The Outsider by Albert Camus
The Outsider introduces you to the strange character of Meursault who is indifferent to things we take too seriously. That is not to say that his participation in life is frugal. He has a job in which he desires to do better. The story begins with Meursault receiving the news of his mother's death. It's a news like any other. He finds himself in an awkward position in asking his boss’ leave to attend mother’s funeral. Back from the funeral, at the first opportunity, he has sex with his girlfriend. Camus paints Meursault's character with the choices he makes. That’s Camus’ craft.
To me, Meursault is an individual who does not expect from life more than life can provide. Excessive virtue cannot make your ethereal dreams come true, nor can too much vice cause misery more than you can bear. He knows no extremes of commitment or aversion. When he desires wine and good food, he puts up with the prattle of his neighbour Raymond, but that does not enslave his opinion to Raymond. He will have his freedom as long as he can.
He loves his girlfriend for the appeasement she provides. When she proposes him marriage, he does not shirk the idea. Marriage or no marriage, ‘it doesn't matter’. He can bear the meaninglessness of existence calmly. His mother’s death inconveniences him, which makes him indisposed to grief. He cherishes the familiarity of his nostalgic surroundings, which evoke a fond feeling in him. But, it is as if the memories are invested in things and not in him. Memories do not interfere with his happiness.
He is sorry for his next-door neighbour old Salamano who loses his dog. But, the sorry feeling does not grow beyond a kind word. He apprehends no God whom he can call upon and weave a parallel world that sustains on prayers and false hopes. He is rooted in life without lending too much of value to its flux.
Meursault’s only rationalisation for his actions is the necessity to act.
It's a book not to be talked about but read. It's truly a classic. Please read it. Just 117 pages. You will congratulate yourself after reading it. The same book is published under a different title: The Stranger.
My rating: 10/10
Comments
Camus is known for his philosophies of writing absurdism (read Myth of Sisyphus).
The character has an unshakable indifference towards life and the result is an absolute inability to find sense in the absurd strictures pounded upon one’s behavior due to societal pressures that largely standardize human existence and hence mechanize a living. Indifference is the expression of ultimate nihilism, it is radical and in this disengagement from life Meursault is left only with death.