The Motorcycle Humiliation

Recounts Clamence's physical defeat and humiliation in a street altercation, which shattered his self-image of physical dominance.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Confrontation

The traffic dispute A stuck motorcycle Clamence was in his car, stopped at a red light. A small man in plus fours on a motorcycle stalled in front of him. When the light changed, Clamence asked him to move politely. The man insulted him. Clamence got out intending to fight, but a bystander intervened. The blow As Clamence turned to the bystander, the motorcyclist started his engine and hit him on the ear. Clamence was dazed. The bystander called him a "poor dope." Horns honked. Clamence got back in his car and drove off, humiliated.

The Aftermath

The obsessive replay A film of revenge Clamence couldn't forget the incident. He imagined a hundred times what he should have done—felling the bystander, pursuing the motorcyclist, giving him a beating. But he had done nothing. He was a coward in public. The dream of the gangster He realized that his true desire was not to be intelligent or generous, but to be the stronger, to dominate. He dreamed of being a gangster, ruling by force. The episode revealed his savage instincts beneath the civilized veneer.

The Lesson Learned

The collapse of the self-image Half Cerdan, half de Gaulle Clamence had dreamed of being a complete man, respected physically and professionally. The motorcycle incident showed that his dream was false. He had been struck in public without reacting. He was not the man he thought he was. The discovery of the love of power He learned that he was on the side of the guilty only as long as their crime caused him no harm. When threatened, he became a judge and an irascible master. The incident was a turning point in his understanding of his own nature.

During his Parisian life, before the laugh

Days following the incident

Later, during his self-examination