L’Étranger 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. Profoundly inspirational The Stranger quotes will encourage growth in life, make you wiser and broaden your perspective.
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Famous The Stranger Quotes
How had I not seen that there was nothing more important than an execution, and that when you come right down to it, it was the only thing a man could truly be interested in? — The Stranger
The sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. — Meursault
And the more I thought about it, the more I dug out my memory things I had overlooked or forgotten. I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored. In a way, it was an advantage. — The Stranger
At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it. — Meursault
My reflection seemed to remain serious even though I was trying to smile at it. — Meursault
It had been a long time since I’d been out in the country, and I could feel how much I’d enjoy going for a walk if it hadn’t been for Maman. — The Stranger
He [Raymond] asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you cant ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her. — The Stranger
I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. — Meursault
In a way, they seemed to be arguing the case as if it had nothing to do with me. Everything was happening without my participation. My fate was being decided without anyone so much as asking my opinion. — Meursault
My turn came next. Marie threw me a kiss. I looked back as I walked away. She hadn’t moved; her face was still pressed to the rails, her lips still parted in that tense, twisted smile. — Marie Cardona
He added, You see, she had friends here, people her own age. She was able to share things from the old days with them. You’re young, and it must have been hard for her with you. — The Stranger
Forced to admit … its consequences became as real … as the wall against which I pressed. — Meursault
Neither of the two men, at these times, showed the least hostility toward me, and everything went so smoothly, so amiably, that I had an absurd impression of being one of the family. — Meursault
On my way out, I was even going to shake his [the policemans] hand, but just in time, I remembered that I had killed a man. — The Stranger
Still, to my mind he overdid it, and I’d have liked to have a chance of explaining to him, in a quite friendly, almost affectionate way, that I have never been able really to regret anything in all my life. I’ve always been far too much absorbed in the present moment, or the immediate future, to think back. — The Stranger
As if that blind rage has washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, I that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much life myself so like a brother, really I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate. — The Stranger
She was pressing her brown, sun-tanned face to the bars and smiling as hard as she could. I thought she was looking very pretty, but somehow couldn’t bring myself to tell her so. — Meursault-Marie Cardona
They [the jury] 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., pp. — The Stranger
I got up. Raymond gave me a very firm handshake and said that men always understand each other. I left his room, closing the door behind me, and paused for a minute in the dark, on the landing. The house was quiet, and a breath of dark, dank air wafted p from deep in the stairwell. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears. I stood there, motionless. — The Stranger
Maman died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don’t know. I got a telegram from the home: Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours.’ That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it was yesterday. — Meursault
On their way out, and much to my surprise, they all shook my hand – as if that night during which we hadn’t exchanged as much as a single word had somehow brought us closer together. — The Stranger
And I, too, felt ready to start life all over again. 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. — Meursault
The spectators laughed. 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! — The Stranger
To feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate. — Meursault
I am on your side. But you have no way of knowing it, because your heart is blind. — Meursault
He asked if I thought she was cheating on him, and it seemed to me she was; if I thought she should be punished and what I would do in his place, and I said you can’t ever be sure, but I understood his wanting to punish her. — The Stranger
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
Asked if I was one of his customers, he said, Yes, and a friend as well.’ Asked to state his opinion of me, he said that I was all right’ and, when told to explain what he meant by that, he replied that everyone knew what that meant. Was I a secretive sort of man?’ No,’ he answered, I shouldn’t call him that. But he isn’t one to waste his breath, like a lot of folks. — Meursault
A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so. — The Stranger
I was assailed by memories of a life that wasn’t mine anymore, but one in which I’d found the simplest and most lasting joys. — Meursault
I told him I was quite prepared to go; but really I didn’t care much one way or the other. He then asked if a change of life,’ as he called it, didn’t appeal to me, and I answered that one never changed his way of life; one life was as good as another, and my present one suited me quite well. — Meursault
She said, If you go slowly, you risk getting sunstroke. But if you go too fast, you work up a sweat and then catch a chill inside the church.’ She was right. There was no way out. — The Stranger
…for the first time in years, I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. — The Stranger
They were staring at us … as if we were nothing but stones or dead trees. — Meursault
But all the long speeches, all the interminable days and hours that people had spent talking about my soul, had left me with the impression of a colorless swirling river that was making me dizzy. — Meursault
The scorching blade slashed at my eyelashes and stabbed at my stinging eyes. Thats when everything began to reel. The sea carried up a thick, fiery breath. It seemed to me as if the sky split open from one end to the other to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt; and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, is where I tall started. I shook off the sweat and sun. I knew that I had shattered the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence of a beach where Id been happy. Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness. — The Stranger
The chaplain knew the game well too, I could tell right away: his gaze never faltered. And his voice didnt falter, either, when he said, Have you no hope at all? And do you really live with the thought that when you die, you die, and nothing remains? Yes, I said. — The Stranger
And I can say that at the end of the eleven months that this investigation lasted, I was almost surprised that I had ever enjoyed anything other than those rare moments when the judge would lead me to the door of his office, slap me on the shoulder, and say to me cordially, Thats all for today, Monsieur Antichrist. I would then be handed back over to the police. — The Stranger
She was wearing a pair of my pajamas with the sleeves rolled up. When she laughed I wanted her again. A minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didnt mean anything but that I didnt think so. She looked sad. But as we were fixing lunch, and for no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her. — The Stranger
The heat was beginning to scorch my cheeks; beads of sweat were gathering in my eyebrows. It was just the same sort of heat as at my mother’s funeral, and I had the same disagreeable sensations—especially in my forehead, where all the veins seemed to be bursting through the skin. — Meursault
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. — The Stranger
The presiding judge told me in a bizarre language that I was to have my head cut off in a public square in the name of the French people. Then it seemed to me that I suddenly knew what was on everybodys fact. It was a look of consideration, Im sure. The policemen were very gentle with me. The lawyer put his hand on my wrist. I wasnt thinking about anything anymore. But the presiding judge asked me if I had anything to say. I thought about it. I said, No. — The Stranger
I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. — The Stranger
When I look into a man’s face … all I see is a monster. — Prosecutor
For the first time maybe, I really thought I was going to get married. — The Stranger
I tried … to please Raymond because I didn’t have any reason not to please him. — Meursault
Maman was buried now … I was going back to work … really, nothing had changed. — Meursault
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. — The Stranger
And the more I thought about it, the more I dug out my memory things I had overlooked or forgotten. I realized then that a man who had lived only one day could easily live for a hundred years in prison. He would have enough memories to keep him from being bored. In a way, it was an advantage. — The Stranger
Yes, it was the hour when, a long time ago, I was perfectly content. What awaited me back then was always a night of easy, dreamless sleep. And yet something has changed, since it was back to my cell that I went to wait for the next day…as if familiar paths traced in summer skies could lead as easily to prison as to the sleep of the innocent.. — The Stranger
We [Raymond and Meursault] stared at each other without blinking, and everything came to a stop there between the sea, the sand, and the sun, and the double silence of the flute and the water. It was then that I realized that you could either shoot or not shoot. — The Stranger
I would rather not have upset him, but I couldnt see any reason to change my life. Looking back on it, I wasnt unhappy. When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered. — The Stranger
For the first time in years, I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me. — The Stranger
