"I asked her if she wanted to go to the movies that evening. She laughed again and told me there was a Fernandel Movie She'd like to see. Once we were dressed, she seemed very surprised to see I was wearing a black tie and shed asked me if I was in mourning. I told her Maman had died. She wanted to know how long ago, so I said, ¨Yesterday.¨ She gave me a little start but didn't say anything. I felt like telling her it wasn't my fault, but I stopped myself because I remembered that I already said that to my boss.¨
When reading "The Stranger", I found this quote very strange and interesting. Strange because the day before Meursault mother died and the next day hes making plans to see a movie with a girl and interesting because at the end of this quote he say "I felt like telling her it wasn't my fault".
In the beginning of the book, Meursault mom dies and the noble thing to do is, like any son would do, mourn for his lost but not Meursault, instead its another thing that has to get done. It seems strange how Meursault reacts to his mother death and it makes me wonder the relationship they had before. The parent and child bond is so strong but in this scenario that relationship doesn't matter. I felt like after the whole trip and funeral in chapter one there was not real closure for the audience or Meursault. Albert Camus starting out something so emotionally strong to end in one chapter leaving Meursault unaffected seems again strange. Maybe the reason why he doesn't feel anything of his mom's death is because he had closure before she died and now thinks of her as just another person. Also when he says "it wasn't my fault", of course it wasn't his fault but this leaves me thinking maybe he has done something that he is not proud of relating with maman and unconsciously he is guilty for doing it. Maybe. There is a lot to think about in this book. The next day after his mother's death he ask Marie to go to the movies. The next day. Of course the movies seems appropriate a day after the funeral (sarcasm). This just proves how distant he is from his mother and how unaffected he is by her death. This upsets me but its just a book.
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ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting that you mentioned how Meursault wanted to share that "It wasn't my fault." He had shared the same statement with his boss. It could be inferred that he felt responsible for his mother now after he had been relieved of this responsibility from the home at which she was staying.
ReplyDeleteI agree, his detachment from his mother's death was very odd and to me his clarification that it "wasn't his fault" also seemed like another way to distance himself from his mother regardless of any guilt.
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