Friday, October 7, 2016
Meursault: A Good Existentialist
In part two, Meursault's apparent existentialism becomes clearer as his ability to remain apathetic at almost all times becomes more of a benefit than a reader-annoying trait. However, it appears that Meursault himself hasn't yet recognized his existentialism.
When the magistrate was threatening him with the silver crucifix the magistrate "said it was impossible; all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him. That was his belief and if he were ever to doubt it, his life would become meaningless" (69). This is obviously a belief of a existentialist but Meursault doesn't seem to realize the profundity of his thoughts and he goes on to say, to the magistrate, "As far as I could see, it didn't have anything to do with me" (69). Here I believe that if Meursault recognized his own existentialism, he would have commented on it more directly, possibly even to the magistrate himself.
But maybe if Meursault knew he was an existentialist and the term he wouldn't be so good at being an existentialist because if he acknowledged existentialism as a set of beliefs and values it would become, at least for him, another man made system. And although this system would be based on the disbelief in other systems, I feel it would still cover up the pain and suffering of life for Meursault.
If he acknowledged existentialism he would also be acknowledging a construct created by somebody else which would mean he wasn't living his own authentic life.
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But if Meursault couldn't recognize existentialism, how could anyone? Would everybody have this problem of creating a system out of existentialism? And also how could existentialism itself be created if it could not be consciously recognized? I feel like if existentialism became a system for Meursault, he wouldn't actually be following existentialism at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that Meursault may not acknowledge his existentialism so it would not become unauthentic, as the systematic lack of of adherence to a system of values and beliefs, making it a system of values and beliefs itself, that was not unique to him. I also agree with the idea that Meursault's adherence to this systematic rejection of values, though a system of values in itself, serves, in the same way that the values he rejects work to cover up the unavoidable pain and suffering in life.
ReplyDeleteI agree that for most of the book Meursault doesn't seem to take a position on what his life philosophy is. I think he just does what feels good in the moment. In the end of the book when he rants at the priest I think is when he gets the closest to articulating why he lives the way he does. It's also a good point to bring up that it wouldn't be truly "existentialist" of Meursault to call himself an existentialist - it kind of shows a flaw in the whole theory.
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