On Meursault and the Concept of Guilt
On Meursault and the Concept of Guilt
The Stranger is a very unique, thought provoking, and hard-to-interpret book. How are we as readers supposed to find any purpose in the story of this essentially purposeless man? Meursault essentially views all of his actions as a result of circumstance. He doesn’t have many feelings beyond the instant and physical. He is even unbothered by the murder he committed. He describes what he’s feeling as he’s walking towards the Arab by saying that “the whole beach, throbbing in the sun, was pressing on my back,” showing that although he very well could have turned around, he felt that he had to go on (Camus, 58). If he feels like he physically must commit the murder, is he really guilty of it?
Guilt is a
complicated subject in The Stranger,
one that the court gets stuck on as they come to realize it’s something he
lacks, as the prosecutor stated, “I [Meursault] had no place in a society whose
fundamental rules I ignored,” (Camus, 102). After hearing about him smoking a
cigarette at his mother’s vigil, bringing a girl home the very next day, and
the situation where he helped Raymond who he witnessed be abusive, people were
observing that he expressed no guilt for these actions. Not a lot lies on the
surface of the narration of The Stranger.
The question to be addressed is whether or not there is remorse lying beneath,
that Meursault is hiding even from us, or if there is nothing there at all: as
put by the prosecutor, “I [Meursault] didn’t have a soul,” (Camus, 101).
Of course, the very
nature of The Stranger seems to be up to interpretation, but I believe that he
simply does not and can not feel genuinely sorry for his actions. It’s tempting
to point to the humanizing lines such as “I had this stupid urge to cry, because
I could feel how much all these people hated me,” and argue that he feels
guilty for what he has done (Camus 90). However, I think the emotion he’s
really describing here is discomfort. Meursault is seen to care about two
things throughout the book: his physical feelings and people liking him. This
urge to cry is not a result of regret; not only does he not feel bad for what
he’s done, but he’s not even thinking about it. He is simply uncomfortable with
the fact that people don’t like him in the present moment.
Similar logic can apply to when Meursault thinks “for the first time I realized that I was guilty,” (Camus 90). It’s not that he feels guilty, he realizes that he is factually guilty, and that’s what everyone has come to think of him. A realization that came shockingly late much like earlier on when he realizes “today is Saturday, I’d sort of forgotten,” (Camus 19). In both of these situations, it may be hard for the average person to comprehend how he could not notice, but it’s just natural for Meursault. There is ample evidence that Meursault does not feel remorse for any of his “soulless” actions. As a reader who does feel deep emotion, it’s incredibly tempting to read that into his character, but it’s simply not there. He only feels present, physical discomfort. By nature, Meursault cannot feel guilty, no matter the magnitude of the consequences of his actions.
Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Translated by Matthew Ward, Vintage International, 1989.
I believe your interpretation is very well done. Meursault only cares about the factual and ditches the other emotions that society calls important and moral. He acknowledges that the murder made him guilty in the eyes of the court, but remains indifferent to the actual crime. It's as if life exists purely in the realm of his body (physical instinct and reaction to events).
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation of Meursault's feeling of guilt is so well written!! Meursault spends the entirety of the book completely defying the societal norms of his time (and I guess our time as well), and he only "feels" guilty because other people are telling him he should. Discomfort is such a great way to explain this because although he says he was guilty, we aren't really told of any real remorse, and it'd be weird to randomly be overcome with guilt after so long of having none at all. If it weren't for the expectations of those around him, he would continue to be unmoved by everything, even a murder he committed, and his "urge to cry" and "guilt" are nothing but his care for how he is perceived.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea behind Meursault is to comment on how the ideas and emotions of a human being is generally determined by stuff that society sees as being normal. I think The Stranger reflects on society as a whole and people expect certain things from human beings. Meursault defies all of those traditional human qualities, and makes the reader reflect on those things and what it actually means to be human.
ReplyDeleteHi Violet! I like how you pointed out that later in the novel, Meursault begrudgingly comes to realize that the crime he committed makes him guilty, at least in the textbook definition of guilt, just because people are starting to view him differently. He never feels any regret or anger with his past; he only feels, like you said, uncomfortable because of how others' opinions of him. The fact that he can only process two types of emotions is also very interesting. One could argue his lack of understanding is what landed him in this situation. Overall, great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a conclusion that I kept going towards while reading the book! I kept getting frustrated by Meursault's apathy and lack of guilt, but the idea that he might not be capable of those feelings makes me approach it in a different way. Is the murder excusable if he is not able to feel guilty? Does it mean that he didn't see any harm in killing the man? That doesn't make as much sense since people usually acknowledge the harm in murder, but his apathy does make him less human. Maybe alienating himself from human qualities and tendencies is what helps excuse the murder? However excusable the murder is, I entirely agree that he does not feel guilt. Great post!
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