Meursault as Christ and Anti-Christ: The Paradox of Redemption in The Stranger

The paper aims to explore the paradoxical portrayal of Meursault in Albert Camus’s The Stranger, as both a Christ-like figure and an Anti-Christ, to understand how this duality reflects secular redemption within absurdist philosophy. Although The Stranger has received extensive critical engagement, Meursault’s symbolic positioning between spiritual rebellion and sacrifice remains a comparatively neglected dimension. This gap is particularly relevant in light of Camus’s critique of religious morality and his effort to construct meaning through resistance rather than transcendence. To address this contradiction, the paper adopts a qualitative research approach centered on close textual analysis. It investigates key scenes—such as Meursault’s trial, confrontation with the priest, and final reflections—supported by secondary sources, including academic journal articles and philosophical commentaries rooted in Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus. The findings show that Meursault’s rejection of religion, emotional detachment, and lucid embrace of death position him as both an Anti-Christ figure—defying spiritual conventions—and a Christ-like one—accepting punishment with clarity and resolve. This dual identity reveals Camus’s literary strategy for recasting redemption as a secular, existential stance. Finally, it is found through the character of Meursault in The Stranger that clarity without faith brings rebellion, and rebellion leads to isolation—but this isolation becomes a path to secular redemption in an absurd world.