The animal nature or the absurd of existence? Reflections on the animality of the main character of „The Stranger” by Albert Camus

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to answer the question of how the interpretation of the main character in The Stranger by Albert Camus as „an animal in the human skin” can be applied to understanding the actions of the character in the world. The next question posed is whether Camus describes Meursault literally as an animal or refers to the character symbolically. The author argues that such an extreme treatment of „the animality” of the character is useless in the broader context of this book since Meursault has a human nature which proves the complexity of his mental processes.