Albert Camus

  b. 1913; d. 1960 | French philosopher/novelist

At The Bottom

— 1930

Simply the latest blow in a young life already plagued with difficulties...

Albert Camus, a 17-year-old French boy, coughed violently and looked down, horrified at the splatter of blood left behind in his hand.  He knew what this likely meant:  He had tuberculosis, a chronic lung disease for which there was still no effective treatment and which killed tens of thousands of people every year worldwide.  His youthful fantasies of a career in soccer were over, and there was a very real chance he would not be well enough to finish his studies at the University of Algiers.  Tuberculosis was simply the latest blow in a young life already plagued with difficulties.  Born into a peasant family in Algeria, Camus never knew his father, who died the next year at the Battle of the Marne, which took place during the first awful months of The Great War.  His mother, an illiterate domestic worker, struggled from then on to keep her two sons fed, clothed and housed; though Camus loved her dearly, he wrote later of the “coldness” she exhibited toward her children.  Now, having gained admission to university, Camus’ future was suddenly more limited.  He would not be able to teach for a living, nor would he be permitted to join the military — two paths that a healthy, intelligent young man might pursue to rise from his poor background.  How would young Albert make his way in the world?