Plight of a Stranger the Writer German

¶ … Plight of a Stranger

The writer German sociologist Georg Simmel has provided many fine glimpses into his views of society. Simmel has provided unique looks at different aspects of our society and his essay The Stranger offers another look into societal fragmentation. Simmel looks at how the entrance of a stranger into a group changes the group dynamics and how such change affects the group. He looks critically at the marginal personality but finds value in its existence.

Simmel's stranger is not just someone passing through on his way to somewhere else. Instead his stranger is someone who comes into the community and stays. He is not the proverbial wanderer always on his way to somewhere else. He is simply not a member of the group but brings new qualities and features that the group lacked before he came into it. The group itself has behavior that is termed as normal within the group but the stranger brings behavior to the group that is seen as deviant and negative.

Simmel himself was an outsider among other intellectuals in Germany (Spykman, 2004). As a sociologist, Simmel directed a great deal of his academic life to the issue of marginality and to examining the lives of those outside the mainstream. He recognized that marginality was a serious social problem that needed to be addressed but he also saw considerable value in being marginalized. Simmel's studies were based on an analysis of the relationship between the individual and society. For Simmel, modern society was both an aid and hindrance to the development of the individual.

In many ways Simmel believed that modern society had freed the individual from the restraints of former societies (Lechner, 1991). The development of urban life had allowed individuals to play a variety of roles and engage in social situations that would have never been possible in earlier societies. These freedoms, however, came at a price. Today's society grants the individual freedom but it can also cause one to feel alienated. Gone are the supports of the communal life present in so many past societies and in their place many lonely, isolated persons have emerged.

In The Stranger Simmel's stranger is a marginalized character that simultaneously exists outside and inside the community. He lives on the fringe of the group and looked upon suspiciously by the members of the group. He remains detached from the group but because of this detachment he is able to maintain an objectivity that he would likely lose if he were to become a member of the group. This detachment and objectivity make him an attractive candidate to the members of the group for serving as an intermediary or as a secret keeper. The stranger has not developed any loyalties within the group nor does he possess any preconceived notions regarding any group member. As a result, his observations and opinions are considered untainted by the group members.

The attractiveness of a stranger rests on the perception by the group that there is some general similarity with them. The stranger is a symbol of generic humanity. He is not totally ostracized by them because of his humanness but he will not be intimately accepted by the group because he is from outside.

Simmel effectively uses the analogy of the trader who goes from town to town selling his wares (Wolff, 1950). Historically such individuals were important to local economies but the individuals involved were largely ignored by the townspeople with whom they did business. Trading was considered as being unpleasant and beneath the members of proper society. The trader was allowed to transact business with the townspeople and was accepted by them while he was there but he was never allowed within the inner circle of the group. Interestingly, in some societies this lack of connection with the inner circle made him excellent candidates to sit as an arbitrator or judge in local disputes (Karakayali, 2006). He knew enough to serve but, because he was a stranger, he was considered impartial enough to treat rival factions fairly. He may come back year after year to sell his goods but he would always remain a stranger. A feeling of intimacy was never allowed to develop. The trader was far enough away emotional to be considered a stranger but close enough to be considered a part of the group. Once he got too close either through familiarity or moving to the town he was no longer a stranger and he lost his value due to his loss of objectivity. He soon became victim of the group's biases and preconceptions.

Simmel saw a stranger's objectivity making them a valuable member to the individual and society. This objectivity encourages people around him to let down their inhibitions and tell him matters that they would not openly confess to anyone closer to them. For members of the group the stranger's opinion really does not matter because he is not connected to the group, but his opinion does matter because of this same disconnection. This disconnection allows him to be unbiased and free to make a decision without fear of repercussions from the group. He is free to think, see, and decide without being influenced by the group.

Simmel's stranger is physically close but socially distant. It is this factor that allows the stranger to move from group to group with little difficulty. The stranger interacts with little difficulty because he is not bound by roots to any particular group and therefore the groups' partisan feelings. The stranger enjoys a freedom that others in society do not. He relates to others in a general manner composed of comfortable remoteness and indifference. Being free from emotional nearness and involvement he is free to travel and interact without concern for the opinions of others.