I’ve been almost constantly watching Mad Men since eighth grade. I’ve definitely dedicated more time to it than any other story and group of characters. Whenever I read or watch something, I can’t help but compare it to Mad Men.
Meursault comes with a lot of natural comparisons to Mad Men’s protagonist Don Draper. Both are really distinct protagonists that stand out among those around them, both are really complicated, and they are both pretty unlikeable in interesting ways.
They seem similar on the surface but they’re just about as different as two characters can be. Don Draper might do a lot of bad things like cheating on his wife a lot but when I look at him as a character, I see someone who has a strong sense of empathy. He has an antiquated sense of gender roles, but he also has a stricter moral code than any other character in the show--standing up for what’s right, judging people based on their work.
In Meursault I can only see self-interest. He might have a moral connection to the truth like Camus describes in the preface, but his commitment to the truth is for himself, not for others or for a sense of rightness in the world. All he expresses is indifference--in his unequitable relationship with Marie (41), the murder he commits (59), and I don’t know about blaming him for his relationship with his mother but that fits the pattern too--Meursault has little to no sense of mutual recognition. Although there are examples of niceness that contradict that. He helps out his friend Raymond with his letter (32) and he helps Salamano with his dog (39). Helping out an abusive boyfriend and being nice to a dog aren’t great examples of human kindness, but there’s a little something there that’s worth considering before writing Meursault off as completely selfish.
I agree with you about how Meursault has no sense of mutual recognition.
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