Awakening into the Absurd: Renegotiating with Camus The Myth of Sisyphus with Special Reference to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

Awakening into the Absurd: Renegotiating with Camus The Myth of Sisyphus with Special Reference to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening

Tejoswita Saikia and Nasmeem F. Akhtar

Abstract

Suicide is one of the most important and perplexing issues that condition the discussions on the value of a human life. The Myth of Sisyphus (2000) by Albert Camus is a monumental work of philosophical contextualisation of suicide, which is indispensable for understanding the issue beyond the statistical and impersonal approaches of psychiatry. The sociological imports derived from this work have profound implications in addressing the issue from multiple fronts. However, the masculine authorship of the text problematises the discussion embarked upon because the existential crisis of women in a world that is inimical to their agency is offhandedly disregarded. In fact, in his work, the phallogocentric predisposition of Camus renders it inadequate to understand the issue of women’s suicide, which nevertheless has been sought to be negotiated by women writers remarkably. This article attempts to juxtapose the limited nature of Camus’ work compared to the alternatives of exploration and comprehension facilitated by women’s texts with special reference to Kate Chopin’s The Awakening emphasising the diversity of contexts and implications of suicide for women.