The Stranger as Booker’s Seven Basic Plots Analysis: Rebirth Plot

Plot Type :

Falling Stage

Meursault is judged to be pathetic, dark, and frozen by society; however, he couldn’t care less.

Deliberately frozen in an isolated state, Meursault is content not making sense of the world he lives in. Society expects him to cry at his mother’s funeral; he doesn’t. Marie asks him to marry her; he feels indifferent. Raymond requests him as a character reference; he abides. It makes sense to say that in some circumstances, Meursault does things not because he wants to, but because he hasn’t the reasons not to do them. (This describes exactly his friendship with Raymond.) Booker says that "the falling stage" is when the hero "falls" under a dark power. In this case, Meursault seems to have been under whatever "dark power" for quite a bit of time. Just work with it. For now we’re calling the "dark power" passivity and indecision.

Recession Stage

Meursault is content.

For a while, things proceed improbably well after Maman’s funeral. Meursault gets to frolic with Marie on weekends, and spends time wining and dining with Raymond in the evenings. Eventually, the three go away to Raymond’s friend’s beach house for a weekend of fun. Meursault is happy, which in itself counts as recession from the dark power.

Imprisonment Stage

Meursault kills the Arab in cold blood, gets tossed into jail, and awaits his trial for a year or so.

He literally gets imprisoned! It’s the greatest stage three Booker ever.

Nightmare Stage

Meursault has been in prison for a year and is found guilty of murder.

For Meursault, the solitude of prison is incessant. He hates not being free, and now, with the death sentence, it seems that he will never be free again. Meursault has given up to the "dark power" of passivity and mental weakness (at least in Camus’s eyes, it seems).

Rebirth Stage

Days before his execution, Meursault awakens to the realization that he can accept death without despair.

This is a very interesting rebirth stage, since Meursault’s "rebirth" is one of character, and actually signals his impending death. The nightmare he escaped, then, isn’t death by guillotine, but the weakness of fearing that death. Meursault finally makes a decision – to be free. This miraculous redemption is complete; Meursault emerges a hero because he does not need the rest of the world and its dictates.