It's a Man's Man's Man's World (But it Wouldn't be Nothing, Nothing Without a Woman or a Girl)

Throughout The Stranger, the audience is plagued by Meursault's lack of action and passivity. Though he does not act in most situations in his life, it is extremely apparent when the topic is women. In part one, Raymond calls Meursault over to have him write a letter since he is illiterate. When Raymond tells Meursault all about his mistress and the 'problems' that she has caused him. Raymond says that he would "'smack her around a little'" and still believed that she hadn't "'gotten what she has coming'" (31). Raymond even explicitly states that he wants to know Meursault's advice, but he stays silent and continues to smoke his cigarette. His refusal to speak up makes the statement that he either supports Raymond or he just doesn't seem to care.

In regard to Meursault and his relationship with Marie, his dismissive nature towards women becomes extremely apparent. Meursault harbors no feelings of love for Marie. Countless times, Marie shows her love for Meursault, physically, verbally, and more. The only reason that Meursault maintains his relationship is for sex. He has no emotional motives or goals in his relationship with Marie. In chapter two when they meet each other while swimming, Meursault repeatedly refers to her physical attributes instead of talking about any of his feelings or their conversations. Meursault says that he has "no ambition" and when Marie later visits him asking for his hand in marriage, he says that is makes "no difference" (41). He clearly does not intend to do anything except have sex with her. The only feelings that he feels towards Marie is physical attraction. Though it could argued that those feelings could develop into something more, when analyzing Meursault's character, it is obvious that it would not. Additionally, that would not mean that his overall feelings towards women as sexual objects would change.

While Meursault is in prison, he talks about Marie and women in general multiple times. He says that he used to wait until the days when he could "hold Marie's body in [his] arms" (77). In the context of another story, this statement may seem romantic, but in that passage, Meursault doesn't say anything else about her. He simply wishes to hold her for his own comfort. He still does not wish to marry her and says nothing about having any other interactions with her; his cell becomes filled with his "desires" (77). When Meursault continues to talk about his solution to his addiction to smoking, I thought about his desire for women. I connected him sucking on chips of wood to curb his need for cigarettes with his thoughts of Marie and her body to curb his want/need for a physical relationship. Since the entire novel is told from Meursault's perspective, we see his physical attraction to women and can judge his outlook on women and their role in society in his eyes. Meursault clearly establishes males as the dominant sex and goes to prove it countless times throughout the book. Do you think that Meursault is playing into the dominant male mold or is it just a combination of his character and his voice?