How do both The Stranger by Albert Camus and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen explore free will?

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From the very first line of Albert Camus’ The Stranger, “Maman died today,” (Camus 3) the quirky character of Meursault is shown to be different. The same holds true with Henrik Ibsen’s classic play, A Doll’s House, concerning Nora, a mother who abandons her family in order to pursue her own happiness. Both characters, while set in opposing societies, exhibit similar characteristics: a courageous, if not reckless, pursuit of happiness, be it physical in the case of Meursault or mental for Nora, and the relentless disregard of social standards and norms in the chase for free will. Both Ibsen and Camus use the pervading theme of free will to evolve the characters of Nora and Meursault, specifically incorporating ideas such as existentialism and determinism.

Albert Camus’ The Stranger follows the ideal set up for the existential hero, Meursault, as he battles the confining realm of his universe in an attempt to conquer normalcy. Led by only physical desires, Mersault’s attitude toward life is described as the crucial moment, “either shoot or not shoot.” (Camus 56). To Meursault, his entire existence is classified as an existential crisis. To him, “none of it really matters” (41), and the complete universe he surrounds himself in, sexual encounters with his lover Marie, watching moviegoers from his apartment, feeling the rays of harsh sunlight beat on his back, is completely physical. Meursault is confined to the physical realm because it is against his character to adhere to a concept, a thought, except perhaps to the idea that there is no meaning. The organized chaos that encompasses the mysterious psyche of Meursault leads him to break free from the restraints of the physical world and attain metaphysical enlightenment via free...

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... of both Nora and Meursault’s passionate struggle for free will, a new type of freedom was gained for all who witnessed it. Perhaps, as the struggle for freedom outlives even the oldest manuscripts, literary works such as The Stranger and A Doll’s House can always be remembered for the revolutionary and accessible themes they presented, the audiences they changed, and the characters that continue to inspire even today, despite the dictations of an oppressive society or the physical realm. If, perhaps, there is no life past this existential world, it would be wise to remember the teachings of Nora, Ibsen, Camus and Meursault, and fight for the freedom of living for today.

Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Print.

Camus, Albert, and Matthew Ward. The Stranger. New York, NY: Vintage International, 1989. Print.

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