The End (Chapter 5)

The final chapter of this novel is one of reflection. Meursalt spends his days and nights thinking about various things. For example, he would create laws or changed the way prisoners should be killed. He also remembered a story about his father. The only one he mentions in the whole novel and probably the only one he knows. His father used to go see executions. After thinking of it for a while he accepted this from his father and stopped thinking of it as something repugnant. "But now I understood, it was perfectly normal" (page 110). With this thought as an introduction I realized Meursalt was loosing his mind. But who wouldn't, sitting day and night in a cell waiting for his appeal to be approved or for death to come. This was another thing he didn't stop thinking about, his appeal. I think this was what kept him awake, hope. It was the only thing he could hold on to. Marie also crossed his mind, but he didn't give her too much importance, as usual. He even imagined she was dead and didn't really care.

Finally his chaplain came to see him, hoping he would believe in God. He lectured Meursalt but it was useless, nothing would change this man's mind.The chaplain couldn't believe it because he was so blindly faithful that he couldn't understand how a man in Meursalt's condition was not praying for a miracle. This was incredible for this father. After a moment of anger the chaplain left and Meursalt stayed thinking of his moment of death and that he hoped a lot of people attended to feel less lonely.