Not Kafka or Burgess: The Metamorphosis and Evolution of a C

Initially, Meursault shows apathy towards al

Another facet (or rather, the same facet—Meursault is a rather one-dimensional character) is shown through his relationship with Marie, his sometime mistress/lover/girlfriend. Upon getting back from his mother’s funeral, Meursault “decide[s] to go for a swim.” (19) – not exactly proper behavior for a son expected to be in mourning. There, he meets “Marie Cardona, a former typist in our office whom I’d had a thing for at the time. She did too, I think.” (19) It isn’t long before they go see a “Fernandel movie” (20), a comedy. Meursault is consumed by the physical: he describes the sun and the beach; Marie and their actions, but does not mention his inner thoughts, or hers. “I helped her onto a float, and as I did, I brushed against her breasts…. She had her leg pressed against mine. I was fondling her breasts. Toward the end of the show, I gave her a kiss, but not a good one. She came back to my place.” (19-20) He only manages to describe her physical reaction to the news of his mother’s death as a way of conveying her thoughts: “Once we were dressed, she seemed very surprised to see I was wearing a black tie and she asked me if I was in mourning. II told her Maman had died. She wanted to know low long ago, so I said, ‘Yesterday.’ She gave a little start but didn’t say anything.” (20) Although Meursault is often singing praises of Marie’s beauty, (i.e., “I wanted her so bad when I saw her in that pretty red and white striped dress and leather sandals. You could make out the shape of her firm breasts, and her tan made her face look like a flower.” (34)), he is only aware of her physical charms. When she asks Meursault if he loves her (35), he answers with his characteristic tact that “I told her it didn’t mean anything, but I didn’t think so.” (35) Again, he shows a disregard for others; even with a woman he is monogamous and intimate with. Like an animal (or a robot), he is programmed for one function (sex), but does not pause to consider the deeper, emotional and intellectual meanings of it.

So it is not surprising, that the climax of Part 1 is the murder of the Arab—the brother of Raymond’s girlfriend, who seeks revenge for the abuse of his sister. After an initial confrontation, (52- 54) which Meursault, as usual, does not take part in, a turning point in the novel comes when Meursault murders the Arab in a second confrontation. While is it uncharacteristic of Meursault to do anything outside what directly involves himself, it is also not unexpected that with his lack of empathy for others that he have no qualms about murdering another man. The reasons are unclear: “It was this burning, which I couldn’t stand anymore, that made me move forward. I knew that it was stupid, that I wouldn’t get the sun off me by stepping forward. But I took a step, one step forward.” (59) At his trial, Meursault “blurt

Some topics in this essay:
Initially Meursault, Arab�the Raymond’s, Raymond Meursault, Clockwork Orange, Kruschen Salts, Gregor Samsa, Stranger Camus, Albert Camus, mother’s funeral, meursault’s neighbor, told didn’t, trial meursault, lack empathy, black tie, sun light, violence towards, responsibility actions,