The Groundhog Day: here's how Sisyphus has become happy

The Groundhog Day: here's how Sisyphus has become happy

"The struggle itself [...] is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." Wrote Camus in the Myth of Sisyphus. It is what The Groundhog Day is about, the Nietzschian concept of eternal recurrence of life. The 2nd February is being lived infinitely by Phil; he cannot do anything to stop it. I think it helps to understand the meaning of the other major Nietzschian concept of the « Übermensch », someone who finally find happiness in an absurd continuous same-day life. Nietzsche explains that the eternal recurrence of life is an ideal of perfection to catch all the opportunities of a day.

From denial to acceptance of the on-going process of existence 

Phil firstly believed that the eternal recurrence is a malediction; he did no know how to pass through it. Then, he understand that he can us it to go over the moral values and norms, for instance he drives drunk, he only search pleasure to avoid the boredom of the continuous same-day life. He spends his time with fun and avoids the despair of his condition; he lives, as Kierkegaard called, an aesthetic life. Nevertheless, when he began to look for physical pleasure, he understands that he needs someone else to help him to carry his burden: he wants to connect to another soul; he wants an ethical life with Rita. He does anything he can do to attract her, but it does not work.

When he realizes that he cannot build any relation in one day, he despairs and refuses his burden. He wants to suicide, but it does not work: he cannot escape from the absurdity of his condition.

After more and more day of despair, he understands the price of life when he sees a vagabond death.

It is only at this moment that he accepts to carry his burden; to over through despair of life to learn how appreciate every single moment of his life. He learn French, piano, sculpture… He develops abilities that transform him to one another, he stops to see his life as a fate, he understand that he can actually change who he is thanks to existence.

 An explanation of the Myth of Sisyphus

For explain his state of mind at this moment, I think we can compared him with the coyote in the cartoon. He stops to be the coyote that run after “Beep beep” in a continuous fail, he starts to live his life not for a goal (beep beep) but for being happy himself, he understand that his only possibility to live with this malediction is to appreciate the only feeling of being existent. For use a Nietzschian concept, he is on the way to be an Übermensch. He finally develops his abilities, his self-confidence and began a day with a determination to save the all the lives he can, to take all the opportunities he can and to be happy in every moment. This is why Sisyphus is happy, because he realises himself thanks to his work, he transforms his malediction into a passion, he cannot do anything to stop his task, it is not under his control. 

Phil chooses action to go over his absurd situation, he revolts and he passionately committed himself to exceed the eternal recurrence, he achieves to live his live in an absurd world. This is why he becomes happy, this is why the malediction come to an end. 

To conclude, I think that the Groundhog day come be explain with the different existentialist approaches. It allows to understand how an eternal return may permit the acceptance the on-going process of existence, how a man should accept that there is no fate and he can change his life and finally how over go the absurdity of existence and prevent suicide or obscurantism thanks to a passionate commitment.

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