.Society often views religion as an aspect that should be incorporated into everyone’s life and in some instances society tries to pressure people into incorporating religion into their lives. This is one of the themes in Albert Camus’s The Stranger. Originally written in 1942 in French, the novel was translated into many different languages and tells the story of Meursault, the novel’s emotionally detached protagonist. Taking place in the French colony of Algeria post World War I, Monsieur Meursault lives in a society that he seems to despise. Readers are first introduced to Meursault’s distaste for society by his lack of emotion toward the news of his mother’s death and throughout the novel we learn about his dislike for multiple different aspects of society including religion. Religion was never a part of Meursault’s life however when it showed up in his life, it helped showcase his inner self and his true feelings toward society. When religion did show up in Meursault’s life it would always be from someone asking his beliefs and why he doesn’t believe in God. During some interactions with people, religion would also be forced upon him which only angered him. In The Stranger by Albert Camus, society is seen as forcing religion on Meursault, causing him to distance himself further from society.
Religion is first showed in the novel at the beginning of the story when Meursault is at his mother’s funeral. While having a conversation with the funeral director, Meursault learns something new about his mother when the director says “One last thing: it seems your mother often expressed to her friends her desire for a religious burial. I’ve taken the liberty of making the necessary arrangements. But I wanted to let you know.” (Camus 6) Afterwards Meursault mentions that his mother wasn’t an atheist, but she never thought about incorporating religion into her life. With this being the first instance where religion is mentioned in the novel, it showcases that religion was barely in his life because his mother didn’t care about it. It also shows his attitude and thoughts about it and signifies that he has a distaste for it. This conversation with the director doesn’t last long and doesn’t present the full effect society places on Meursault however, his interaction and thoughts exhibit his typical reactions toward religion without it being forced. Meursault personally doesn’t show any concern toward people incorporating religion in their lives, however he shows a strong dislike when others force it upon him.
After Meursault commits the murder of the Arab man at the end of Part I, he gets arrested and gets put into jail. While in jail, Meursault showcases more of his true self especially when he made contact with other people. While being questioned by the magistrate for his actions, Meursault is asked if he believes in God and the magistrate simply says “He said it was impossible; all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him.” (Camus 69) The magistrate’s body image and language toward Meursault when asking him about his beliefs indicate that he is surprised that Meursault doesn’t believe in a higher power. The two men continue talking about religion however as the conversation continues both men just grew tired and annoyed of each other’s responses. In Meursault’s eyes, the magistrate was irritating and pestering Meursault’s actions toward religion which caused him to despise him him and want to ignore him whenever they were together. This can be seen toward the end of the conversation when Meursault is asked again if he is sorry for his sins and his response is simply “I thought about it for a minute and said that more than sorry I felt kind of annoyed.” (Camus 70) Meursault didn’t wish to have religion in his life and any mention of religion would only cause him to distance himself from that person.
Religion plays a small role throughout the story of The Stranger and until Meursault meets the chaplain at the prison, readers finally manage to understand his true contempt for religion. Before Meursault is guillotined, the chaplain tries to visit Meursault however he wasn’t interested in speaking with him and refused to speak to him until he finally showed up to have a talk with him. The chaplain asked a series of questions and one of them was why does he refuse God’s assistance. The chaplain states that he has seen many men in Meursault’s same position turn toward God to lead them toward the right direction. Meursault simply says “I didn’t want anybody’s help, and I just didn’t have the time to interest myself in what didn’t interest me.” (Camus 117) Every response that Meursault gave to the chaplain only confused him and made him angry. He wasn’t accustomed to people not wanting to have God be in their lives. The chaplain’s commitment and pressure toward Meursault exhibits the contrast between Meursault and society. The chaplain and everyone else around Meursault believes that religion should be in everyone’s lives because it makes people happier. However, Meursault doesn’t demonstrate emotions and he believes that religion is just annoying gimmick of society. By the end of the conversation with the chaplain, Meursault has given up on society and his own life. He doesn’yt care that he will be executed and only wishes that there would be at least a crowd of people watching his execution. The chaplain also asks Meursault “Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?” (Camus 117) and Meursault’s response is simply “Yes,” (Camus 117) This conversation with the chaplain near the end of Meursault’s life showcases that society has attempted to push religion into his life too vigorously and to no avail.
In Camus’ The Stranger, Monsieur Meursault is a man who dislikes society and people for various reasons. Even though religion is absent during some parts of Meursault’s life, it still plays a role in his character and is one of the reasons why he acts how he does. When Meursault learns that his mother, who barely cared about religion, purposely asked for a religious funeral, Meursault questioned her actions since he was not used to religion in his family. In a way, Meursault could have felt annoyed that his mother would want a religious funeral because he felt that he would be questioned about religion during the funeral. However, religion doesn’t start to completely annoy Meursault until he goes to prison and speaks with the magistrate and the chaplain. It is here where readers truly see his anger and rage toward people forcing religion upon him. Meursault is a person who isn’t fond of things being forced upon him, especially religion so whenever religion is mentioned toward Meursault he appears to try to end the conversation as soon as possible. Some of his actions in his life occur because of the way religion is forced upon his life. There’s a plausible chance that Meursault could’ve lived with religion in his life, however it wouldn’t have been possible because society tried to force it upon him instead of him incorporating it into his own life. Meursault wanted to be his own person and no matter how much society tried to force religion upon him, he always managed to distance himself from them because he wanted to be his own person; he wanted to be a stranger to the religious society around him.