Talk Back

[Eisworth]

After slogging through Sartre’s “Nausea” last week, Camus’ “The Stranger” was a welcome change. The book is written in a style reminiscent of Hemingway – straightforward declarative sentences, as opposed to the tortuous constructions of Sartre.

Anyway, the novel deals with existentialism but in a totally different way than in “Nausea”. The main character (and narrator) – Meursault – is a study in stoicism taken to the point of emptiness. The death of his mother at the start of the novel leaves him unaffected, as does the declaration of love and eventual marriage proposal of his girlfriend Marie. The first part of the book ends with his committing a senseless murder – there is no anger, or rage…the commission of the crime seems like something happening to him over which he has no real control. The second part of the book concerns his imprisonment, trial, and conviction.

So what’s the connection with Existentialism? A quick search of the internet shows me that hundreds of people more qualified than myself have given interpretations of this book, but I’ll take a stab at it. To me, Meursault is endowed with the detachment and indifference of “the Universe” as a whole. The book then becomes a study in how we as readers react to this indifference (the first part of the book) then how society reacts to it (the second part). Meursault is the eponymous stranger ( “Monsieur Antichrist” according to one of the magistrates) and he is condemned to death not because his crime was heinous (he could have easily argued self-defense) but because he does not offer “reasons” for his actions. I guess the point is that most people refuse to deal with the indifference of the universe and demand always that “things happen for a reason”.
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Todd Eisworth
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Ohio University

[galactic_dev]

That's a great interpretation! I like it. I also highly recommend Camus' The Plague.

[Super Milk Chan]

I just had to add that I was totally indifferent to this book.