[Spoilers for The Stranger/The Outsider/L’Étranger]
In my English class, we read the famous novella known by some as The Stranger” by Albert Camus. Albert Camus is a famous absurdist and existentialist “philosopher” (although he refused to identify himself as one) who is famous for pioneering the idea that life does not have meaning. While some may consider this to be a pessimistic outlook on the world, a closer inspection of Absurdism reveals quite the opposite; Camus argues that because there is no intrinsic purpose in life, we should not dwell on the unfortunate events that have happened to us. Rather, we should focus on enjoying our lives to the fullest and living as if there is no tomorrow.
In Camus’s novella, The Stranger, he expertly crafts a story about a young man named Meursault, a French-Algerian who embodies the concept of absurdism. When his mother dies, Meursault only states in a matter-of-fact manner that she is dead, referring to her corpse as “a body” and falling asleep at her funeral. He even engages in a relationship with his coworker Marie the day after.
Throughout the novel, Meursault continues to miss important social cues, such as when Marie (whom he later gets engaged to) asks him if he would marry any woman, to which he responds with the affirmative. He turns down a promotion that would relocate him to Paris because “one life is as good as any” and he gives a statement at the police station to protect his mobster acquaintance for the simple reason that he was asked. At the end of the novel, he murders an unnamed Arab man and is found guilty; he spends the remainder of his days in jail awaiting his execution.
There are many translations of this story, such as The Stranger, The Outsider, The Foreigner, The Alien, and Odd Man Out. In my opinion, out of all of these translations, The Outsider serves as the best title for the novella. It established that Meursault is known by his community (given that he grew up in French Algiers and never relocated) but that he is missing out on something that only people on the inside are aware of so to speak. This crucial element, a strong sense of social awareness and a moral compass, prevents him from fitting in, casting him as an outsider in society. While the other titles hold (mostly) the same denotation, they do not convey this critical connotation, which is why The Outsider functions as the best-translated title.
The Stranger by Albert Camus is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.
If you were to see Monsieur Meursault walking down the street, he would appear to be an ordinary young man. He shows up to work every day, doesn’t disrespect any of his coworkers, and is on good terms with all of his neighbors. Unless you were to actually meet him, you would never realize that he was a bit different.
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