The Stranger & Its Philosophical Background

Peter Gallagher

Camus’ The Stranger & Its Philosophical Background

Albert Camus’ novel, The Stranger, appealed to a younger European generation that was trying to find its view of life after the tragedies of WWII and Nazism. Though he eventually came to more mature notions of how a human being should act before his tragic death from a accident in 1960, Camus always believed in the ideas expressed in The Stranger that man must find his own meaning in life, separate from religious or political doctrine. While he was brought up a Catholic, he largely rejected religious authority and he opposed any rigid political authority because of his experiences with totalitarianism. Marxism and Communism were popular political ideas in France at the time, but Camus came to reject any kind of systematic philosophy, whether it was in politics or in the church. The Stranger well illustrates these philosophical ideas of his.

In many ways The Stranger comes across as a very odd book. The novel reflects a philosophy that to many people would appear irrational and even absurd. The main character, Mersault, feels that life has no meaning and at the beginning of the novel is confused and possibly distressed about that. By the end of the novel, however, in his recognition of life’s meaninglessness, he comes to a kind of happiness. This book obviously reflects Camus’ own view of life at the time.

Albert Camus was a famous French philosopher and writer whose influence went far beyond that of a usual novelist. He was most comfortable, however, in expressing his ideas in fiction. His way of thinking along with that of a few other Frenchmen became known as existentialism. Existentialism is a movement of thought which arose in Europe in the middle of the last century. Though Camus was never comfortable with describing himself as an existentialist, this philosophic viewpoint became fashionable in France and he was identified with it by the public.

Existentialism emphasized the freedoms that humans have and the need to exercise their individual human will in responsible ways. His philosophy tended to be atheistic and Camus himself rejected all religion. The existentialists borrowed many of their basic ideas from the 19th century German Nietzsche, although there also were Christian types of existentialism derived from the work of Kierkegaard. Existentialism reacted against more standard philosophies such as rationalism and empiricism that looked to find some order in the universe and in human affairs. The atheist Mersault’s denial of any rational meaning to his life represents this idea in fictionalized form

Camus’ philosophy seems to have come out of his personal experience. He grew up poor in Algeria but seemed to recognize from a young age that even the poor could appreciate the beauty of nature. It has been noted, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica that his early essays were “intensely lyrical meditations on the Algerian countryside. He valued natural beauty as something even poor people like himself could enjoy.” His early writings also “contrast the fragile mortality of human beings with the enduring nature of the physical world.” Camus’ interest in the physical world, as opposed to social life or emotions, is well displayed in The Stranger. In the novel, Mersault is interested in reactions of his own body, his sexual feelings with Marie, and issues like the weather and his environment, such as the beach. The heat of the funeral and the sun beating down on the beach affect him greatly.

Camus served in the Resistance during World War II and was later exposed to the political turmoil of the time, including Marxism. He slowly developed his own philosophy of life in part in reaction to what he saw as the political horrors of his day. Since he grew up in the French atmosphere of Algeria, he was also exposed to Christian influence and always admired the Catholic theologian Augustine. He thought, however, that the church tried to explain everything in overly simplistic ways. Seeing people die in WWII and later in the Algerian rebellion made him especially hate any view that claimed to divide people into good and bad categories.

Accounts of Camus’ life also emphasize that, though poor, he received a great education and was a very good student. From a young age he read widely and sought to be involved in the political and intellectual life of his time. Rather than write dry, philosophical books, however, he preferred to express himself in literature such as The Stranger.

Camus wrote The Stranger in 1942 and the main character, Mersault, dominates the book. Mersault is a detached man and things that would appear very important to most people, such as proposing marriage or grief over the death of one’s