In undertaking an analysis of the work of Camus in the context of the learning environment, this paper examines the breadth of Camus's writing with particular emphasis on the writer's final major work: "Exile and the Kingdom" (1958). It is proposed that "Exile and the Kingdom" could and should be read as an attempt by Camus to explicate in full his conceptualisation of the empowering and transforming relationship. These stories reveal the very fleeting and precarious nature of moments of insight and empowerment, and the environments described are very similar to those experienced by teachers--contexts of power, hope, care and fear. They involve individuals confronting one another's differences in terms of language, religion and culture, and they deal with tension and disharmony over privileged knowledge, perceived authority, relations of power, and conflicting perceptions of ignorance, pride and egotism. In showing the challenges and conflicts inherent in these sorts of contexts--contexts that teachers readily find themselves within--Camus's explication of empowering relations provides teachers with an insight into the nature, import and challenge of those fleeting moments in which trust and transformation is both won and lost.