The Stranger: Marie and Meursault

In the novel The Stranger, the character Arthur Meursault opens the novel appearing detached. His rather unconcerned attitude towards his mothers death sets the scene for how detached he comes off as. When Marie Cardona is introduced into the novel the reader isn't, even for a second, receiving the impression that Marie is anything more than a development on Meursault's detached mindset. Despite this Albert Campus spends an extended amount of time on Meursault's interaction with Marie (in comparison to the rest of the chapter). His mothers death was the center of the first chapter, as well as an important introduction to the life of Meursault. But Meursault's interaction with Marie is not the main point of the chapter and yet great detail was put into their night together. A rather pointless addition to the store leaves questions as to what further role Marie Cardona will play in the rest of the novel.