The Peculiar Indifference of Meursault

The Stranger is a relatively simple yet intriguing novel that centers around a man, Meursault, the protagonist of the novel. He is characterized greatly by his emotional indifference, his way of thinking contributing to the book's lasting reputation as a haven for existentialism themes and questions. Meursault's contentious attribute is most obvious when he fails to react 'normally' in situations which might receive a great emotional response from most people.

While having an indifferent attitude towards what is happening to you can be beneficial, especially in very painful or stressful situations, it will mostly get you in trouble. For example, when Marie asked on more than one occasion if Meursault loved her, and his iconic response in telling her that it didn't mean anything but that he didn't think so, it caused her to look sad. So although they don't say that they love each other, or really even acknowledge their mutual feelings besides with sex, they stay together. Meursault gave almost the exact same response when asked if he wanted to marry her, "It doesn't make any difference and that we can if you want to."

Besides the obvious interest in how Meursault gets through his day and how he continues to deal with people, I'm mostly curious on what sort of emotional trauma Meursault must have gone through to obtain his emotional indifference, or if it only appeared with the death of Maman in the beginning of the book.

Another occasion where Meursault's indifference was prevalent was in the case with Raymond and his woman. Maybe it was just the culture and built-in misogyny of the time or simply his personality, but when Raymond asked Meursault to give a statement that the girl was cheating on him and that her abuse was justified, he thought nothing of it. All he said on it was that he wasn't expecting anything, and besides he didn't like cops. Reading that was a major "yikes!" moment for me.

The Stranger makes the readers question nice topics like existentialism and human emotion, and Meursault makes for a very interesting character analysis.