Meursault and Frankl have an obvious connection.
Emotions.
Or lack there of.
Frankl has a coping mechanism that provides him with a kind of staleness to the concentration camp he is placed in. A completely justified and understandable mechanism; however, when he is faced with indignation, his true colors show.
Frankl's reaction isn't far from Meursault's. Meursault has an obvious lack of care throughout The Stranger, however when he is faced with anger or a complicated struggle, he often gets heated. Literally and metaphorically hot.
Although, while Meursault has a sense of apathy towards women and relationships, Frankl clings to the memory of his wife and uses her as a guide through his time at the camp. He often questions whether she is alive or dead, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter because he has her memory in his heart (a little cliche I apologize).
In King Lear, emotions serve to be the heart of the play. Acting on emotions drive the plot. Lear, in a fit of rage, disowns his daughter, becomes insane, and ultimately the play ends in 5 deaths. With this contrast, a lack of emotion seems to be the preferred coping mechanism, compared to insanity or death.
I agree with your observation that the whole "he has his wife's memory in his heart" is a bit cliché. I actually wrote my blog post about that aspect of the story. I also think his meaning connects to King Lear in Lear's deep attachment to Cordelia and how his love for her is the only thing that matters, and he finds no purpose in life without it. This whole underlying idea about the power of love is EVERYWHERE; it was there back then and it's still here now.
ReplyDeleteI like your post's commentary on how emotional people usually end up in what we've read. I don't think Frankl was completely apathetic at the camps, however. I don't want to call it positivity either. In the beginning, when it was pointed out he looked as though he would die first, he doesn't have a very strong reaction. That wasn't a result of a lack of emotions as much as it was out of strength of character and not letting things get to him.
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