The Misunderstanding

Throughout Camus’s work, he utilizes biblical allusion to nuance and reinforce his key arguments. In The Misunderstanding, Camus includes biblical motifs of exile, salvation, and resurrection, all of which he resituates to an absurd cosmos to illustrate the danger of a desire for clear meaning and salvation.

Camus chooses symbolic names for Martha and Maria, invoking the sisters Martha and Mary, who appear in the biblical gospels of Luke and John. The contrast between the sisters teaches the importance of faith over worldly concerns. In the biblical accounts, when Jesus visits Martha and Mary’s house, Mary does nothing but listen to him, leaving Martha to do the housework. When Martha complains, Jesus chides her for focusing on her many tasks instead of on God. Mary exemplifies the importance of faith and listening, while Martha exemplifies the foolishness of worldly concerns.

Camus’s most overt biblical allusion in The Misunderstanding is to The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) with Jan himself referencing this parable twice. The Parable of the Prodigal Son is part of a trio of parables emphasizing the importance of repentance over righteousness. As Jesus says in The Parable of the Lost Sheep, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15: 7, NRSV).