The Ethics of Pleasure Camus and The Search for Meaning

"The Happy Man" by Albert Camus: An Unconventional Interpretation through a Hedonistic Lens. This research paper aims to explore "The Happy Man" by Albert Camus from a hedonistic standpoint. Albert Camus’ novel A Happy Death portrays the meaning of happiness and freedom. The protagonist, Patrice Mersault, earns his fortune and kills Roland Zagreus for money. Zagreus cannot live his life because he feels life is too much for him, so he has written a note of his death wish. It is also Zagreus’ existential choice that only two men live their lives to the fullest, rather than both living unhappily. Death is Zagreus’s ultimate freedom of choice because he has experienced his life perfectly. After killing Zagreus, Mersault leads a life of travel, hedonism and leisure but feels happiness is the only way of escaping. His health is uncertain, but his wallet is full. Through the analysis of various enigmatic situations of the protagonist throughout the novel, this paper argues that Mersault’s failure to gain happiness is his inability to recognize that true happiness emerges from the outside.