Nihilism portrayed in the characters of Camus

The aim of this article is to argue about the nihilistic experiences of Camus's characters, and to demonstrate that Camus's essayistic reflection on the themes of absurdity, suicide, murder, nihilism and revolt are effectively worked out in the novel and theater that complement each other...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Ferreira de Lima, Michelle
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB)
Repositorio:Aufklärung (João Pessoa. Online)
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:periodicos.ufpb.br:article/71220
Acceso en línea:https://periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/arf/article/view/71220
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:absurdity
suicide
murder
nihilism
revolt
absurdo
suicídio
assassinato
niilismo
revolta
Descripción
Sumario:The aim of this article is to argue about the nihilistic experiences of Camus's characters, and to demonstrate that Camus's essayistic reflection on the themes of absurdity, suicide, murder, nihilism and revolt are effectively worked out in the novel and theater that complement each other within the fabric of Camus's cyclical work. To this end, an analysis will be carried out mainly on the works: The Adulterous Woman (short story), which brings a reflection on the negation of life; escape and negation in the short story Jonas or the artist at work; The Stranger (novel), in which the question of the absurd and nihilism is widely worked on; The Plague (novel), observed here in the context of murderous consent and nihilism or revolt and refusal; and finally, Caligula (theater), a drama that expresses absurd reasoning taken to its ultimate consequences within a nihilistic perspective. The analysis showed that the characters who express such nihilistic experiences, at some point, come up against the absurd, and each responds in a different way to this encounter: some remain in nihilism; others turn to suicide as a living death; others to murder; and still others fight the plague and, in a way, try to overcome the problem.