Throughout the first couple chapters in The Stranger, abuse is very prevalent. The reader sees it with Salamano and his dog whom he constantly beats for unapparent reasons. "Then he beats the dog and swears at it. The dog cowers and trails behind. Then it's the old man who pulls the dog. Once the dog has forgotten, it starts dragging its master along again, and again gets beaten and sworn at. (27)" Our narrator, Mersault, observes this as if it's completely normal.
This isn't the only instance of abuse as Raymond beats his girlfriend "'I'd smack her around a little, but nice-like, you might say. I'd close the shutters and it always ended the same way. But this time it's for real. (32)" He ends up beating her until she bleeds and I believe, had every intention to kill her.
I for one, cringed just reading about the dog getting beat so I can't imagine being there in person and not saying anything. The same goes for Mersault helping write the letter Salamano wants him to help write in hopes of making her, "Sorry for what she's done." His grand plan was to make her want to come "running back" and when she does, "he'd spit in her face and throw her out. (32)" Is this prevalence of abuse with bystanders not stepping in because our narrator is always the one viewing it and he doesn't care or is it because it's extremely normalized?
I would say its both because Meursault doesn't care and it is normalized. When Raymond beat his girlfriend and experienced no repercussions I was appalled. The police officer lets Raymond off with no violations and because Meursault claimed that his girlfriend cheated on him. OK?? So you can beat her senseless. Abuse is overlooked and not a priority because it's deemed normal! Meursault's indifference is one thing but when the authorities don't act upon abusive situations it exhibits a bigger societal issue.
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason no one steps in is definitely because it is normalized. Though the lack of care is surely to an extreme from Mersault's point of view, no one else really cared all that much either. Marie said that she thought Raymod's abuse was horrible, but she agreed to go on vacation with him shortly after. Everyone in the building knows about Salamano and his dog and do nothing; they were also fine with the fact Raymond got off with just a warning. For the people living in that building, at least, it is an every day thing and extremely normalized.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how you say Meursault normalizes it and doesn't do anything to stop it. I think that's because he really feels that people like Raymond need to make their own choices in life. If Meursault intervenes with what Raymond does, in a way he's preventing Rymond from living a truly free life. It's also society that says abusing people is wrong, so why should Meursault care if he abuses someone?
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Meursault is normalizing the abusive behavior. Even when Marie seems very upset over Raymond's abusive behavior, it is Meursault's nonchalant attitude towards it all that I believe dims Marie's call to action. However, I also believe that the abusive behavior must also be normalized by society given that the police officers seem more irritated with Raymond's attitude than the fact that he actually just attacked a girl. So could Meursault have actually been acting within constructs of society? However, that would go against the whole ideology behind existentialism.
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