In one of the panel presentations on Friday, a group presented an article that draws parallels between Meursault's life and the life of Jesus. They also point out a quote from Camus where he says, "I have sometimes said, and always paradoxically, that I have tried to portray in this character [Meursault] the only Christ we deserved." I know that this is the author, himself, comparing the two, but I have trouble seeing Meursault's story as a reiteration of Jesus's.
I think that Jesus is a very archetypal character. I mean, the argument could be made that Gregor's story has parallels to the life of Jesus (they both face persecution while they are trying to help others, and eventually they meet their ends so that the people that they have connections to can go on with their lives). But, that doesn't mean that Gregor is some sort of Jesus.
All of the parallels in the article seem a little forced to me. I think that Camus could have very easily meant that, like Jesus, Meursault has some sort of higher knowledge (the acceptance of absurdism), and that is all. The fact that he claims that Meursault is the only Christ that we deserve may mean that since Camus believes that there is no meaning to life, we don't deserve someone who's entire message revolves around meaning in life and death. Another huge difference is that Meursault is never going out and actively trying to spread the message that absurdism is the gateway to enlightenment, or anything like that. He is just trying to live his life peacefully.
2 comments:
Hi! I was just strolling by the garden of blogs and stumbled upon your post. I like your distinction of Meursault and Jesus for I agree (and slightly disagree). There is something remarkably Antichrist about Meursault's rejection of Christ himself offered by the chaplain and his unwillingness to spread his own doctrine. But part of Jesus's heroic lies in his willingness to die for his beliefs and I think Meursault does that rather well. He does die for refusing to tell a lie, which is just anything more than the absolute truth. And for me, that's a rather remarkable and messianic death.
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