Just finished reading my first Camus novel, the Outsider.
Hey all, first time posting in this subreddit.
Following my 18th birthday yesterday, I received The Outsider (or The Stranger) as a present. Started and finished it this evening, and absolutely loved every second of it. Sandra Smith's masterful translation from Camus' own reading on a radio show made for a very engaging experience.
What I loved about the book is Meursault himself—a stranger to himself and an outsider from society. His vehement dismissals of religious hope, grace, and jurisdiction, instead embracing his own fate by the end of the novel, struck me hard. The final cathartic scene with the chaplain had me hooked, and I felt emotionally swayed by the sheer weight of Meursault's admissions and philosophy against a man who had adhered to this religious code for his entire life.
I now recall the scene with the examining magistrate, who swung a cross in front of Meursault, demanding that he adamantly adhere to his beliefs and surrender to Christ. Meursault's refusal reveals his belief in the absurdity of existence. "Do you want my life to be meaningless?" Camus suggests that this radical, maniacal insistence on comfort—the belief in a higher power—is itself an existential fear. The idea that there exists a being capable of answering humanity's countless ailments and metaphysical turmoil brings comfort to society, yet Meursault refuses to accept this since he remains true to himself.
Throughout the novel, he rarely says things to appease people. He only says things when he has something to say. When Marie asks if he loves her or if he would marry her, his answers aren't structured to appease her or answer her fantasies. He says he does not love her, and would marry her, but this marriage would not change much. He remains true to himself, to the very end. The prosecutor, jury, and judge cannot handle a man who doesn't play by their emotional or spiritual rules. Meursault is "the only Christ we deserve" because he refuses to lie about his feelings.
He feels his trial is carried out by everyone but him. He feels the indifference of those around him, and embraces it: the death of his mother, his own death, the idea that Marie may be with another man, or sick, or dead. But he isn't emotionless, not remorseless. He feels emotion viscerally, and Camus manifests this in the setting of the novel. The oppressive heat of the sun, which Meursault insists caused him to shoot the Arab, is dismissed by the courtroom with laughter. During my reading, I viewed this dismissal as the dismissal of coincidence, the same coincidence which structures Meursault's entire arc. The indifference he displays is not remorselessness, but a radical honesty unable to be perceived by those shielded by rigid structures of morality, religion, and truth.
In this absurd revelation, Meursault is truly happy to embrace the "cries of hatred," confirming his identity as a stranger to a society which so brutally condemned him for accepting the truth. Just as the stars and the sea don't care about his execution, he no longer cares about being good in the eyes of men.
A couple of questions:
- Meursault seemed unlikable, morally, during the beginning of the novel. Is this intended?
- Why does Camus allude to the Bible in his final line?
- Is it really that hot in Algeria?
- The two figures Meursault picks out in the courtroom: the robotic woman and the younger jury member. Do they have any significance?
PS: (this post was not written by AI, I love using em-dashes)