The Fall by Albert Camus

Albert Camus was a French philosopher, author and journalist. He holds the Noble Prize in literature from 1956 which makes him the 2nd youngest noble prize holder in history.'The Fall' is his last work of literature. It's a philosophical fictional novel, which outlines the themes of existentialism, hypocrisy, infidelity, freedom, innocence and guilt and blame (etc). It comprises a series of dramatic monologues in the form of Stream of Consciousness.

In the beginning, the narrator talks to his silent interlocutor about his life. The narrator (Jean Bapstise Clamence also Judge-penitent) narrates about his prosperous, luxurious, regal and spiritual satisfaction of life. He portrays the occupation of a solicitor in the novel. He offers his assistance to poors and thus becomes the ray-of-hope for the widows, orphans and needy. His sense of life and style was highly rich. In Amsterdam, he had the veneration of every younger and older.
He was also involved in debauchery and sensuality. His personality and richness of charm would make every lady fall for him. He was involved in multiple relationships with women.
All these blessings made him highly in love with himself. The Judge penitent was a generous and noble fella untill the night, when he didn't save a young woman from death from drowning. When he was coming home alone in the night, the young woman fell off the bridge and drowned while he was watching her. After that night, the scream of that lady follows him. He couldn't forget and forgive himself. He lost many of his liaisons. Consequently, he gradually started losing the meaning in life.

Critically analyzing, the narrator is very much narcissistic and highly hypocritic. All his assistance, nobility and generosity is merely show off to the world. He would offer his helping hand to people in front of society but when he was all alone, he did not save the lady. He was highly infidel too. His utter narcissism despised and disdained his friends and other people. This condescension, contempt and duplicity becomes the reason of his fall.

The title of the book symbolizes the literal, 'Falling of the women' and also the falling of the protagonist from noble and generous to a hypocrite. Camus' depiction of absurdity and moral decay or the fall of the society is outclass in the novel. Nevertheless, the title goes hand in hand with the content. Jean-Paul Sartre, existentialist friend of Camus says, "perhaps the most beautiful and least understood novel of Camus."

- Ihsan Ali