Comparing English Translations of Camus's L'Étranger

The article examines the major English translations of Albert Camus's 1942 novel L'Étranger, which is titled The Outsider in the UK and The Stranger in the US. It compares translations by Stuart Gilbert, Joseph Laredo, Matthew Ward, and Sandra Smith, highlighting how word choices affect character interpretation. For example, the first line varies: Laredo writes 'Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.'; Smith adds 'My mother'; Gilbert uses 'I can’t be sure'; Ward keeps 'Maman'. In a prison scene, Gilbert's jailer says prisoners 'do it by themselves' (masturbate), while Smith omits this. Gilbert also describes a mother-son gaze as 'hungry passion,' whereas Camus's French says 'intensity.' Ward's translation remains the international standard for English readers, while Smith's is praised for closeness to the original without cuts. The article concludes that the best translation depends on one's interpretation of Meursault, but recommends Smith or Ward.