Of the plays in this collection, Caligula and The Just Assassins are the most important to his philosophy and indeed, the better written. Caligula represents a perversion of unquestioned Christian values. He operates alongside Mersault in Camus' philosophy of the Absurd. For some reason, I feel like there is something quite admirable about this Caligula. Despite all he does, it seems like he really does just want "the moon" (contrast to Mersault's Sun), and the inauthenticity of the characters around him draws little sympathy for all he puts them through. There is a resemblance between the way Caligula and Hamlet approach their destinies. In light of a modernist anguish, a deprivation of meaning, they manipulate the world around them in an attempt to find something tangible.
Here is a poster I have framed and in my room - was done in poland I think to advertise a performance of Caligula.
The Just Assassins consumates the philosophy presented in The Rebel. It retells the (true) story of the assassination of a Duke, the perpetrators failing in a prior attempt because they refused to attack while he was around his niece and nephew. For Camus, the refusal to sacrifice innocents is important for the Rebel - who wants all or nothing. As a french-algerian, Camus believed in the rights of the native Algerians, however refused that it was necessary to attack innocent settlers in order to gain their independence.
The misunderstanding is an attempt by Camus to write a tragedy in the style of Oedipus. As a result, it reads more like a literary experiment - frankly, something that might be written as a text response by a Year 12 student. A son returns home only to be killed by his sister and mother, because he neglects to tell them who he is. There is a very nice sentiment conveyed here which I think is worthwhile, something which comes through in Kafka stories like Metamorphosis, The Trial and the Castle.
We hold onto a naive belief that many of the problems we face arise as a result of misunderstanding. If we can just express ourselves clearly enough, get in contact with the right people, then our problems will be resolved.
This is certainly a trap I find myself falling into, it's hard just to accept that some things cannot be communicated, and it's better to shut-up than to dig yourself into more and more misconceptions. Sometimes it's a sad thing to realise.
State of Seige is somewhat similar to The Plague. Camus liked to write A Novel, an Essay and a Play to explore the same idea. In this play, a plague is used as an excuse to implement a totalitarian regime. It is reasonably unremarkable - perhaps not refined as was the case with The Plague.
