Camus’ Caligula: An Allegory?

Abstract

Allegory is a manner of speaking or, more appropriately, a technique of writing in which the narrative “obviously and continuously” refers to another “simultaneous” and consistent “structure of events or ideas”.¹ In the literal sense of the original Greek word allegory, we are using a “speaking-the-other” technique (Greek: allos = other; agoreunein = to speak publicly). The allegorist is consistently pursuing another narrative which, at the same time, on a second level of understanding, extends clearly beyond the obvious surface meaning of the first.