Who is the Stranger?

My first impression from The Stranger got me thinking about the title and the titles meaning. While we have only read the first three chapters Meursault seems to be the stranger. It almost seems as if he is an outsider in his own life. The very first sentence of the book starts off with a very relaxed sentence about the death of Meursault's mother. Meursault continues with his grim life and almost seems apologetic for asking for time off from his work. It just seems as if Meursault lacks any empathy and does not care about anything in his life.


Meursault does not even want to see his mother's body. Granted some people might not want to see their dead mother, but for me I would not believe it if i did not see it. I would need to say a final goodbye before I could let go. Meursault demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge about his mother and is distant when talking to others. He meets Marie the very next day after his mother's funeral which might indicate a distaste in his mother rather than lack of desire in anything in his life.


What I took from the first three chapters is that Meursault is going through the motions of his life and there is little to nothing that changes in his daily routine, making life a bore. Meursault shows no remorse for his mothers death and was looking forward to a good night's sleep when leaving. I took Meursault's boring life as him doing what he can, while living another life in his head. While he might rather be doing other things he continues on his boring path, making him a stranger in his own life.