Susan Sontag stands out as a luminary in modern literature and critical thought, revered for her profound ability to challenge norms and redefine boundaries. Her admiration for European intellectuals such as Jean-Luc Godard, Simone Weil, Albert Camus, and Alain Resnais underscores her commitment to art that defies conventional interpretation. Sontag, much like these figures, shatters stereotypes and questions the status quo, a theme she elaborates in her seminal work, Against Interpretation and Other Essays (1966). Here, she champions artists who resist traditional categories of meaning, creating works that actively oppose standard interpretations.

Sontag’s concept of modernism is intrinsically linked to her belief in pushing beyond established boundaries. Her career is a testament to this philosophy, as she seamlessly traversed a multitude of genres including scholarly essays, book reviews, personal essays, fiction, screenplays, and cultural criticism. Her versatile oeuvre reflects her consistent engagement with philosophical inquiry and interpretation. Critics may argue that Sontag’s analyses are often harsh on American and capitalist ideologies, yet the essence of her work lies in probing deep-seated questions. These questions, prominently posed in Illness as Metaphor, delve into the origins of identity, the manipulation of societal and artistic narratives, and the frameworks of cultural criticism.

Sontag’s readers, familiar with her revolutionary essay "Against Interpretation" published in 1964, recognize her as a staunch opponent of externally imposed values. She advocates for an existential approach where every experience and artwork is perceived as uniquely novel, free from the constraints of conventional interpretations. This perspective allows both the observer and the observed to transcend the limitations of traditional categories. Her work Illness as Metaphor further illustrates how interpretations and metaphors are bounded by their historical and contextual origins, often constrained by ignorance and conventional wisdom.

Through her prolific writing and critical insight, Sontag continues to challenge readers to reconsider their perceptions of identity, art, and society. Her intellectual legacy is marked by an unwavering dedication to expanding the horizons of understanding and refusing to settle for simplistic interpretations. Her influence remains palpable, inspiring future generations to question, critique, and transcend the boundaries of thought and creativity.