Law and literature: the absurd in law in "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

Abstract

From an understanding of the philosophy of absurd developed by Camus, it is possible to think about The Stranger from a legal point of view, not only in relation to the criminal elements addressed during the trial of Mersault, the protagonist, but also in relation to the implications that the notions of "stranger" and "enemy" bring to studies on identity and otherness, as well as the proximity of man and law, freedom and moral, presented in this article as foundations for the philosophy of Camus.  Thus, this work explores the emergent richness of an interdisciplinary study that uses Literature to think about Law, for understanding the paradoxes in literary art allows us to trace a fruitful path to critical reflection on the very nature of Law, showing the important intersection between both spheres.