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Meursault's Existentialism In The Stranger, By Albert Camus

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“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion” –Albert Camus (Albert Camus Quotes). Camus utilized this freedom in all aspects of life, namely in his relationships with women, which shaped him into an obsessive womanizer who engaged in multiple affairs. His distorted view of women was communicated in his novel, The Stranger, through Meursault, a particularly emotionless main character with similar thoughts on love. Both Meursault and Camus were Existentialists at heart, for they only found value in the physical world and believed that the universe was irrational. Meursault had few interactions with women, and those he had existed to serve his materialistic, sexual …show more content…

While recalling his Saturday beach adventure with Marie, Meursault included his thoughts on how he “wanted her so bad when [he] saw her in that pretty red-and-white striped dress,” and how he “could make out the shape of her firm breasts” (Camus 34). This was an insignificant detail that most would not include when summarizing their previous day. However, Meursault was unable to see past the surface and was most interested in the physical world. His Existentialist perspective caused him to objectify women and disregard their personalities. Meursault never commented on Marie’s attractive emotional habits, as could be seen once more during his trial. When she entered the courtroom, Camus wrote that “she had put on a hat and she was still beautiful,” but that Meursault “liked her better with her hair loose” (Camus 93). He had not seen her in months, and his first thoughts once seeing her were on her physical attributes. Perhaps even more intriguing was Meursault’s quick judgement on Marie’s changed hairstyle. Further, he never mentioned missing Marie’s company in prison. He remembered being “tormented by [his] desire for a woman” and wished that his “cell would be filled with their faces and crowded with [his] desires,” but never thought “specifically of Marie” (Camus 77). Meursault valued lust over love and thought that women served the sole purpose of fulfilling his sexual

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One of the most important passages within the novel is when Meursault repeatedly defies the chaplain in the cell. It serves as a pinnacle for the entire story, and grants readers a look into the main characters state of mind. In this passage, Meursault comes to a dramatic realization of who he is through an existential epiphany, and with thorough analysis the overall significance of the passage to the story is revealed. In the passage the chaplain visits Meursault much to Meursault’s displeasure.

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Meursault shows his lack of emotional attachment to people: "I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings"( page 41). Meursault shows the regrets of his nature but also, at the same time, explains that it’s not going to change. Rather than focusing on finding someone to spend his life with, Meursault would rather find someone who can always keep him pampered. Meursault again shows his regret for his actions when he says, "I wanted to try to explain to him that it was because of the sun, the sea, the light, in fact, everything, that I had simply loved him with no personal motive" (Page 68). Meursault shows his lack of care for those whom he loved, but at the same time shows that Meursault might not be able to fully control what he does, but rather does everything out of impulse, therefore making him regret his actions in some situations.

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Meursault constantly has varying thoughts dancing around his mind, one of which is the environment. The environment is behind all of Meursault’s struggles and problems in his mental world and interferes with his physical world as well, causing him to think that the world is irrational. Holden’s attitude toward the world is particularly similar to Meursault’s because nihilism and absurdism are quite similar. Both believe that the world is irrational and out to get them. The only difference between the two is that Meursault discovers that even though he believes that the world manipulated him and demanded to kill the

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(3), suggest that Meursault was not very close to his mother. These two sentences are the first impressions of Meursault. This point it is where readers can notice something is indeed wrong with him. The disconnection between Meursault and his mother provokes a hatred towards Meursault, especially from the prosecutor. The prosecutor argues against Meursault for his relationship with his mother than for his actual crime.

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The Stranger, written by Albert Camus, It follows the story of our tragic hero, Meursault, shortly after his mother dies through the events that lead to him being sentenced to death. Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions. The Stranger shows how even when a person does not explicitly express emotion they are shown in some way. How emotions are expressed is a window to a person's personality. I will first discuss how Meursault appears emotionless, than how Camus uses the motif of weather to express Meursault’s emotions for him and lastly what impact this makes.

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Meursault’s apathy for his mother’s death, isolation and indifference to others, and disregard for interpersonal relationships negatively impact his trial and eventually bring his demise. His character traits make him into a cold, heartless man, which serves as the basis for the prosecutor’s argument during the trial. Meursault is repeatedly condemned for showing no emotion and feeling no remorse, both for the death of this mother and killing someone. His detached attitude leads him to make little effort to defend himself in the court. His neglect of relationships with his mother provides testament for the prosecution that he is a monster.

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This is the moment where Meursault truly feels alone and isolated from the world, but he hangs on to his memories of his girlfriend Marie. In this seclusion, Meursault learns that humans exist in a meaningless world that is only worth living due to the idea of love. He learns that he loves the possessions that he can not have such as cigarettes and swimming. It is through this loss that Meursault learns that love is what saves us from the world and that morality makes this idea more possible. (Mikics et al).

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I don’t know … everything will have a more official feel” (Camus 3). The use of diction shows Meursault's dispassionate to visit his mother. Through the use of words, Meursault is prevailed as emotionless and complicated to understand as he does not mourn for his mother, but is calm and lifeless. Also, through the work of diction, it reveals that Meursault has an affection towards Marie, but does not have a habit of comforting his feelings for her, but goes with what occurs in present. But the relationship he has with Marie shows that he cannot give women a healthy relationship.

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Meursault notices that during the trial, “there was a lot said about [him], maybe more about [him] than about [his] crime” (98). By having Meursault 's personality be the focal point of the courtroom 's dialogue, Camus implies that Meursault 's persona plays a crucial role in his trial. Instead of focusing on the murder of the Arab, the prosecutor repeatedly mentions Meursault 's "dubious liaison"(94), his "insensitivity" (99) during Maman’s funeral, and his friendship with Raymond, who is a man "of doubtful morality" (99). Through the emphasis on Meursault 's -according to society- 'immoral ' ways, the prosecutor eliminates any sort of sympathy the jury has for Meursault. Following Marie 's testimony, the prosecutor once again exhibits his confidence that bias against Meursault will stem from hearing about his behaviour.

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The themes of death explored using absurdism in The Stranger is shown with a general disregard for death by Meursault and the strange way he sees life based on these existentialist views. The Stranger is a perfect example of an existentialist novel that was written for that time period, as during this time around the area of France and Europe there was an existentialist movement that Albert Camus, the author, was involved in.

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Everything he will say; the magistrate will not believe him, he even feels there is no need for a lawyer because he thinks everything he does, is right and there is not something to question. He comes to understand that he trying to find meaning in his own life, make him impotent to society’s eyes, he only murdered an Arab and that is it. During the trial, there are investigators that learn that Meursault does not feel any remorse at his mother funeral. As Meursault does not have any evidence why he kills the Arab man, the lawyer thinks that it will be a strong argument if Meursault can come up with some answers for the questions. The investigator asks,” If I had felt any sadness that day” (Camus 65).

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In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus creates an emotionally incapable, narcissistic, and, at times, sociopathic character named Meursault to explore and expose his philosophies of Existentialism and Absurdism. Throughout the story Meursault follows a philosophical arc that, while somewhat extreme - from unemotional and passive to detached and reckless to self-reflective - both criticizes the dependent nature of human existence and shows the journey through the absurd that is our world. In the onset of The Stranger, following his mother’s death, Meursault acts with close to utter indifference and detachment. While the rest of “maman’s”(9) loved ones express their overwhelming grief, Meursault remains unphased and, at times, annoyed at their

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