Sunday, October 2, 2016

Sintès' Ghost Writer?

"...Raymond told me he didn't think he could write the kind of letter it would take and that he'd thought of asking me to write it for him..." (pg 32)

Even the first few chapters of The Stranger are full of moments that make the novel aptly named. One such moment is when protagonist Meursault agrees to write a letter for Raymond Sintès to give to his ex-girl to make her "sorry for what she's done."
First of all, the absurdity of the moment came largely from just Sintès' twisted plan on how to enact his revenge on her. He details how he'll seduce her and then spit in her face in bed. Of course, this is absolutely grotesque, but I think the fact that Meursault agrees to write this letter is even stranger.
Meursault, at the very end of the chapter, notes that Raymond has started calling him a "pal" in lieu of the formal Monsieur. All I could think once I read this was that the pair were not so-called "pals" before! Yet, Raymond trusted him to write this letter and Meursault believed that he could do a fine job. 
Why does Sintès trust him with this? They don't have much of a relationship previous to this, so how does he know that Meursault will accurately portray his intent from the get-go? Or does he simply not care about the woman enough to be bothered with such?
Furthermore, this must, in some way, speak about Meursault's character as well. So far, I cannot figure out whether he is mourning his mother, is a seasoned nihilist, or if he simply has a weak moral backbone.
These two choices as main characters of a novel have definitely intrigued me! I look forward to seeing more development of the pair!

1 comment:

  1. I agree that these two characters are really interesting to watch (if a little disturbing). I also think it's interesting to question whether their relationship goes both ways. At the end of their meeting in chapter 3, Raymond is so grateful to Meursault, he gives him a "firm handshake and said that men always understand each other." Raymond clearly sees Meursault as a valuable friend, but it seems like Meursault is just along for the ride.

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