Existential "Character-Ideas" in Camus' The Misunderstanding

EXISTENTIAL HCHARACTER-IDEAS" IN CAMUS' THE MISUNDERSTANDING EACH OF THE FIVE CHARACTERS IN Albert Camus' The Misunderstanding serves, I believe, as an embodiment of some aspect of Camus' thought. Though these characters do not personify abstractions in any clear-cut and well defined manner, as might be the case in allegory , yet the reader can arrive at some fairly decisive conclusions as to the existentialist symbolism involved. The characters seem not to be designed as living individuals so much as vehicles to express the ideas of the author; one might, indeed, call them existential "Character -Ideas." Of the five characters, only the wife Maria seems to have what might be called, in the usual sense, a normal outlook upon life. Though she is fearful of what life may do to her happiness, she maintains hope until the final curtain. Hers is the l'univers du sacre~ which Camus has mentioned elsewhere, for she believes in God's grace. Even this hope, we assume at the end of the play, is taken from her, since the old servant, who may be said to represent both God and humanity, refuses to help her. She will be totally alone in her sorrow over the loss of her husband. Since he utters so little during the course of the play (two brief speeches at the end), one cannot determine the philosophy of the old manservant from dialogue. His position, however, seems to be one of complete detachment from life, of total indifference to people. In this detachment he reminds one somewhat of the hero of Camus' novel The Stranger~ but the detachment in the case of the servant is much greater than that of the hero of the novel. One feels that if Camus believed in God, He would resemble this old man who occasionally appears, bent steadily on his own inexplicable business, saying nothing, heeding no one, only seeing to it that the more mechanical aspects of his job are taken care of, but caring not a pin what happens to human creatures. It is surely no coincidence merely, that he appears at the end of the play, asking "Did you call me?" when Maria calls on the "Heavenly Father." As the daughter says of the old man, uIt's not so much that he doesn't hear; only he hears badly." (Act I) Whether he is hard of hearing or simply misunderstands, the result is the same. Indeed, Camus might say the same thing for humanity en 210 1964 CHARACTER IDEAS IN Camus 211 masse-they, too, are either indifferent, do not understand, or refuse to help the individual who is in trouble. The son Jan may be taken as one who has attempted to be the existentialist revolte. He has, some years ago, taken the definite action of leaving his family and has actively gone in pursuit of his personal happiness. He has found an idyllic part of the world in which to live, has married happily, and has made a fortune. His weakness, however, lies in the fact that he is drawn powerfully, by the force of memory, back to the ordinary world-to his home and to his mother and sister. He has not been able, really, to maintain his state of independence , of individuality. His curious hesitancy in announcing his identity to his family may be taken also as a further sign of his weakness, since it is a kind of curiosity to find out something about his mother and sister that prompts him to remain incognito. On this point Camus (as well as Jan) seems somewhat vague. At any rate, it can be said that Jan meets his death largely through some fault or lack in his character, though one might assume also that here is merely a case which proves that death comes to everybody, even when he has kind intentions toward other people and desires to share his univers de revolte with them. Or again, perhaps the universe cannot be shared; perhaps it can only be achieved by each individual through his own action. The mother and sister become, more than the other characters, mouthpieces for Camus' philosophy. Both of them are attempting to be...