Big tears of frustration and exhaustion were streaming down his cheeks. But because of all the wrinkles, they weren't dripping off. They spread out and ran together again, leaving a watery film over his ruined face.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the deep emotional struggles and existential feelings of a person overwhelmed by life's challenges.
In this poignant description by Albert Camus, the imagery of tears symbolizes the weight of frustration and exhaustion that can accumulate over time. The wrinkles on the face represent the scars of struggle and the passage of time, suggesting that life's hardships do not simply wash away but instead leave a lasting impact, creating a 'watery film' over one's identityβa vivid reminder of the internal battles faced throughout life.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the challenges of aging and the emotional toll it takes.
The Poor Man whom everyone speaks of, the Poor Man whom everyone pities, one of the repulsive Poor from whom charitable souls keep their distance, he has still said nothing. Or, rather, he has spoken through the voice of Victor Hugo, Zola, Richepin. At least, they said so. And these shameful impostures fed their authors. Cruel irony, the Poor Man tormented with hunger feeds those who plead his case.
The certainty of a God giving meaning to life far surpasses in attractiveness the ability to behave badly with impunity. The choice would not be hard to make. But there is no choice and that is where the bitterness comes in. The absurd does not liberate; it binds.
Between history and the eternal I have chosen history because I like certainties. Of it, at least, I am certain, and how can I deny this force crushing me.
Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day.
A single sentence will suffice for modern man. He fornicated and read the papers. After that vigorous definition, the subject will be, if I may say so, exhausted.
At times I feel myself overtaken by an immense tenderness for these people around me who live in the same century.
As long as a man thinks, this struggle must go on, and so long man must have some form of religion.
To celebrate a festival means: to live out, for some special occasion and in an uncommon manner, the universal assent to the world as a whole.
The nature of finite things is to have the seed of their passing-away as their essential being: the hour of their birth is the hour of their death.
I've been working on issues of poverty for more than 20 years, and so it's ironic that the problem that and question that I most grapple with is how you actually define poverty. What does it mean?
Nowadays men lead lives of noisy desperation.
There were a lot of gods. Gods always come in handy, they justify almost anything.
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