The Return of Sisyphus

Overcoming the Tragedy of the Human Condition

"At the very end of his long effort measured by skyless space and time without depth, the purpose is achieved. Then Sisyphus watches the stone rush down in a few moments toward that lower world whence he will have to push it up again toward the summit. He goes back down to the plain. It is during that return, that pause, that Sisyphus interests me."

When thinking about the Myth of Sisyphus, most people imagine that his torment lies in rolling his stone uphill.

This time, I am going to try to show that the most important part of the Myth of Sisyphus is not his struggle uphill and that the most difficult but also the most glorious moment of Sisyphus’ (and our) life is elsewhere.

Sisyphus was punished by the gods the roll a giant stone uphill, only for it to roll back down as soon as Sisyphus reaches the top, and for Sisyphus to come down and start over, and repeat this meaningless task for eternity.

Albert Camus uses this myth as a metaphor for the tragic and absurd human condition. We are finite, temporal beings, whose life, as far as we know, has no inherent meaning and consists mostly of repeating the same tasks and activities over and over again. Our lives may seem a bit more interesting than Sisyphus’ punishment, but the human fate is not much different than that of Sisyphus.

As I said, when thinking about this myth, most people focus on his meaningless struggle of rolling his stone uphill. However, this is not where the tragedy of Sisyphus’ fate lies.

If this myth is tragic, Camus says, it is because its hero is conscious.

"Where would his torture be, indeed, if at every step the hope of succeeding upheld him?"

If Sisyphus was rolling his stone up a mountain that had no top, his task would be equally meaningless, but his fate wouldn’t be tragic. Maybe it would be to us as spectators, but it wouldn’t be to him. There would always be a hope that there is a top to be reached, a hope that final success is possible.

It is that pause when Sisyphus reaches the top and watches his stone rush down, and his own return downhill, that makes the story tragic. That is Sisyphus’ "hour of consciousness."

"The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is tragic only at the rare moments when it becomes conscious."

Our fate is no different from that of Sisyphus. The only difference is that our moments of consciousness, our "returns downhill," are much rarer than those of Sisyphus.

No matter how rare, we all have those moments when one becomes fully conscious of the absurd nature of the human condition. This is why we prefer to keep rolling our stones uphill and not have that pause, even if the task is equally meaningless. This is why people want to stay busy and distracted, whether it’s with constructive activities or empty pleasure and entertainment. They do it to avoid their return downhill.

"Sisyphus, proletarian of the gods, powerless and rebellious, knows the whole extent of his wretched condition: it is what he thinks of during his descent."

However, for both Sisyphus and ourselves, if the return downhill makes us conscious of our tragic condition, it is that very same return that allows us to overcome our fate.

The consciousness that constitutes Sisyphus’s (and ours) punishment, at the same time, "crowns our victory."

"At each of those moments when he leaves the heights and gradually sinks toward the lairs of the gods, he is superior to his fate. He is stronger than his rock."

The return downhill is the moment of a genuine "Yes to life."

The return downhill is the moment of Amor Fati.

It is only by affirming one’s fate that one overcomes it. And one wouldn’t be able to do so if one was perpetually rolling one’s stone uphill, oblivious to the absurd nature of his task.

One doesn’t have to imagine Sisyphus happy, because he is. At least in this version of the myth.

If Sisyphus kept rolling the stone with the hope that there was some kind of final success to be reached, he would be a laughing stock of the gods that punished him. If he got down on his knees, hoping to be crushed by the stone so that his meaningless task would be over, he would be defeated by his fate.

It is during his return downhill that Sisyphus affirms his fate and overcomes it. He is "superior to his fate" and "stronger than his rock." It is during this return that Sisyphus is fully conscious of what is waiting for him downhill, but he descends with a proud and measured step. He is not crushed by his punishment. He rises above it by embracing it.

The return is where the true acceptance of the human condition takes place, as well as the realization that fulfillment and happiness can, after all, be achieved, despite our tragic fate. As Camus says, "crushing truths perish from being acknowledged."

The return downhill is a moment of no distraction and no escapism. A moment of full engagement in life. As terrifying and uncomfortable as it can be, it can be equally beautiful.

"If the descent is thus sometimes performed in sorrow, it can also take place in joy."

During his return, Sisyphus concludes that "all is well." He decides to keep rolling his stone because "each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself forms a world."

Likewise, I see you returning downhill, deciding to keep rolling your stone because every single moment of your life in itself forms a little world, if you allow it. Because even the most mundane moments of your life are worth experiencing. Because life is already worth experiencing as it is.

We see Sisyphus realizing that "the struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart."

And I see you returning downhill, concluding that being alive, with everything that it entails, is both a task and a reward great enough.

I imagine you happy.

Thank you for reading.

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