Monsieur Meursault

The Stranger by Albert Camus, begins en media res with the protagonist Monsieur Meursault discussing his mother's very recent death. Meursault attends the funeral and follows through with the common ritual for the deceased, but there is an uncharacteristic ambiance about him and his attitude toward the whole situation is questionable.

His contentment with life and complacent attitude during the ordeal and after seem to irk many people. In fact, a few argue that it is inhuman of him to be so unresponsive to his family tragedy, even saying that he could have a mental handicap.

The fact that the book begins during this event of the loss of a loved one makes it difficult to identify Meursault's true personality. One could presume that Meursault's actions following the funeral reflected his normal behavior. But I argue that this is not the case. In fact, Meursault's decision to flirt and fondle with Marie, a "love interest," and his many other decisions only reflect his coping mechanism, which is to build a wall in opposition to emotions of intimacy and drama.

Throughout the first part, rather than addressing deep feelings of grievance as expected by most of society, Meursault takes time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life, in fact spending a whole Sunday afternoon gazing at the vista. Furthermore, when the topic of the death of his mother is brought up, the conversations are consistently short and Meursault is quick to return to enjoying life, living on the edge. For example, when Marie is told of the tragedy, there is just a fleeting moment of sorrow, and then the two return to enjoy themselves.

In addition to the brief moments of discussion about Meursault's mother, Meursault is surrounded by references to intimate relationships ending poorly. One of which is his aged neighbor, Salamano's relationship with Salamano's mangy old dog. When Salamano loses his dog, he is devastated, even though the two's relationship was portrayed negatively, as if the dog were being abused. Rather, it is later revealed that Salamano and the dog were content with each other. A second reference would be another neighbor's relationship. Meursault "gains" a pal named Raymond who is very abusive to his wife and other people in general. During the later half of the first part, Meursault sees (technically hears) Raymond's intent. During these two encounters, neither seem to phase Meursault a lot, rather, there is hidden tension being built up inside Meursault.

Finally, in the sixth chapter, my suspicions were confirmed that Meursault had suppressed his emotions about his mother as a defense mechanism. At the very end of the part, he becomes enraged and shoots a Moorish man five times, not only because he was avenging Raymond (who had been injured by the man), but because memories of his mother's funeral began pouring over him such as the massive heat under which he similarly marched behind his mother's casket.

The last words, "And it was like knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness," referring to the four extra shots he took, signify that the barrier against his grief for his mother had been broken.

Not just at the end is this idea of a defense mechanism apparent. In the beginning while Meursault and others kept vigil over Meursault's mother, as he was sitting with the other mourners around his mother, a friend of his mother was the only one crying (because his mother was her only friend). When she finally stopped, Meursault thought, "Then finally she shut up," which may implicate feelings of bitterness towards the people who were closer to his mother than he before her death.

Perhaps my interpretation of Meursault's feelings is completely incorrect. That would be fine because I have only completed the first part, but given the information, I find it much more probable that Meursault is so emotionally troubled by this loss that he does not deal with it, and rather indulges in the physical/simple pleasures in life.