Questioning Meursault's Apparent Indifference

Champigny, Robert J. “Meursault’s Pagan Philosophy.” Readings on The Stranger. Ed. Derek C. Maus. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2001. 82-93. Print

Robert Champigny’s perception of Meursault is that he develops life as a Pagan. The notion of physis, known as “natural law,” influences Meursault’s Pagan lifestyle along with his preference to be uninvolved in a civilized and materialistic lifestyle filled of unnatural and unnecessary desires. He perceives Meursault as childlike because of his need for sleep and aptitude for falling asleep during events that are unappealing to and bore him, events that society would consider important. Another reason Champigny gives for Meursault’s childlike behavior is how his space is limited to what he encounters each day and how his time is limited to a moment, a day, or a week at most. Meursault lives purely in the moment and does not spend time reflecting on the past, until his time in prison, or having regrets on past decisions and actions. Therefore, Meursault appears to Champigny as “an individual without a past, as a flat and transparent strip of glass” in which the readers can view the world of a stranger through (83). Also, He does not believe that Meursault is indifferent; in fact, his “better explanation” of Meursault involves the concept of ataraxia, his freedom from mind disturbances and worries. Champigny argues that his “indifference” comes from a clash between the influences of society on his lifestyle and his satisfactory with his socially detached life, where “sentiments do not interfere with his physical demands, that passions do not trouble his ataraxia, that social desires are not substituted for his natural desires” (90).

Robert Champigny’s view is relevant because it allows a reader to question the depths and extents of Meursault’s apparent indifference. Champigny’s idea presents the opportunity for a reader to think about the idea of Meursualt as a looking glass. This idea helps readers to question the reasons for why Meursault appears to be indifferent, and then to consider Meursualt’s pagan and childlike behaviors as possible causes of his indifference. This idea of Meursault as a “transparent strip of glass” allows the reader to view the world through the eyes of Meursault’s mind. Therefore, a reader can use Champigny’s idea to understand and accept Meursault and his apparent indifference in order to perceive a broader perspective of the novel. Another way Champigny’s view allows the reader to question Meursault’s apparent indifference is by helping the reader perceive Meursault’s first-person claims as his desires for ataraxia and having a peace of mind by not caring. This concept brings a new dimension to the experiences and interpretations of the novel, in which a reader may have never even considered. For example, Meursault’s pagan, childlike, and careless behaviors can be viewed as his attempts at maintaining the peace within his mind, and not as an “indifference;” however, using the idea of Meursault as a “transparent strip of glass” suggests to a reader a more apprehensible way to categorize and measure the extent of his “apparent” indifference.