The Stranger

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

The Stranger by Albert Camus is regarded as one of the finest examples of absurdist fiction ever written. Camus was one of the pioneers of this form of philosophy and used it as the guiding principle in the conception and creation of The Stranger. This novel is certainly his best-known work of fiction. The story follows Meursault, an unusual man living in Algiers who floats from one part of his life to the next without conviction or too much emotion. Meursault, like Camus, believes in the meaninglessness of life. This means that when presented with a choice, Meursault simply acts without worrying about the consequences or how that action might be perceived. 

Key Facts about The Stranger

• Title: The Stranger
• When/where written: 1941-1942
• Published: France
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Absurdist, philosophical
• Point-of-View: First-person
• Setting: Algiers, Algeria
• Climax: The murder of the Arab on the beach.
• Antagonist: Raymond, Meursault himself, the nature of life.

Albert Camus and The Stranger

Today, Albert Camus (along with Soren Kierkegaard) is regarded as a leader of the existentialist movement. Specifically, absurdism; that is, the belief that life is essentially meaningless despite the human desire for it not to be.  Camus believed that human beings have three different ways that they might confront that meaninglessness. The first of these is to commit suicide or “escape existence.” It’s an option, neither Camus nor Kierkegaard believed was the right one. Second, one might turn to religion or spirituality to find a meaning that doesn’t really exist. One takes a “leap” into the unprovable in this scenario. Lastly, there is acceptance. One must acknowledge the absurd but continue to live. Camus believed that this last option was the best. It is only through accepting the absurd that one can experience their own freedom. (Kierkegaard vehemently disagreed.) While absurdism might seem at first only tangential to The Stranger it is in fact at the heart of the story. Meursault is a “stranger” to society. He doesn’t believe that life has meaning nor does he seek to create through relationships.

Books Related to The Stranger

Directly related to The Stranger is Camus’ best-known philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. It was published the same year as The Stranger was finished and outlines his beliefs about absurdism and the nature of life. The essay is regarded as one of Camus’ finest works and often ranks alongside The Stranger on lists of his most important literary achievements. Although Camus is best-known for absurdism, there are other writers who also engaged with this philosophical idea. For example, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in which Kafka presents an absurd scenario without explanation or reason–because there isn’t one. Kafka’s The Castle and The Trail are also good examples.

The Lasting Impact of The Stranger