In chapter 5 of The Stranger, Meursault meets an odd woman at Céleste's. Meursault describes her movements as "jerky" and "robotlike". He sees her actions as peculiar and thinks about them shortly before moving on. However, Meursault misses some of the parallels between this woman and himself. The woman seems to go about her life with the same mechanics as Meursault. She does not seem to really buy into the societal conventions that Meursault is holding her to and lives in her own world. Meursault calls her peculiar but does not recognize his own peculiarities. Meursault also lives without regard for the societal rules he is violating.
The difference between the two is in their motivations. The woman moves with purpose. She has some unknown goal and lives her life in order to achieve it while cutting out excess action. Meursault, on the other hand, doesn't seem to ever have any goal. He just does whatever he feels like and it is always on a whim. This contrast suggests that Meursault buys into society even less than the woman because he sees no point in having a any goal in society.
Why does Camus dedicate a page to describing this interaction? This woman will definitely be important for some reason later in the story. Seeing Meursault think about this woman the next time(s) she appears will likely provide insight into Mersault's character.
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