Étrange, Existence Is Empty Without Emotion

The concept of anomie, coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in the late 19th century, describes a breakdown of social norms, values, and expectations in a society. Bruce DiCristina, researcher at the Department of Criminal Justice in University of North Dakota, describes how it refers to the broad implications of individuals feeling disconnected or alienated from societal norms, namely widespread feelings of aimlessness, disorientation, and moral confusion. French author Albert Camus explores this abstract notion in his 1942 short novel, L’Étranger (The Stranger), where protagonist Meursault undergoes a sequence of events leading up to a murder and facing the death penalty. Throughout the novel, themes of existentialism are highlighted, as the reader follows the first-person narration of a passive man who does not seem to be guided by morals, ambition, or purpose in his life and allows for the unique opportunity and perspective to explore the tragic mind and eventual fate of an existentialist individual destroyed by an internal sense of anomie. In his novel, The Stranger, Camus argues against existentialism and the inherent meaninglessness of life by illustrating how a life without emotional connection leads to isolation and purposelessness.

The novel begins with Meursault’s apathetic reaction to hearing about the death of his mother, immediately illustrating the character’s emotional detachment. Instead of mourning and grieving upon learning the news, he fixates on physical sensations, namely the heat, his hunger, and the glaring light in his setting. At her funeral, Meursault does not cry and expresses his discomfort with other people sobbing at his mother’s death. “She sniffled a lot. Then finally she shut up… Now it was all these people not making a sound that was getting on my nerves” (Camus 11). The response demonstrates Meursault’s disconnect from those around him, particularly considering how such a vulnerable, emotional scene typically bonds humans together. Instead of sharing the emotional sentiment of those crying around him, he becomes aggravated and considers it an inconvenience. He also smokes in the mortuary, which contradicts customary behavior and is regularly perceived as a disrespectful act in this kind of setting. When offered a final opportunity to see his mother’s face, Meursault refuses: “No” (Camus 13). This symbolizes how Meursault more broadly rejects emotional connection, particularly in the mother-son relation, or lack thereof. When other people ask about his mother, like her age at the time of death, he reveals that he “didn’t know the exact number,” showcasing how Meursault seems indifferent towards the lives of other people as he does not even know the age of a figure that is so close to him (Camus 16). His complaint about the funeral procession that “the glare from the sky was unbearable” reveals how Meursault’s physical discomfort takes precedence over the emotional distress one may feel for a loved one in this scenario (Camus 16). Throughout these early scenes in the novel, Camus establishes Meursault’s intrinsic anomie: he is alienated from not just society’s expectations but also the emotional experiences that make us human.

This emotional detachment extends towards Meursault’s other forms of relationships, as his inability to form connections with romantic partners isolates him. His romantic relationship with Marie is surface-level and is only actualized physically. Despite Marie’s deep feelings for Meursault, he treats her with indifference, only acknowledging her presence when describing her physical appearance. Never in the novel does he mention anything about Marie’s values or character, yet there are numerous descriptions of her only being appreciated and desired in the physical realm, such as when he describes how he “wanted her so bad when I saw her in that pretty red-and-white striped dress and leather sandals” (Camus 34). Meursault’s sexual desire represents another primal form of human connection, yet devoid of the deeper emotional bonds of love. When Marie proposes to Meursault and asks him to marry her, he replies saying that “it didn’t make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to” (Camus 41). When Marie questions his true feelings, he directly admits that he doesn’t love her. Puzzled, Marie asks Meursault “why marry me, then?” only to be received with an existential response from him: “it didn’t really matter” (Camus 42). This not only displays Meursault’s alienation from the fundamental human experience of true love, but also his lack of empathy to provide Marie with a proper explanation of his feelings instead of leaving her confused. From this exchange of dialogue, Camus portrays how without emotional connection, even life’s most significant milestones like marriage become arbitrary impulses made without significance or deeper purpose.

Meursault’s shallow relationships continue in his interactions with Raymond, which also lack authentic connection. When Raymond asks for advice about his girlfriend’s potential infidelity, he merely responds an almost verbatim recitation of what Raymond believed he should do, saying that “it seemed to me she was [cheating]; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you can’t ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her” (Camus 32). Although Raymond believes Meursault’s commentary was valuable and trusts his opinion, a closer read reveals that Meursault did not provide any useful or thoughtful advice––he merely echoed Raymond’s sentiments without thinking and validated Raymond’s absurd chastising of his mistress, even when there was no clear evidence. Meursault just reflects back what he assumes Raymond wants to hear and nonchalantly endorses extreme violence, showing Meursault’s moral indifference, inability to understand others’ emotional situations, and calculating sociopathic personality. Meursault’s emotional disconnect not only diminishes his own life but prevents him from positively contributing to other people’s lives. From this relationship, Camus suggests that anomie affects more than its individual––it can have larger consequences on the lives of other people.

The turning point in the novel, Meursault’s murder of the Arab, is a direct manifestation of Meursault’s existentialism and detachment. His description of the event focuses almost entirely on his physical irritations and sensations, and doesn’t seem to feel any guilt or regret for his actions. He describes how right before he commits the murder, “[t]he scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes. That’s when everything began to reel” (Camus 59). The figurative language and aggressive diction builds the climactic tension and portrays the sun as a violent assailant, implying that Meursault sees himself as being acted upon by external forces instead of a person driven by personal ambition or free will. As he presses the trigger, he shares how “[m]y whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver” (Camus 59). Again, his passiveness portrays the murder as an almost involuntary physical reaction rather than a concrete, intentional decision. However, despite Meursault’s retelling of the incident that makes himself look like the victim, he immediately contradicts this by describing the additional shots fired after the Arab falls: “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace” (Camus 59). Camus illustrates Meursault’s complete emotional detachment, as he commits unnecessary and purposeless violence without any meaning for it. After the moment, he expresses that it was “like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness,” showing a fleeting understanding that something actually significant has occurred and he registers his unhappy feelings, although he does not consider the emotional and moral weight of his actions (Camus 59). The scene demonstrates how life without emotional connection culminates in irreversible deeds devoid of moral standing and highlights the dangerous “dead-end” of a life of existential detachment.

Finally, Meursault’s trial sequence symbolizes society’s inability to understand or accept his anomie. As PhD-psychologist Saul McLeod writes in his interpretation of anomie, society’s institutions regulate immense levels of social control where people become more conscious of appearing socially-adept, making those who suffer from anomie feel alienated. Ironically, the prosecutor does not fixate on the murder’s details but rather judges on Meursault’s inability to display appropriate mourning at his mother’s funeral, explaining to the jury “the day after his mother’s death, this man was out swimming, starting up a dubious liaison, and going to the movies, a comedy, for laughs. I have nothing further to say” (Camus 95). The prosecutor represents how society perceives the character of someone apathetic at their mother’s funeral, using his response to his mother’s death to deem him a monster with “crime in his heart,” even though he bore no nefarious, inherent intentions (Camus 96). The jury’s ultimate decisive condemnation of Meursault with a public execution represents more than just a criminal proceeding, it describes a philosophy of life and evokes thoughtful pondering from the reader regarding the purpose of existence considering Meursault’s unfortunate demise. Meursault “[opens his] eyes to the gentle indifference of the world,” concluding the novel and suggesting that upon his death, Meursault was finally able to build a connection surpassing that of an emotional one with an existential acceptance.

Meursault’s journey reveals the paradoxical nature of existentialism: while life may have no inherent meaning, the absence of emotional connection creates an emptiness that renders existence hollow. His story demonstrates that a life without forming true emotional connections inevitably leads to isolation, purposelessness, and emptiness, which resonates strongly in our modern digital era. The COVID-19 pandemic forced billions of people into physical isolation, accelerating our dependence on social media platforms that provide the illusion of interconnectedness instead of emotional connection. Similar to Meursault’s passive existence fixated on physical sensations rather than emotional depth, many people today endlessly scroll through social media updates that replace authentic human interaction. As writer Holly Dreger points out, although social media promises to connect us across vast distances, when used irresponsibly, it can foster the same emotional detachment as anomie. Meursault’s passive existence provides a cautionary tale to the danger associated with a lack of emotional depth––a superficial human experience. Meursault’s final moments of clarity represent both an important unfortunately-belated realization about and regret for an emotionally isolated life, yet the existentialist philosophical ending inspires readers to reflect on their own lives. As humanity advances through modern society, hopefully Meursault’s story can influence humans to prioritize forming true relationships. Although it may be impossible for humans to grasp the meaning of life (if there even is one), merely experiencing the emotions life carries with it adds the value that makes all the difference.