In The Fall, Camus writes an important
passage that takes place along the River Seine and though open to
interpretation, needs further clarification. The passage in the novel
highlights issues of morality, guilt, complicity, and a particular view of what
it means to be human which are all major themes of the novel itself.
Jean-Baptiste,
after leaving a mistress, walks home in the middle of a November night (The
Fall 69). He steps onto the Pont Royal, making his way to the Left Bank and in
the process he notices a youthful woman dressed in black leaning upon the
bridge railings. He walks on past her and hears the sound of the woman falling
into the river waters and screaming as she floats downstream. The sounds of the
screaming girl resonate with him until all he hears is an “interminable”
silence (70). Though he stops at the sounds he does not turn around and after
the silence he states,
“I
wanted to run…yet…didn’t. I told myself I had to be quick…(then) an irresistible weakness steal over me" (70).
After this he
forgets what he thought next and makes his way home to Blvd St. Michel and
informed no one of the incident (70).
Jean-Baptiste,
our modern day John the Baptist, has a chance to literally save the woman from
a possible drowning. Interpretively he has a chance to be her savior and bring
her out of the waters that she was plunged into. But Jean-Baptiste does not
budge a muscle, instead his
struggle is one of the mind. He wants to run; yet it seems not to the girl but
rather away, underscoring a sense of guilt and shame. He trembles and has the
thought of what to do, of what would be morally “right” but then has perhaps a
moment of akrasia.
Finally the
“irresistible weakness” overtakes him, but why a weakness? If you did not have
a moral sense of right would it still be considered a “weakness”? The fact that
in the aftermath he decides not to look over the newspapers for a few days may
be a clue to his lingering guilt over the incident. For although there is no
law that says he must save her and though he did not kill or harm her, he did
nothing either to help prevent it.
In one brief
instant Jean-Baptiste considers the morality of the situation, he experiences
guilt, and in his decision he displays a sense of complicity. He had a choice
in the matter and displayed an array of self-interruption dealing with that
choice. In that very instant Jean-Baptiste Clamence defined what it is to be human.
Jean-Bapist seems to spend his time doing chivalrous acts for others whether its helping a blind person across the street or giving up his seat on a bus. He has created this image of a gentleman who would do his best to help others. However all these acts are motivated by his selfishness, they allowed him to be raised above those around him. " It set me above the judge whom I judged.... I live with impunity."(25) However when he had the opportunity to help rescue the women from the river he had an "irresistible weakness", this may be weakness in the physical sense but it was selfishness in the moral sense. He was not in control of this situation, this was beyond his comfort zone. He choose the cowardly act of walking away from the drowning women.
ReplyDeleteWith this instance of letting the woman drown, he then feels that the duality that exists within in his nature is exposed. He originally possessed an exaggerated image of himself as a selfless man; however, now he recognizes the contradiction that is present due to his cowardly act of allowing the woman to drown. I believe this point is summarized very well in Brent's statement that, "In that very instant Jean-Baptiste Clamence defined what it is to be human."
ReplyDeleteBy definition of what it means to be human, is Camus saying to be human is to express anxiety, indecisiveness, and selfishness in that precise sequence upon witnessing someone or something in need of assistance? If so, where do you think these actions stem from? In my opinion, its the human instinct of self-preservation. But I also think it depends on ones interpretation of the situation encountered. If an individual perceives no immediate danger, and that experience wasn’t new to him/her, then I believe these feelings wouldn’t occur and ones curiosity would impel them to investigate an incident. If a circumstance presents itself as perilous and unfamiliar to the one who witnesses it, then the fear of bodily harm would compel these feelings to emerge inside the individual, and consequently, cause one to abstain from the incident rather than become actively involved.
ReplyDeleteI was also curious about the fact that Camus decided to name his narrator Jean-Baptiste, like John the Baptist who’s related to baptism through the use of water. Images of water are used throughout the Fall; from the concentric rivers of Amsterdam (which are referred to Dante’s circles of Hell) and the fact that the young woman falls into and dies in the water (and Clamence does not intercede). Perhaps being plunged into the water is a metaphor for a type of baptism, as relating to “original sin” or the pervasive guilt that all humans harbor, and maybe Camus is saying that one can only escape this original sin/guilt through death.
ReplyDeleteThe humanism displayed here is in line with many of the absurdist themes presented later in the novel. Jean-Baptiste has reached a turning point in his career where he is no longer at fault with his own sins. Therefore it is reasonable to believe he has no interest in helping this woman. In fact it is quite plausible he may have felt threatened by any involvement. He may have contemplated all the possible consequences. The narrator does not mention this possibility because ‘you’, the reader, may share some distance with Jean-Baptiste. As mentioned before, one might even compare him to Virgil in Dante’s inferno. In the final words he says “I’d like to take you to the island of Marken so you can see the Zuider Zee…That woman? Oh I don’t know.” (71) This prompts him to once again turn his attention toward the woman. The constitutive parts of his experience help in developing a more humanist perspective.
ReplyDeleteI was confused on what in the world "irresistible weakness" could have been..to the point of this sane man running away from saving another human beings life. But, knowing that Jean-Baptiste had a idol for woman and was involved in many orgy sexual relationships..I would say that this irresistible weakness was accumulated with guilt, shame and horror over the fact that his past sins were overwhelming him. I would think that he'd think, "How dare I try to save this woman from drowning..I was the one drowning myself and them with me." So, the paradox is that he wants to save them to free himself for his guilt but yet again, he cannot because they represent his sin and shame.
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