Ian "Marvin" Graye's Reviews > The Stranger

If You Exist

"The Stranger" dramatises the issues at the heart of existentialism.

The same issues are probably at the heart of life, whether or not you believe in a god.

Being Judged

It's interesting that there has been a crime and now Meursault is being "judged".

The judgement is symbolic not only of the justice system, but of God's judgement of humanity.

Defending Yourself

You would normally expect the defendant to assert their innocence or plead not guilty in the criminal justice system (cue Law and Order theme song).

Both options require the defendant to take a positive step, only they differ in degree.

To assert your "innocence" is to positively state that "I didn't do it".

A plea of "not guilty" would place an onus on the prosecutor to prove the defendant's guilt (although there are significant differences between the French system of justice and that of the UK/USA/Canada/Australia/etc).

To plead not guilty can mean a number of things.

It could mean that "I did actually do it", but you, the prosecutor, have to prove to the Judge or Court that I did it.

It could mean that "I did actually do it", but I have a defence or justification that means it is not a punishable crime (e.g., self-defence or provocation).

Asking Forgiveness

This process is partly analogous to the situation when a Christian dies and meets their God.

If they have sinned, you would expect them to ask forgiveness.
Having been forgiven, they would expect to go to Heaven.

Not Defending Yourself

One of the dilemmas of "The Stranger" is that morally and legally there might be issues that Meursault could put to the Judge that would excuse his action and allow the Judge to find him not guilty.

He could then go "free".

He could have argued that his action was self-defence or the result of provocation.

He could have "got off", if he had taken a positive step on his own behalf. However, he fails to take the step.

If he was a Christian (i.e., if he believed in God), he might have wanted to prolong his life on Earth.

His life would have had some meaning and he would have wanted more of it.

Similarly, if he was a Christian, he would have been motivated to seek eternal life in Heaven.

So he would have taken the positive step.

What's the Point?

Instead, against all expectation, he doesn't defend himself. We are left to wonder why.

We have to assume that Meursault effectively asked the questions of himself, "What is the point? Why should I bother?"

And we have to assume that he answered the questions, "There is no point".

Achieving Your Own Mortality

There was no point in prolonging his life and, not believing in Heaven, there was no point in seeking eternal life.

He had lived a life (however long or short, however good or bad, however satisfying or unsatisfying) and it didn't really matter that his life might come to an end.

The point is that, sooner or later, all life must come to an end.

By failing to take a "positive" step on his own behalf, he effectively collaborated in and achieved his own mortality. He existed while he was alive, he would have ceased to exist when he was executed.

If he wasn't executed, he would have died sooner or later.

Ultimately, he "enjoyed" his life while he had it, he didn't care enough to prolong it and he accepted the inevitability of his own death.

Is Despair the Explanation?

This doesn't necessarily mean that he embraced despair as a way of life (or death).

In a way, he accepted responsibility for his own actions during life and he accepted responsibility for the inevitability of his own death as well.

Ultimately, this is why "The Stranger" and Existentialism are so confronting to Christianity and Western Civilisation. It makes us ask the question "what is the point?" and it permits an answer that "there is no point".

Responsibility

This doesn't mean that life is meaningless and everybody else should live their lives in despair. Quite the opposite.

We should inject our own meaning into our own lives. We are responsible for our own fulfilment.

Life is short and we should just get on with it. (Or as a friend of mine says, everybody is responsible for their own orgasm.)

Such is life.