking at it, I never guessed your family‟s real situation” (Todd, 2000, p.11). Camus enjoyed being in school, for it gave him the opportunity to escape his family. Germain took time at the end of weekdays in order to give Camus private lessons. Germain felt that Camus‟ talent should flourish in high school, but Camus‟ poverty prevented him from going. There were scholarships that were available to Camus, but his grandmother insisted that he get a job rather than go to high school. Going above and beyond, Germain reasoned with Camus‟ grandmother by explaining “the boy‟s skill in reading, writing, and the spoken word,” as well as the fact “that the scholarship would pay for a high school diploma, after which Albert could get a better job” (Todd, 2000, p.11). Germain was proud on the day that Camus was announced a winner of the scholarship. To Camus, Germain represented the first man in his life to care for him. Germain modeled a persistent, educated man who reinforced Camus‟ interests in literature. Arguably, without Germain, Camus would never have had the chance to pursue higher education.

Gustave Acault: Uncle Gustave became the first true father figure in Camus‟ life. When Camus was diagnosed with tuberculosis, he had to be relocated to a cleaner environment with more resources. Acault provided Camus with an abundance of food in order to fight Camus‟ sickness. Camus wasn‟t used to that much food, nor the fancy dining sets he used to eat with (Todd, 2000, p.19). Equally important, Acault provided Camus with near- endless political discussions and book recommendations. Acault shared Camus‟ views about equality, reinforcing the strength of Camus‟ beliefs. Uncle Gustave also offered Camus his personal wisdom. Acault would tell Camus, “knowing how to live well was better than knowing endless information, and a smart guy [is] better than a pedant” (Todd, 2000, p.18). The political reinforcement led Camus to write extensively about equality and solidarity, speaking for his generation in times of war and uncertainty. Without Uncle Gustave‟s tender loving care, young Camus may have died from his tuberculosis or never fully developed his political views which would invigorate and enrage many intellectuals.

Conclusion It would be unfair to label Albert Camus as a writer, playwright, political activist, or womanizer. Indeed, he was all of these things, but more, besides. While he spoke for his generation against the terrors of Nazism and Stalinism, few realized how tormented he was by his inner demons. He preferred to be enigmatic in his personal life and will most likely remain that way to future scholars. His untimely death was a tragedy for Europe‟s conscience and the literary world. We are left with novels, plays, and philosophical essays that will remain timeless and continue to be studied as we look for answers to what Camus saw as a fundamentally meaningless life. Using psychoanalytic theory and social learning theory, I demonstrated how developmental crises and reinforces shaped the personality and life of Camus. I anticipate that further research and wider application of Erikson‟s theory of psychosocial development would demonstrate how unresolved developmental crises in his childhood would cause more unresolved developmental crises throughout Camus‟ early and late adulthood. The life and works of Albert Camus illustrates how people, with all odds against them, can rebel against their upbringings, disease, and war in order to say „yes‟ to life.

References

Amoia, A. (1989). Albert Camus. New York: Continuum Publishing Company.

Camus, A. (1956). The Fall. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Camus, A. (1942). The Stranger. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

Funder, D. (2007). The Personality Puzzle. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Todd, O. (2000). Albert Camus: A Life. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.