The Stranger: condemned by misunderstanding
Throughout Camus’ novel, The Stranger, it is evident that Meursault, in fact, embraces life and savours every moment of existence. However, it is Meursault’s firm existentialist beliefs that leave him misunderstood and branded, “Mr. Antichrist”. In addition to this, the events that take place at his mothers funeral, his inability to comply with social standards, and act in a normal and expected fashion gives the French society of Algiers the impression that Meursault does in fact have a ‘hardened soul’.
The events that take place at his mother’s funeral contribute largely to Meursault’s perceived ‘hardened soul’. While Meursault watches over his mother’s body, the caretaker offers him some white coffee. Meursault was fond of white coffee and didn’t think of rejecting his offer. Later, Meursault feels like a cigarette. He hesitates because he “didn’t know if he could smoke in front of mother”. He thinks it over and decides that, “it didn’t really matter”. Also during the vigil, Meursault didn’t feel the need to cry at the loss of his mother.
While Meursault felt that he was only doing what came naturally, society condemned him as horrible son. Meursault was seen to be a son indulging in white coffee at his mothers funeral (society makes something out of nothing), and a son who lacked the will power to hold off smoking a cigarette as a sign of respect for his dead mother. Society also contrasts Meursault with Mr. Perez, who was able to love his mother after knowing her only for a short time in comparison to Meursault who “probably loved” his mother after knowing her his whole life.
Meursault’s failure to respect institutions, to a lesser extent, also added towards his ‘hardened soul’. Unlike most young men, Meursault was not ambitious. He believed that “one job is as good as another” and that he was not unhappy with his. This startled his boss who could not understand why Meursault was rejecting a job opportunity in Paris, which would give him the opportunity to travel. Also, Meursault didn’t believe in love. When Marie asked him if he loved her, he told her, “it didn’t mean anything, but that (he) didn’t think so.” Meursault also had no respect for marriage. One evening, Marie came around and asked Meursault if he wanted to marry her, to which he replied that he “didn’t mind”, and that they, “could do if she wanted to”. Meursault felt that marriage and love, “didn’t matter”, and “didn’t mean anything”. Because of Meursault failure to respect such institutions, his soul’s ‘hardened’ status becomes more concrete.
In the face of death, Meursault’s mother turns towards religion. She decides to live her life and find a partner. Meursault on the other hand, chooses to reject religion in order to get the most out of life. “I too will live again”, is evidence of Meursault embracing what he has left of his life. In prison, Meursault truly realises the joy of life as he paints a clear image in his own mind of his fondness for living. He remembers the sensations, the perceptions, the sights and sounds and touch of existence, the value of human contact (sex, friendship). We see this when Meursault enjoys his senses, touching crisp towels, savouring the smell of bacon at Celestes’, enjoying wine with Masson, and watching Marie gracefully breast stroking through the water. If Meursault truly had a ‘hardened soul’, would he care about such aspects of existence?
Meursault’s rejection in God causes the examining magistrate to conclude that Meursault has a ‘hardened soul’. However it is Meursault’s soulful passion for his own beliefs that turn him away from religion. He believes that life is absurd, ruled by chance; planning for the future is pointless; death is inevitable and is the absolute end; and there is no God. So, naturally when the examining magistrate pushed his religious propaganda to Meursault, he refused to accept it and “play the game”. “I have never seen a soul as hardened as yours. The criminals who have come to me before have always wept at the sight of this symbol of suffering.” Unlike the other criminals, Meursault stayed true to his beliefs to the point where he was labelled, “Mr. Antichrist”, and his fate was determined.
Meursault’s honesty, which comes from his integrity and belief in himself, also contribute to his ‘hardened soul’. He refuses to lie about anything regardless of how detrimental it is to his case. Rather than lie, he would reply, “that’s not true”. He admitted to feeling “annoyance” rather than regret when being interrogated about his feelings towards the murdered Arab. Meursault felt that remorse and sorrow were wasted emotions that served no purpose as neither of them would bring things back to the way they were when he had “been happy”. This is why he never regrets destroying “the balance of the day”, by “giving four sharp knocks at the door of unhappiness”. In conjunction with this, Meursault’s failure to believe in religion also means that he doesn’t believe in the forgiveness of sins and therefore has no reason to repent. However, this ideology is not seen as socially acceptable, especially when he is facing the death sentence. Therefore societies inability to tolerate Meursault leads to the perception that he has a ‘hardened soul’.
At first inspection, nobody seemed to care about Meursault’s case, as it was merely the murder of a nameless Arab. However, after analysing Meursault’s life, and exaggerating every aspect of it (the importance of not rejecting a white coffee), the murder of the lowly Arab is used as an excuse to see that Meursault is publicly executed. And the fact that Meursault was unable to cry; smoked in front of his mother; rejected religion; and failed to show any remorse, intimidated society and forced them upon the idea that any being that can so verily bask in malevolence and ignorance doesn’t deserve to live. However, Meursault is only deemed to have a ‘hardened soul’ because society as a whole is unable to comprehend his actions and his brutal honesty. Meursault’s soul is evidently enlightened compared to the narrow-minded, society he is condemned by.