An Ecocritical Reading of Albert Camus' The Outsider
Albert Camus’ The Outsider from an Ecocritical Point of View
Vikram Jyoti Das EGE10026
Meursault- the protagonist of Camus’ The Outsider is shown as being influenced by nature. His character and actions are indicative of how an individual is affected by the environment in which he dwells and how a change in the surroundings affects his psychology. The character of Meursault also portrays the biological evolutionary notion of adaptability and how a superior species replaces an inferior one. This can be seen, in the novel, in the role Mersault’s natural surroundings plays in determining his actions and how, towards the end, an existentially enlightened Meursault replaces the older one. In the novel we see how the protagonist is continually affected by his surroundings.
Nature acts as a guiding force in the life of Meursault- all his happiness and sadness are associated with nature. In fact, the natural world is intertwined with his existence. When Meursault is in his office and away from nature, he appears to be a man lost in the world of modernization- a mechanical human being. Only in nature do his human feelings come to the fore and he feels himself significant. Even in his mother’s funeral he remains emotionally detached and the only things that he retains are some sights and sounds and smells of nature. On being taken to the room where his mother’s body was kept he observes that “[T]he room was bathed in beautiful, late-afternoon sunshine” (The Outsider, p.13) and that “[A] couple of hornets were buzzing against the glass roof” (The Outsider, p.13). He could smell “flowers in the night air” (The Outsider, p.14) and when he waited in the courtyard before the start of the funeral procession he “breathed in the fresh smells of the earth and ... no longer felt sleepy.” (The Outsider, p.17). He craves for nature so much so that the sight of the morning beauty of the Marengo countryside makes him wish he were rather amidst
Vikram Jyoti Das EGE10026
Meursault- the protagonist of Camus’ The Outsider is shown as being influenced by nature. His character and actions are indicative of how an individual is affected by the environment in which he dwells and how a change in the surroundings affects his psychology. The character of Meursault also portrays the biological evolutionary notion of adaptability and how a superior species replaces an inferior one. This can be seen, in the novel, in the role Mersault’s natural surroundings plays in determining his actions and how, towards the end, an existentially enlightened Meursault replaces the older one. In the novel we see how the protagonist is continually affected by his surroundings.
Nature acts as a guiding force in the life of Meursault- all his happiness and sadness are associated with nature. In fact, the natural world is intertwined with his existence. When Meursault is in his office and away from nature, he appears to be a man lost in the world of modernization- a mechanical human being. Only in nature do his human feelings come to the fore and he feels himself significant. Even in his mother’s funeral he remains emotionally detached and the only things that he retains are some sights and sounds and smells of nature. On being taken to the room where his mother’s body was kept he observes that “[T]he room was bathed in beautiful, late-afternoon sunshine” (The Outsider, p.13) and that “[A] couple of hornets were buzzing against the glass roof” (The Outsider, p.13). He could smell “flowers in the night air” (The Outsider, p.14) and when he waited in the courtyard before the start of the funeral procession he “breathed in the fresh smells of the earth and ... no longer felt sleepy.” (The Outsider, p.17). He craves for nature so much so that the sight of the morning beauty of the Marengo countryside makes him wish he were rather amidst