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The Actor
The conqueror is Albert Camus’ third example of an “absurd man.” That said, he is not so much a conqueror as a general soldier/fighter—he engages in warfare but not necessarily in order to rule over new territory. Camus sees the conqueror as incorporating the absurd because he lives for the moment, motivated by his heightened sense of his possible death. This gives life greater vivacity and intensifies “fraternity” and “friendship” among men. It’s worth noting that, at the time of writing The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus was part of the French Resistance in World War Two. Violent conflict was therefore very much a real threat, perhaps creating the kind of conditions which Camus ascribes to the conqueror. Here, the conqueror has little animosity towards an “enemy,” and is more concerned with making a mark on history. That said, he is not deluded into thinking that this impact on history has any greater meaning outside of itself.
The Conqueror Quotes in The Myth of Sisyphus
The The Myth of Sisyphus quotes below are all either spoken by The Conqueror or refer to The Conqueror. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
8. Conquest
Quotes
“There is but one luxury for them—that of human relations. How can one fail to realize that in this vulnerable universe everything that is human and solely human assumes a more vivid meaning? Taut faces, threatened fraternity, such strong and chaste friendship among men—these are the true riches because they are transitory.”
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Let me repeat that these images do not propose moral codes and involve no judgments: they are sketches. They merely represent a style of life. The lover, the actor, or the adventurer plays the absurd. But equally well, if he wishes, the chaste man, the civil servant, or the president of the Republic. It is enough to know and to mask nothing.
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The Conqueror Quotes in The Myth of Sisyphus
The The Myth of Sisyphus quotes below are all either spoken by The Conqueror or refer to The Conqueror. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
8. Conquest
Quotes
“There is but one luxury for them—that of human relations. How can one fail to realize that in this vulnerable universe everything that is human and solely human assumes a more vivid meaning? Taut faces, threatened fraternity, such strong and chaste friendship among men—these are the true riches because they are transitory.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Let me repeat that these images do not propose moral codes and involve no judgments: they are sketches. They merely represent a style of life. The lover, the actor, or the adventurer plays the absurd. But equally well, if he wishes, the chaste man, the civil servant, or the president of the Republic. It is enough to know and to mask nothing.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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