L’Étranger: Variations in Formality and Focus Between Translations Anonymous 12th Grade

Albert Camus’s L’Étranger or The Stranger is a psychological study of a character Meursault, the novel’s first-person narrator who has recently lost his mother, or his Maman. Originally written in French, it has been translated into in English by both an Englishman and an American: Stuart Gilbert and Matthew Ward, respectively. The stylistic differences between these two translations yield two different Meursaults. Gilbert’s Meursault is more formal, more focused on the tangible, and all the more detached from society. Ward’s Meursault is less formal, more plaintive, and capable of focusing on the abstract of emotions in a way that gives the reader a more emotive picture of Meursault.

The level of formality and strength of the language used heavily impacts the tone of Meursault’s narration and therefore the reader’s impression of Meursault himself. During his mother’s funeral, a woman begins to weep loudly. Both Meursaults are irritated by it. Gilbert’s Meursault notes that she “fell silent”. In contrast, Ward’s Meursault tells the reader that “finally she shut up”. Side by side, we can see that Gilbert’s Meursault is more formal, less willing to fully express his irritation, whereas Ward’s is far less formal and expresses to...