Albert Camus’ Caligula: Absurdism and the Absurd Tragic Hero

• Main Authors: Shu-Ching Kuo, 郭淑卿
• Other Authors: Joseph C. Y. Yen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2003
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/72555756071708875019

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 外國語文學系碩博士班 === 91 === Living in an age in which political powers were struggling between nations, and traditional values as well as religious beliefs were broken down with the destructions of two world wars, Camus deeply sensed the anxieties of men struggling to survive not only in the breakdown of external buildings but also in the collapse of conventional values. In his short life, he passionately explored various ways people confronting with the fact that they live in a world without any meanings. In career as a writer, Camus was better known for his fictions and essays, he himself regarded dramas as his favorite medium, however. This thesis is intended to study his most famous dramas, Caligula, in the light of absurdism and the absurd tragic hero. The first chapter is a brief introduction to Camus’ theatrical achievements and his writing of Caligula. Chapter Two deals with Camus’ influential essay The Myth of Sisyphus, discussing the relationship between rational man and irrational universe so as to see the central idea of absurdism. It provides an overview of the existential emotions, including forsakenness, despair, anguish and so on. In Chapter Three, I will analyze the dramatization of the greatness and misery of the absurd tragic hero─Caligula, to see some philosophical points. In Chapter Four, I conclusively point out that Camus’ drama is no other than a vehicle for his philosophy.