Throughout the first part of The Stranger, Mersault has moments of silence with characters in emotional moments of their interactions. The most interesting nonverbal moments to me were within his conversation with Marie about marriage. After Mersault tells her that he doesn't think marriage is serious, he mentions, "She stopped talking for a minute and looked at me without saying anything" (Camus 42). The conversation continues until "another moment's silence" followed by Marie questioning her relationship with Mersault. They stop talking again after that: "I didn't say anything because I didn't have anything to add, so she took my arm with a smile and said she wanted to marry me" (42).
This pattern of silence could be interpreted as part of Mersault's struggle to express emotion that we discussed in class, and it's interesting to me that even though he is not expressing his feelings, he seems to recognize all of Marie's emotions in the nonverbal moments. He notes when she is looking at him, when she is thinking, when she is smiling. And he decides to stop talking when she is the most frustrated with him. So I think there are hints Mersault has a greater capacity for emotion than he seems to.
I think there's something to be said for nonverbal communication here: there are ways in which we communicate interpersonally that don't involve words, I agree. However, can Meursault simply noting other people's nonverbal communication be considered evidence of his own emotions? Ultimately, it seems to me only proof of his excellent skills in factual observation. The fact that he even has to make note of these nonverbal methods shows to me pretty low emotional intelligence; active observation of these cues displays a strain on Meursault's part to understand others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you here. This book is in Meursault's point of view, but Camus never gives us much detail into Meursault's emotions. I think that a lack of description doesn't necessarily equate to a lack of emotional existence. By only noting the way other people react/think/feel, Camus allows the reader to delve deeper into Meursault's stream of consciousness and understand the way he thinks, rather than the way he feels. The fact that he notices other people's emotions shows that he is capable of empathy, though he may not truly care how he effects other people, he understands that he does have an effect on them.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Mersault has no emotion, only physical responses to situations. I think that saying that Mersault has emotions is like saying that he believes things possess some sort of greater meaning. I agree that this is an interesting scene of nonverbal communication but I don't think that Mersault is quiet because he can't express what he is feeling but rather that this scene provokes no feeling at all in him although he recognizes that Marie wishes it did.
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