Meursault's emotional detachment"in Camus The Stranger
             In The Stranger, Albert Camus portrays Meursault, the narrator and the protagonist of the book, as an individual who doesn't express much feeling in relationships or during emotional situations. Meursault doesn't think much about events or their consequences. He demonstrates no emotion over his mother's death, his love for Marie is not committed, and he feels little sorrow for killing the Arab. The inability of Meursault to express emotion or think about events reflects him as detached and unemotional.
             Meursault's lack of sentiment and emotion are clearly revealed when he attends his mother's funeral. He is not bothered at all by her death. Salamano has more emotions toward his dog when it gets lost than Meursault reflects over his mother. How can a pet be more important than a mother to a son? Meursault doesn't even take the time to find out when she died or how old she was. A telegram was sent to Meursault stating "Mother deceased. Funeral tomorrow. Faithfully yours." That doesn't mean anything. "Maybe it was yesterday," says Meursault (Camus 3). While attending the funeral, Meursault doesn't even want to look at her. Instead he falls asleep, smokes, and drinks coffee. He doesn't cry and becomes annoyed when others around him begin to do so. Soon after the funeral, Meursault goes to the beach with Marie and has sex. That's not usually an action of someone in mourning.
             Meursault can't even be committed to a relationship with Marie. He can never respond when she tells him she loves him. "That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it didn't make any difference to me and that we could if she wanted to" (Camus 41). Meursault's view of marriage and love is unorthodox. He is the complete opposite of Raymond.
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