In The Stranger by Albert Camus, fate plays
a limited role. The only fate that
Meursault believes is guaranteed is death.
He is disinterested in any idea of a god guiding his life and choosing a
fate for him. Meursault even questions
why other people believe that a god chooses their fate, when they are all “elected
by the same fate.” Camus characterizes
this “fate” of only death as a “dark wind that had been rising toward [him]
from somewhere deep in [his] future.” That
fate “leveled whatever was offered” in his life, which means that the choices
in his life were taken away by the single fate of death.
Throughout,
Meursault seems to exercise free will, rather than be bound by a destiny that a
higher being chose throughout his life.
He compares the “gentle indifference” of the world to his own
indifference. Meursault concludes that
life has no meaning, and therefore nothing matters, so he does as he
pleases. As other people are bound by
some type of morality, Meursault is not; he uses his freedom to kill the Arab at
the beach. At that moment, he loses
control of himself, although no higher being is controlling him. He chooses to not grieve over his mother’s
death, which feels unnatural to other people who are bound to some type of
morality. Although Meursault may not be
considered an immoral person, he does not have the feelings or emotions that
would stop him from committing the crime that he has committed; therefore, he
uses only his free will.
Although
it was Meursault’s free will that led him to not particularly care about his
mother’s death and kill a man, other people did have control over the
circumstances of his fate. According to
Meursault, again, the only fate is death.
Because he killed a man, he is sentenced to death. The court chose to bring his fate sooner,
because they rejected his request to appeal.
According to Meursault, they did not decide his fate; his death was
inevitable and would have happened sooner or later.
