How to Interpret the Metaphor of the Myth of Sisyphus?

To understand the legacy left by Albert Camus, we must start with his book The Myth of Sisyphus.

The First Perspective: The Greek Hero

Camus reinterprets the story of Sisyphus, a king in Greek mythology who tricked Death and temporarily freed humanity from dying. After his death, he convinced Death to let him return to the living world to settle unfinished business. But once back, he refused to return to the underworld, enchanted by the sunlight, rivers, warm stones, and the sea.

As punishment, the gods condemned him to endlessly push a boulder up a mountain, only for it to roll back down each time he neared the top. This eternal, futile labor became his fate.

Greek values were deeply pessimistic. The wisest advice from Silenus, Dionysus’s foster father, was: “The best thing for a man is never to be born. The second best is to die young.” Greeks believed in surrendering to fate, which they saw as inherently meaningless and painful.

The Second Perspective: What is the Absurd?

Camus begins his philosophy with the concept of the “absurd,” similar to Sartre’s “nausea” or Kierkegaard’s “anxiety.” The absurd arises from the clash between human desire for meaning and the indifferent, irrational world.

For example, a romantic Valentine’s dinner can be stripped down to a cold, biological act: “On a random day in Earth’s 4.6 billion years, you cook dead animal flesh and plants, then sit with a fellow human whose genitals you often touch, chewing and swallowing together.” The warmth vanishes, leaving only strangeness.

The world is irrational. Good people suffer, evil thrives, and fairness is fleeting. Religion once offered comfort, but Nietzsche declared “God is dead,” leaving modern humans to face the absurd alone.

The Third Perspective: Freedom in the Absurd

When old values crumble, people face existential questions: “Why work? Why live?” Some escape through suicide—physical or “philosophical” (blind faith in ideologies or religions). Camus rejects both.

Instead, he urges rebellion. Embrace the absurd, love life despite its chaos, and find freedom in defiance. Like Sisyphus, we must imagine ourselves happy in our struggle.

The Fourth Perspective: The Absurd Hero

Camus, inspired by Nietzsche, suggests four ways to live rebelliously:

1. Don Juanism: Pursue passion endlessly, like Don Juan with his countless lovers.
2. The Actor: Live many lives through roles, embracing diverse experiences.
3. The Conqueror: Act boldly, knowing efforts may be futile but doing so anyway.
4. The Creator: Art is the ultimate rebellion. Writers and artists build worlds, defying meaninglessness.

The Final Perspective: Sisyphus’s Lesson

Sisyphus’s punishment mirrors human life—repetitive, seemingly pointless. But Camus argues: if Sisyphus accepts his fate and rebels inwardly, he finds joy. The struggle itself fills his heart.

“The universe, now without a master, seems neither sterile nor futile. Each grain of stone, each mineral in the mountain, forms a world. The struggle toward the heights is enough. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

This summary is based on the 2012 Chinese edition (Jiangsu Literature Press) and the 2005 English edition (Penguin) of The Myth of Sisyphus. Minor adjustments were made for clarity.

May great books guide your journey.