Abstract EN:

Camus poses the problem of evil and death at the same time as the problem of salvation right from the time of his first works. His redeeming heroes are skin to the "mythical heroes" and particularly to the saviour of the gospels. His first man, meursault, re-treads the path of adam : from innocence to the fall, from eden to exile, from life to death. After this the heroes explore different paths successively, with a view to the redemption of their fellow man as well as their own. Galigula is an anti-christ who only adds to the unhappiness of man. In his fall, jan, a false redeemer, pulls down those whom he had come to save. The sacrifice of the just redeems nothing, since the salvation of man cannot be attained by hatred, violence and murder. On the other hand, tarrou and diego by sacrifieing their lives, bring to mind the figure of the redeemer of the gospels. Camus' heroes offer their lives to save their brothers. They triumph over death by making it fruitful, redeeming, victorious. Only clamence, who aspires to be delivered not from illness, oppression or death, but from his faults, awaits salvation in vain