Stranger and Foreigner

    The title of the book, The Stranger, is translated from the French word, L'Étranger, which could also mean 'foreigner'. In the context of the story, Meursault is a French man who has been exiled to French Algiers, making him a literal foreigner. In the context of Meursault's state of mind and actions, the stranger makes for an appropriate title because he is portrayed as an outsider, isolated by society. This is a role Meursault accepts. On the eve of his execution, he says, "I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world" (122). He has been put in jail for murder in the first degree and labeled as an enemy of the community, being referred to as "Monsieur Antichrist." His physical separation from the rest of the world is additional evidence that he is also a physical stranger to the world. He understands that his impartial feelings and irrational actions are not compatible with the workings of society, thus making 'the stranger' a logical title for the book.