A travers et par la Méditerranéeregards sur Albert Camus

Abstract

Albert Camus elaborated, to his regret, not a Mediterranean myth but one of the contemporary man, symbolically fed by the Mediterranean land: the myth of Euphorion. Through his literary creations, he gradually shapes the attributes and actions of this anti-hero. However, his first writings distil the persistent idea of harmony (measure) from the images that Camus himself deemed Mediterranean. These images take shape of dynamic constellations, whose strength manifests itself in night and land aspects � even �organic� � more than in solar and purified principles. Stemming from this ideal reality, Camus� imagery shows that this land, as a privileged space, is one where the equilibrium between the exile and the kingdom could still be realised, under Nemesis� good omen. A close look at the Mediterranean scenery, omnipresent in Camus� works, evinces that each visited country is given a particular Mediterranean dimension, which, in turn, feeds his own ideal Mediterranean.