Meaning to Mersault

I decided to relate this post to the question nine part b of The Stranger Socratic Seminar Discussion Questions.  It regards the argument of whether or not Mersault lives more in prison than while a free man.  Personally, I believe that thiMersault not only “lives” in prison, but also discovers how to express his emotions and live comfortably knowing that the meaning of life is that there is no true meaning. 

During the first part of the novel, Mersault goes through life day by day without expressing any sort of emotion.  He is indifferent to society and the environment in which he is surrounded by.  Mersault lives his life by the same daily routine; he goes to work, spends time with Marie, and goes to his usual restaurant, Celetes’.  Because of his brutal honesty and inadequately expressed emotions, he is severely misunderstood, and is often criticized for putting his mother in a home.  Mersault is not a bad person for putting the care of his mother in other hands; rather yet, he is the most practical character I have yet to read of in any book.  As can be seen on page 5 of The Stranger, “It was true.  When she was at home with me, Maman used to spend her time following me with her eyes, not saying a thing.  For the first few days she was at the home she cried a lot.  But that was because she wasn’t used to it.  A few months later and she would have cried if she’d been taken out.  She was used to it.  That’s partly why I didn’t go there much this past year.  And also because it took up my Sunday-not to mention the trouble of getting to the bus, buying tickets, and spending two hours traveling.”  

However, Mersault eventually receives the notion that there is no real purpose to life, and that he is free to decide his purpose for himself.  Thus, he is more than happy to be lost of all hope, because in the end, we are all bound to die.  “As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world.  Finding it so much like myself- so like a brother, really- I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again.  For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate.”  Mersault both mentally and physically shows his mixed emotions for the first time in his life in the prison due to the influence of the frustration forced upon Mersault by the Chaplain.

Much of Camus’ existentialist views can be traced in The Stranger. The key points visible in The Stranger are: “Reason Alone Cannot Deal with the Depths of Human Life” (Mersault is seen as mysterious for not seeing a legitimate reason to physically express his sorrow for his mother), “Alienation or Estrangement” (Mersault is alienated from Society), “Confrontation with Death or Nothingness” (Mersault discovers the purposeless universe) and “Freedom” (Mersault is free as soon as he loses all hope). 

            The film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a prime example of existentialism for it revolves around people who are completely isolated from each other in a fundamentally insignificant society.  Not only are they liable for their own actions, but also they are responsible for shaping their own characters and destinies without any certain knowledge of what is morally correct and incorrect.  This can be traced back to the “Freedom” aspect of Existentialism: “With freedom comes choice and responsibility.”  In both Clementine and Joel’s case, it is the choice of whether to erase one another from their memory, or to return to their previously committed relationship.

            Mersault of The Stranger experiences life in the most unexpected place and under crucial circumstances.  He eventually realizes with the futility of life, and discovers that it is better to die a free man than to live by the rules of society.