Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Wherefore art thou, Meursault?

I know we just started reading King Lear, and that's a Romeo and Juliet reference, but ah well.

It was definitely an interesting jump from Camus' deep thoughts about the construction of lives to Shakespeare's impassioned characters, but I think there's something that can be gained from this leap. After all, King Lear himself within the first act decides to be rambunctious and disrupt social constructions with a hot-tempered wave of his crown.

In many ways, Meursault's quiet struggle to maintain his position as an agent of his own life is reflected much more openly in Cordelia; she was loved most out of the daughters and most accepted of any into the system of Shakespeare's world, being the youngest, fairest, and soon-to-be richest. But when Lear requests an arbitrary profession of her total love to him, she refuses and criticizes the idea altogether. She is then essentially disowned, despite the King of France choosing to be with her even still.

Although it isn't an exact parallel, Marie chooses to be with Meursault despite his nonchalance and refusal to abide by the construction of love. The King of France chooses Cordelia for her outright criticism of the same structure. Meursault is thrown in jail and beheaded for acting, and defending himself, along his individual guidelines. Cordelia is thrown out of the kingdom and disowned for the same.

Whether we like it or not, thinking about philosophies of life and possible escapes from the systems around us are in everything and now that the ball is rolling, even Shakespeare isn't safe. It's inevitable, given that we are all individuals living our own lives in, around, and outside of an infinite number of systems. From the first scene of the play, the critical thinking is already there. Meursault haunts us and every character. The question is, to what end?

4 comments:

  1. I think you did a good job creating parallels between the two stories and seeing Meursault in other characters and stories. It is interesting that you point out that Marie chooses Meursault despite his refusal to abide by construction of love and the King of France chooses Cordelia for her criticism of the structure. I think this proves that refusal of the system is definitely intriguing for everyone in every story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with Ellen's comment, these comparisons are really cool and unique. I like that both Meursault and Cordelia are being true to themselves in their actions, disregarding what the consequences may be.

    ReplyDelete
  3. They are hard to compare but I think you bring up interesting points. Although I do think that Meursault and Marie's relationship is almost opposite to that of King Lear and his daughter. Marie is enamored with what makes Meursault different and his unconventional way of thinking, while Lear condemns his daughter for the same thing. Society is what punishes Meursault while Marie still loves him, and for Cordelia, her father is the punisher.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's really crazy how existentialism has managed to appear in almost every aspect of our culture, even the culture that was written/developed 500ish years ago. However, I almost feel like if Cordelia was 100% acting like Meursault, she would have just told the King what he wanted to hear so that she could lead a more comfortable life, kind of like how Meursault told Marie that he would marry her. But there are definitely parallels.

    ReplyDelete