| |
 |
| Paper: |
Astronomy and Existentialism in Albert Camus' “The Adulterous Woman” |
| Volume: |
468, Engaging the Heavens: Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena V |
| Page: |
129 |
| Authors: |
Garwood, D. |
| Abstract: |
Camus' short story “An Adulterous Woman” from his collection Exile and the Kingdom narrates the experience of Janine, wife of a French Algerian cloth-trader, who accompanies her husband on a business trip to the Saharan interior at mid-20th century. The desert landscape and its weather play an integral role in the plot. Blending realism and fantasy that borders on science fiction, the narrator characterizes the sky as an animate cosmological energy whose virility is masked by sunlight during the day. Released after sundown and portrayed as a liberator at the climax of the story, the shaman-like night sky descends upon Janine as a shower of stars that leaves her with an existential sense of self. This paper explores themes of astronomy and existentialism that Camus develops through Janine's “adultery” with a cosmological force, supplemented by visual imagery related to the aesthetic and scientific cultural contexts of the story and Camus' era. |
|
|
|
|
|
