"I was tired. The caretaker took me to his room and I was able to clean up a little. I had some more coffee and milk, which was very good. When I went outside, the sun was up. Above the hills that separate Marengo from the sea, the sky was streaked with red. And the wind coming over the hills brought the smell of salt with it. It was going to be a beautiful day. It had been a long time since I'd been out in the country, and I could feel how much I'd enjoy going for a walk if it hadn't been for Maman." Pg 12
This paragraph exemplifies the way that Monsieur Meursault feels about his mother. At the very end of this paragraph he says "I could feel how much I'd enjoy going for a walk if it hadn't been for Maman," which depicts how he feels that even though he deposited her in the old person's home, she still is affecting him. And now, despite the fact that Maman is dead, he still feels as if (while he is visiting the home for her funeral) she is weighing on his shoulders. Later in the chapter, he is relieved to go back to his home. This shows that he really didn't want to deal with his mother and didn't really care for her because he thinks she is a burden.
I agree with this. However, I do think that maybe there's something more going one here because he does seem affected by his mother's absence. I don't know if there's something more though, because he didn't expand later on. So far, the whole book is just strange. Hopefully there's some reason to the mention of his mother.
ReplyDelete