The Stranger was my first introduction to Albert Camus. It was nearly a decade ago. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the protagonist, Meursault, so I had to give it up. Afterward, I read The Plague and fell in love with him. Camus became a favourite author, but I still kept away from The Stranger. Lately, I felt the need to read it since it is considered an important work of his. I cannot say I liked it, even after this second attempt, but at least I understood its significance in Camus canon.
The Stranger is neither the best of stories to read, nor the easiest. I still had to get through Meursault to the novel’s powerful philosophy. Meursault gave me chills with his cold, almost inhuman character. His indifference to all his actions and complete emotional detachment painted a picture of a monster. Of course, I understand the need for Camus to create Meursault as he was. To Camus, Meursault was the embodiment of the universal indifference to human experience and human suffering. He was a human symbol of the absurdity of existence.
Camus’s existentialist philosophy didn’t allow for any meaning in life beyond a physical existence. He maintained that the universe was completely indifferent to human experience and offered no meaning in human lives other than the acceptance of physical existence. In such a world, it was futile and even absurd to find rational meaning in human thoughts and actions. Beyond a mere physical existence, humans have no meaning or purpose in life. Therefore, even existence itself is meaningless. Meursault’s killing of the man is as absurd as his existence. No amount of psychological studies into his character during the investigations could elucidate the rationale behind his actions.
Meursault is conflicted between the social acceptance of a rational existence where human actions have meaning and his own belief that there is none. His beliefs make him act indifferently in all his human interactions, including his romantic relationship. His emotionally detached physical self is an enigma to society, and his uncanny existence makes him a stranger, an outcast.
Despite my indifference to Meursault and his story, The Stranger powerfully conveys Camus’s existential philosophy. I’m pleased that I could weather it this time.
Rating: 3/5
