In the novel The Outsider, by Albert Camus and in the novel The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum, by Heinrich Bőll, the main characters in both novels are wrongfully interrogated because they are judged based on their characters and not the crimes

International Baccalaureate World Literature

“There are no truths, only interpretations.”

- Nietzsche

In the novel The Outsider, by Albert Camus and in the novel The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum, by Heinrich Bőll, the main characters in both novels are wrongfully interrogated because they are judged based on their characters and not the “crimes” they committed. By showing this injustice, the two authors show the readers that society is very judgmental.

In The Outsider, the main character Meursault is convicted and tried for allegedly killing a man. Meursault is “appointed” (63) a lawyer who does not attend the interrogation “due to unforeseen circumstances”. It seems as though the lawyer did not come on purpose because, as the interrogation occurs in the book, the issues of law and religion are mixed together and the interrogation becomes about the fact that Meursault does not believe in god. The interrogation starts with the examining magistrate asking Meursault about his personality. The examining magistrate tries to clear up facts that “puzzle” (66) him about the crime by trying to understand Meursault’s personality. When he does not understand why Meursault would “fire at a dead body” (67), he bring religion and God into the interrogation. The church and the judicial systems are separate from one another and the two are not to be mixed in a democratic society. The examining magistrate works for the law and not the church, so he is committing a crime by trying to use religion to explain a crime. In some cases, crimes are committed based on beliefs and religion but in Meursault’s case, the two are completely unrelated and the discussion was “ridiculous” (68). The examining magistrate believes that Meursault is innocent only because he believes that “God” (67) will “pardon” (69) Meursault. After realizing that Meursault is an “antichrist” (71), the examining magistrate gives up on him and after the interrogation; he lends no assistance to Meursault. This shows that the law, represented, by the examining magistrate, is judgmental. At first Meursault is treated as a “criminal” (68) should be, innocent until proven guilty. But after “the law” (63) learns of Meursault’s personality and behavior, they treat him to be guilty until proven innocent. After this interrogation, the investigation for this “simple” (63) case takes “eleven” (70) months to complete. It can be suspected that if Meursault “believed God” (68) “like everyone else” (67), than the investigation would have not taken so long and the book would have an entirely different ending. But it is apparent that Meursault’s personality is examined and judged by its “peculiarities” (81) and not the “crime” (81) he committed.

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Similarly to Meursault, Katharina in the novel The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum is even more wrongfully interrogated. The police barge in to her house without warning or a warrant shortly after following her and realizing that Gőtten was with her at her apartment. The police search through all of her belongings after barging in on her early in the morning and ask inappropriate questions like “Well, did he fuck you?” (19) After she is “taken from her apartment” (21) by the police, she is humiliated by the press. The photographers take “repeated” pictures of her from the “front”, “side” and “behind” (21), making her feel “[a]shame[d]” (22) then she is thrown into a jail cell that has “vomit splattered” (27)all over the toilet seat. Arresting her and locking her up is completely unjustified because the police have no real “evidence” (78) and no bases for an arrest, only suspicions. But like Meursault, Katharina does cooperate without complaining. The interrogation in the presence of two public prosecutors and other witnesses is unnecessary because it was already being recorded. This is over exaggerated by the police, by making sure many authority figures are there. This could be their way of portraying a fair trial or by portraying Katherina as a dangerous criminal. During the interrogation itself, many very personal questions are asked that are irrelevant to the “crime”. This included very finely detailed background information on her “father” (22), “mother” (22) and “brother” (23). Throughout the book, Katharina is judged by many aspects of her past like the fact that “her father was communist in disguise” (37). This part of the interrogation takes from “11:00 am to 12:30 pm” and “1:30 pm to 5:45 pm”, so nearly six hours. This is a long time for such a simple interrogation of her “crime”. The police could have gotten the same information in about an hour, but they “prolonged” (29) the interrogation to make themselves look good in the press. The prosecutors also asked her questions about the day she met Gőtten when they already knew all the information because she was “under police observation” (17). Other unnecessary details are brought up such as Katharina driving around a lot, this is completely unrelated and the police are the real criminals because they are abusing her rights by priding into her personal life that is not related to the crime. The biggest mistake made by the police is trying to change Katherina’s words during the interrogation. For example changing the word from “being amorous” to making “advances”. In a democratic society, exact testimony is recorded because one word can make the difference between guilty and innocent. Throughout the interrogation, Katherina is treated unfairly and the reasons behind this unfairness are completely unjustified as it is in The Outsider. More time is spent on the characters of each person rather than the alleged crimes.

By showing the wrongful interrogation of Meursault in The Outsider, the author portrayed a judgmental society in which if you are not accepted, than you are considered an “outsider” (cover page). The examining magistrate gives up on helping Meursault because he does not believe in “God” (67). “All man” (68) believe in God, according to him, and if one does not, than one is considered to have a “hardened” “soul” (69). “The law” is made to make a fair society that serves justice to everyone. This is proven to be false in this novel through satirizing the courts, the investigation, the interrogation and jails. The unjust interrogation shows the audience t hat Algerian society judge based on personality rather than finding the facts to give a fair discipline the guilty instead of punishing the innocent. In this book, the law is everything but fair for it can be argued that Meursault’s interrogation, prosecution and punishment were all based on fiction because it could have easily been a case of self defense.

Bőll shows the readers that Katharina is completely humiliated and wrongfully interrogated in every way possible. This portrays the fact that the law does not always go by the real facts and evidence because it is easily influenced by the thoughts and the judgment of those upholding the law. He also portrays that society is quick to judge one’s personality by relating it to an alleged crime or by someone’s past or personality. The author shows that the suspected criminal’s life is “destroy[ed]” (41) for “every detail” (28) of their personality is put to the test rather than their innocence. Many unrelated “articles” (45) belonging to Katharina are “confiscated” (45) like “three bunches of keys” (52). Most of the evidence taken is not at all related to the crime for they do not prove anything. This also shows that, in different parts of society like the press and the police, some people try to make themselves look good by making other look bad. Many accusations and assumptions are made to explain evidence that they “refuse” (36) to understand due to the fact that one lives life differently, like working too hard or may have a “gentlemen visitor” (31) so they try to single one out and destroy one’s life.

In both novels The Outsider by Albert Camus and The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum by Heinrich Bőll, the main characters are unfairly interrogated because they are judged by their way of life rather than the alleged crime. Both authors portray this to tell the readers that society, represented by the law, is unfair and judgmental. Many times fact and fiction are confused and the wrong people are punished.

“Nothing is true; everything is permitted.”

-Nietzsche

***Please note that the quotes used are from the corresponding books each paragraph talks about***