The Meaning Of Life

Albert Camus’ timeless literary classic, The Stranger, is the tale of an average lower middle-class French Algerian Colonist named Mersault who finds himself involved in a pointless murder. The story is told through Meursault’s eyes. Meursault has a normal life. He has a regular job. He enjoys having drinks at the local bar, going to the movies and going to the beach. He has no idea that each of these meaningless activities will implicate him in a meaningless act of murder.

Meursault is, as Camus describes it, “faced with the absurd.” “The absurd” is the philosophical idea of which Camus himself was the creator. It asserts that human existence is without purpose and has no discernable meaning. There is only the life that comes before death and nothing more.

Albert Camus’ classic work was, at one time, often misleadingly translated as, The Outsider or The Foreigner due to the fact that the French “L’Entranger” has no clear cut translation into English. Matthew Ward’s new translation of The Stranger makes the novel much more meaningful and understandable for American readers. Ward translated the novel with the notion that he would not try to convey what Camus meant, but rather what he actually wrote. This allows the reader to struggle with the interpretation of what the book means, just as French readers had to do. This allows American readers to have a greater appreciation of the book.

You might think that a story originally published in 1946 about an average man who finds himself mixed up in a world of murder and capital punishment might play itself out like a predictable Perry Mason episode. In many respects, it does just that, but only up to a point. The major difference lies snuggly somewhere between the psychological and philosophical aspects of the novel, which provide far more insight into the seemingly simple story. These aspects are revealed further as the reader follows the story from the perspective of a man who is completely absent from any understanding of traditional Judeo-Christian values. Meursault is not an outsider or a foreigner to French Algerian Colonial society.

Camus clearly illustrates with the supporting characters, Meursault goes about his life in the same fashion as that of his peers. He is a “stranger” to classic religious based values, but by no means an outsider or foreigner when it comes to everyday French Algerian Colonial life. His life consists of mundane everyday activities and simple pleasures.

The reader learns very quickly that Meursault is a very simple man, who gives no consideration to anything beyond what is going to happen next in his life. He never ponders the past nor relishes the present. He is forever waiting for what comes next. Meursault never anticipates or plans for what might come next, but merely waits for the outcome with no regard to what has taken place in the past or will happen in the future. This is clearly illustrated in the opening paragraph,

“Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: ‘”Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.”’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday.”

The first paragraph of the novel exposes Meursault’s absence of any understanding of the traditional values present in his society. When one first reads this introduction, it will only strike one as a strange or peculiar reaction. There are no sociopathic or psychotic connotations implied. It is presented in a way in which to make the reader believe it is a lack of understanding or denial of a loved one’s death. It is not a lack of caring, but a lack of any understanding other than the fact that one’s life leads to death. Life unfolds to reveal nothing but an inevitable death. There is nothing more and nothing less in this world.

Please read no further if you have not yet read this novel and do not wish to be exposed to any major plot details or analysis thereof. Those of you who have already read the book, never plan to or don’t care if you know plot details before reading it, read on.

Meursault goes on to attend his mother’s funeral in Morengo, which is 20 kilometers from his home in Algiers. When he arrives and is asked if he would like to view his mother’s corpse, he politely declines. While waiting for his mother’s friends to arrive for the all night vigil he offers the caretaker a cigarette. The caretaker offers Meursault a cup of coffee and he graciously accepts.

Meursault does not cry either at his mother’s vigil or at her final internment. At the time this does not seem to be of any great significance. Different people handle grief in various ways. As revealed by Meursault’s inner thoughts, everything is normal as far as he is concerned. He attends the burial and immediately returns to Algiers.

Upon his return to Algiers he goes to the beach. While there, he runs into a former office acquaintance named Marie. Later on in the day they decide to go to movie. It happens to be a comedy. After the movie, they go back to his apartment and make love. This series of clearly inconsequential actions will later help to condemn Meursault.

The story proceeds with more thoughtless actions that will lead Meursault ever closer to a meaningless homicide. Meursault accepts an invitation from his neighbor Raymond to visit his friend Masson’s beach house. Upon arrival he seems to be having a lovely day. He goes for a swim, drinks some wine and basks in the sun. Masson invites Meursault to go for a walk on the beach with him and Raymond. The three of them walk down the beach and come upon two Arabs. One of them is the brother of Raymond’s girlfriend. A fight ensues in which Raymond is cut up by one of the Arabs.

Meursault, Masson and Raymond return to the beach house. Masson takes Raymond to a doctor to have his cuts examined. When Raymond returns he announces that he is going to for a walk on the beach. Masson and Meursault offer to go with him, but he curses at them. Meursault follows in spite of Raymond’s swearing. They walk for a while and eventually run into the two Arabs from earlier. Raymond produces a pistol and tells Meursault he’s going to shoot the one who did him harm. Meursault disagrees and tells Raymond to take him one on one or it will not be self-defense. Raymond agrees and gives Meursault his pistol. At this time the two Arabs duck behind a rock. Meursault and Raymond then proceed to return to the beach house.

When they reach the beach house, Meursault did not go inside with Raymond. He decides to walk back down the beach once again. He walks down the beach for a long time and eventually runs into the Arab with knife again. When he comes up on him, the Arab quickly reaches into his pocket. As the sun beat down on Meursault’s head he moved toward the Arab, knowing all the while he could just turn around and leave. As he drew closer, the Arab drew his knife and as it shined in the sun, Meursault drew the pistol and shot the man five times. This merciless and senseless killing is sure to shock all readers. It is presented in a way in which to make obvious just how senseless this murder is.

The second half of the novel covers Meursault’s arrest, arraignment, incarceration, trial and punishment. In this part of the book the reader can see that Meursault remains a stranger to classic Judeo-Christian morality. He still has no ability to comprehend the morals of the society in which he exists. This becomes evident when Meursault meets with his court appointed lawyer. The lawyer tells him that his lack of sadness at his mother’s funeral would reflect badly upon him during trial. He wants to present the argument that Meursault was so overwhelmed by his mother’s death that he was unable to publicly reveal his true feelings. Meursault disagrees with this potential argument because it isn’t true. He did not feel anything one way or the other about the death of his mother.

Meursault even watches his trial as a stranger. He views the courtroom proceedings as though it was someone else on trial. He finds it strange that he is the one on trial, yet no one is asking him for any input as to what should be happening. It is not until he is found guilty of the murder that he gives any thought about the fact that he might be executed. Even with the possibility of his death drawing near, he has no concept of the fact that he will be executed because he took the life of another man.

While awaiting his appeal, Meursault reveals his own unique philosophy of life when confronted by a Priest, “…I was sure about me, about everything, surer than he could ever be, sure of the death I had waiting for me. Yes, that was all I had. But at least I had as much a hold on it as it had on me. I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and could just has well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn’t done that. I hadn’t done this thing but I had done another.” His acceptance of his absurd life is clear to him.

The idea of “the absurd” often becomes more confusing the more one thinks about it. This is because it is human nature for one to search for meaning and purpose in their life. This novel demonstrates how Meursault never sought any meaning in his life, but to simply exist. He does only what he feels necessary and what makes him feel good giving no consideration to any consequences he might face due to his actions. Even when he faces what most people would view the devastatingly dire consequences of death, his thought are, “Since we’re all going to die, it’s obvious that when and how don’t matter.” When contemplating his death, the only thing that terrifies him is the thought of what it might be like to have to live twenty more years. The way he sees it, in twenty years, “…it would all come down to the same thing anyway.”

I thought this was an expertly crafted work of literature. Matthew Ward’s translation did a great deal to make this book more accessible to the modern American reader. I read other translations quite a while back and they did little to allow me to derive any lasting meaning from this great book. After reading this newer translation I was able to gain a new found respect for one of the world’s greatest writers and philosophers. If you have read this book only in previous translations, I highly recommend that you check this new and improved translation.

About The Author

Albert Camus grew up in a working-class family in Algeria. He pursued journalism and became a leading writer for the French Resistance newspaper during World War II. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His works include, The Plague, The Fall, A Happy Death, Exile And The Kingdom and The First Man.