Chapter Plot Summary of The Outsider - Study Guide by Albert Camus

Some time has passed since the end of the trial. Meursault has refused to see the prison chaplain for the third time. He spends his days fantasizing about escape. The thought of his own freedom terrifies him, however, and he begins trembling. His attempt at imagining the guillotine is a way of creating order and of giving the final moments of his life some meaning. He argues whether life is worth living: does it matter if we die at thirty or seventy? He thinks of Marie and then realizes that after his death everyone will forget him. The chaplain arrives unannounced. Meursault tries to explain he doesn’t believe in God but soon an argument breaks out. Meursault cannot control himself any longer and grabs the chaplain, exploding with rage. The jailers enter the cell and rescue him. He falls asleep exhausted and on waking imagines the day of his execution, hoping that a large crowd will greet him with cries of hatred.