Blatant Systemic Racism and Sexism

The discussion of racism and sexism in The Stranger is often about the specific prejudices of individual characters, but truly, there are blatant examples of the systemic bigotries of the time period. Although Mersault was technically on trial for the murder of the Arab, the death was clearly not what he was in trouble for. Mersault was questioned minimally about what happened the actual day of the murder and not a single one of the other Arabs had any part in the trial, not even as witnesses. Instead, Meursault was questioned mainly about his character. Most witnesses and questions were about the death of his mother and his reaction to it. Obviously the death of the Arab did not matter to the court. What mattered to the court was that Mersault was not following the social normality of the world with his emotions or actions. They were more appalled at the fact he didn’t cry over his mother’s death than the fact he murdered an Arab. This is supported in Raymond’s interaction with the law as well. Raymond got off with just a warning because Mersault testified that Raymond’s mistress (consistently unnamed) had cheated on Raymond. It was ruled that the immorality of the mistress’s alleged fault in her loyalty outweighed the immorality of Raymond beating her bloody. In the eyes and values of the court, the safety of an Arab or woman was of less importance than following the societal norms. Was Mersault also racist and sexist? And if so, was he really that free from societal constricts?