What Camus actually meant by 'one must imagine Sisyphus happy'

The final line of The Myth of Sisyphus is routinely quoted in a context stripped of what precedes it. People use it as a kind of inspirational poster: keep pushing the boulder, find meaning in the struggle. But Camus isn't arguing for found meaning. He's arguing that the struggle itself, consciously embraced despite its futility, constitutes revolt — and revolt is the only honest response to an absurd universe that will never provide the clarity we demand. Happiness here isn't the American-dream kind. It's the happiness of clear-eyed defiance. Sisyphus scorns the gods precisely because he knows what he's doing and does it anyway. That requires you to first accept the full weight of the absurd rather than finding creative ways to pretend it isn't there. Most pop-philosophy uses of this quote are doing exactly what Camus was warning against.