Clamence's Final Confession and Invitation

In his room, feverish and in bed, Clamence concludes his confession. He admits that his solution is not ideal but is the only one he has found. He expresses a desire to be arrested for harboring the stolen painting, which would be a form of salvation. He then turns to his listener, revealing that he knows the man is a Parisian lawyer, and asks him to confess his own failure to save the drowning woman on the Pont Royal. He invites the man to join him in his state of perpetual, shared guilt.