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''The Fall'' ((フランス語:La Chute)) is a philosophical novel written by Albert Camus. First published in 1956, it is his last complete work of fiction. Set in Amsterdam, ''The Fall'' consists of a series of dramatic monologues by the self-proclaimed "judge-penitent", Jean-Baptiste Clamence, as he reflects upon his life to a stranger. In what amounts to a confession, Clamence tells of his success as a wealthy Parisian defense lawyer who was highly respected by his colleagues; his crisis, and his ultimate "fall" from grace, was meant to invoke, in secular terms, The Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. ''The Fall'' explores themes of innocence, imprisonment, non-existence, and truth. In a eulogy to Albert Camus, existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre described the novel as "perhaps the most beautiful and the least understood" of Camus' books. == Setting == Clamence often speaks of his love for high, open places — everything from mountain peaks to the top decks of boats. "I have never felt comfortable," he explains, "except in lofty surroundings. Even in the details of daily life, I need to feel ''above''" (Camus 288). Then it is paradoxical that Clamence leads his ''cher ami'' away from the human symmetries of a picturesque town to sit on a level, seaside expanse. The location of Amsterdam, as a city below sea-level, therefore assumes particular significance in relation to the narrator. Moreover, Amsterdam is generally described in ''The Fall'' as a cold, wet place where a thick blanket of fog constantly hangs over the crowded, neon-light-lined streets. Beside the atmosphere (which could be established almost anywhere else) the city also was chosen by Camus for a more peculiar reason. In the opening pages Clamence casually remarks, The canals of Amsterdam, when seen from the air, appear as a series of concentric circles emerging from the city centre, which led Camus to liken them to the circles of Hell. The "last circle of hell" is the site of Amsterdam's red-light district and the location of a bar named ''Mexico City'', which Clamence frequents night after night and where the bulk of his narrative gradually unfolds. (The bar, ''Mexico City'', existed in Amsterdam.〔In the novel, Clamence mentions "sailors' bars in the Zeedijk". In the 1950s a bar called ''Mexico City'' was located much near the Zeedijk, at Warmoesstraat 91. Camus visited the area in October 1954, when a Dutch acquaintance took him on a tour of "hidden" locations in Amsterdam.()〕) The setting thus serves to illustrate, literally and metaphorically, Clamence's fall from the heights of high-class Paris society to the dark, dreary, Dantesque underworld of Amsterdam, where tortured souls wander aimlessly among each other. Indeed, critics have explored at length the parallels between Clamence's fall and Dante's descent through Hell in the ''Inferno'' (see Galpin, King). It is also significant, particularly as Camus develops his philosophical ideas, that the story develops against the backdrop of the Second World War and the Holocaust. Clamence tells us that he lives only a short distance from ''Mexico City'', in what was — formerly — the Jewish Quarter, "until our Hitlerian brethren spaced it out a bit. ... I am living on the site of one of the greatest crimes in history" (Camus 281). The naming of the bar also recalls the destruction of the Aztec civilization whose ruined capital has been supplanted by modern Mexico City. Among other things, ''The Fall'' is an attempt to explain how humankind could be capable of such evils. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Fall (Camus novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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