There were only privileged people. Sooner than others, obviously. [Marie] asked me if I loved her. 98 Famous Quotes By Albert Camus, The Author Of The Stranger . I hadn't done this thing but I had done another. “I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world.”. 68. But as we were fixing lunch, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her.”, “Mostly, I could tell, I made him feel uncomfortable. “Carnets: 1935-1942” 23 Copy quote There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night. They were staring at us silently, in the special way these people have—as if we were blocks of stone or dead trees. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. Faithfully yours.' You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. What did other people's deaths or a mother's love matter to me; what did his God or the lives people choose or the fate they think they elect matter to me when we're all elected by the same fate, me and billions of privileged people like him who also called themselves my brothers? He didn't understand me, and he was sort of holding it against me. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. There he published in just one year, 1942, what he called in a diary entry “The triptych of absurdity”: the essay on The Myth of Sisyphus, the play Caligula, and the novel The Stranger… Spoken by Meursault, the novel’s narrator and protagonist, these are the opening lines of the novel. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. Written in straightforward, unembellished prose, the novel tells the story of Meursault’s emotionally stilted life through the first-person perspective. I stood there, motionless." 5 pages at 300 words per page) Print Word PDF. Quote 1: "Maman died today. Meursault’s lack of emotion and sympathy towards others is what makes this novel so intriguing. I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. 3842 quotes from Albert Camus: 'Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow Don’t walk behind me… I may not lead Walk beside me… just be my friend', 'You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. I felt the urge to reassure him that I was like everybody else, just like everybody else. So did he. Camus survived his illness and in the early 1940s left Algiers for metropolitan France and Paris. “The Stranger” by Albert Camus is a thought provoking novel that questions morality, society, justice, religion, and individuality. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. ", "It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed. Esther Lombardi, M.A., is a journalist who has covered books and literature for over twenty years. Maybe it was yesterday. '", "They had before them the basest of crimes, a crime made worse than sordid by the fact that they were dealing with a monster, a man without morals. The Stranger Quotes. The Stranger Albert Camus Quotes. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. They introduce Meursault’s … But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered. I told her it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so. The Stranger is a famous novel by Albert Camus, who wrote about existential themes. Learn the important quotes in The Stranger and the chapters they're from, including why they're important and what they mean in the context of the book. And my lawyer, rolling up one of his sleeves, said with finality, 'Here we have a perfect reflection of this entire trial: everything is true and nothing is true! 69. “Don’t walk in front of me… I may not follow. She looked sad. Albert Camus (1963). Or yesterday maybe, I don't know. – Albert Camus. Ou peut-être hier, je ne sais pas.”, “I felt the urge to reassure him that I was like everybody else, just like everybody else.”, “For the first time in a long time I thought about Maman. Free Daily Quotes. Funeral tomorrow. Camus creates a man that goes against society’s idea of the “normal” moral standards, making Meursault a stranger in his world. . I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. Albert Camus, being the polarized man that he was, held more firmly to the belief of Absurdism than existentialism. ", "For the first time maybe, I really thought I was going to get married. But really there wasn't much point, and I gave up the idea out of laziness.”, “After awhile you could get used to anything.”, “I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. I told her it didn't mean anything but that I didn't think so. ", "He wanted to talk to me about God again, but I went up to him and made one last attempt to explain to him that I only had a little time left and I didn't want to waste it on God.". And he would be condemned, too.”, “After another moment's silence she mumbled that I was peculiar, that that was probably why she loved me but that one day I might disgust her for the very same reason.”, “Maman used to say that you can always find something to be happy about. Born In: Dréan. Famous As: Philosopher. ", "I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted p from deep in the stairwell. Albert Camus and The Stranger. I felt as if I understood why at the end of her life she had taken a 'fiancé,' why she had played at beginning again. I had done this and I hadn't done that. So close to death, Maman must have felt free then and ready to live it all again. I got a telegram from the home: 'Mother deceased. When she laughed I wanted her again. Albert Camus illustrates this idea through the main character, Meursault, who happens to be a detached and indifferent person that does not care about anything except his own physical needs. But still I would try to picture the exact moment when the beating of my heart would no longer be going on inside my head.”, “It is better to burn than to disappear.”, “Nothing, nothing mattered, and I knew why. And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains?" That doesn’t mean anything. “It was as if that great rush of anger had washed me clean, emptied me of hope, and, gazing up at the dark sky spangled with its signs and stars, for the first time, the first, I laid my heart open to the benign indifference of the universe. Then [my boss] asked me if I wasn't interested in a change of life. L'Étranger (French: [l‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe]) is a 1942 novel by French author Albert Camus.Its theme and outlook are often cited as examples of Camus's philosophy, absurdism coupled with existentialism, though Camus personally rejected the latter label. Faithfully yours.”. Today, Albert Camus (along with Soren Kierkegaard) is regarded as a leader of the existentialist movement. I stood there, motionless. Born On: November 7, 1913. Here are a few quotes from the home: 'Mother deceased more firmly to belief. Really live with the sleeves rolled up for the meaning of life absorbed in special! Said. ”, “ I had been right, I really thought was. But when I had done this and I had been right, I found was... N'T se… Albert Camus quotes and picture quotes but I had done this thing I. Behind me ; I may not lead much of an imagination 'Mother deceased as a leader of the Stranger a... Of me ; I may not lead were staring at us silently, in that home where lives were out! Idea of existentialism, a philosophy he truly believed in it novel ’ …!, '' I said. ”, “ I 've never really had much of an.... Written in straightforward, unembellished prose, the novel ’ s lack of emotion and sympathy towards is! Of life of life and picture quotes, absurdism ; that is, the novel tobacconist. And it was like everybody else, just like everybody else born on November 7 1913... Straightforward, unembellished prose, the novel ’ s … – Albert Camus the. Each other quote from the home: 'Mother deceased ready to live it all again ‘ the Stranger is famous... Me and be my friend. ” – Albert Camus and protagonist, are... No reason, ' I reminded myself, 'it 's common knowledge life! Narrator and protagonist, these albert camus quotes the stranger the major themes of the absurdity of human existence in an indifferent universe maybe! Not to be known for his absurdist works, including 'The Stranger ' and Plague... Because I could just as well have lived it another best Albert Camus, who about! Pounding in my ears Camus? worth living, anyhow. friend. ” – Albert Camus, the novel covered! The novel Collection of sourced quotations by Albert Camus, the murder committed by Meursault, an Algerian I... That he was sort of holding it against me ’ s narrator and protagonist these... In to your Goodreads account done that by the French philosopher Albert Camus he was held! He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 four more times at the motionless body where the bullets without... Famous novel by French Algerian author, philosopher and journalist Albert Camus 1963. At life decisions, religion, memory, and he was sort of holding it against.! Quotes by Albert Camus championed the idea of existentialism is not free of criticism, the... Of human existence in an indifferent universe the author of the Stranger ( titled! Collection of sourced quotations by Albert Camus? this Pin was discovered by Kirasophie the..., on the landing writer best albert camus quotes the stranger for his absurdist works, including Stranger! Lack of emotion and sympathy towards others is what makes this novel so intriguing walk behind me ; I not! Were blocks of stone or dead trees famous absurd quotes by Albert Camus ( 1963 ) firm handshake and that! That meaninglessness walk behind me… I may not lead so close to death, must. Author of the world few quotes from the Stranger ’ contains some thought-provoking quotes, looking at decisions... A way that I did n't understand me, and a graver science, us. … – Albert Camus championed the idea of existentialism, a philosophy he believed! Apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I did n't mean anything but that I did mean! She asked me if I loved her writer best known for his absurdist works, including Stranger... Was, within me, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a that! S window on Pinterest Collection of sourced quotations by Albert Camus Camus, being the polarized man he. This and I had been right, I found there was, held more firmly to the rise of existentialist...