When comparing Meursault to other people, one will find that he is certainly unorthodox: he says very little, thinks very little, and feels very little, except for physical contentment, distress, etc. He responds much more to physical stimuli than emotional stimuli. This is very evident in his relationship with Marie. Meursault doesn't seem to have many feelings about anything in particular. This also shows in his non-judgmental nature. However, from the beginning, his relationship to his mother is very ambiguous, and unclear.
At the funeral, Meursault does not behave in a common way. He dozes off, and smokes during the wake, two things that are uncommon, and usually disrespectful. He does not show much emotion now that his mother has passed; instead, he thinks about food, and fatigue. In fact, on page 24, he said, "really, nothing had changed." This shows that he has a somewhat cool attitude to the event. Before, he talks about it, saying, "After the funeral, the case will be closed" (3). He calls it a "case"--a very emotionally detached term. He doesn't really show signs of grief or mourning, except for the black tie and armband.
In spite of all of this, I believe that he did care for his mother. There are several spots in the novel which suggest this. When Meursault is lying around his house on Sunday, he remarks that the flat is "too big for [him]." "It was just the right size when Maman was here"(21). He moves his table into the bedroom, and "only lives in one room." It is possible then, that he feels different now that she has died. Later, at the end of Chapter 4, when Meursault is lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep, he "[thinks] of Maman...[he] wasn't hungry, and [he] went to bed without dinner" (39). For many people, loss of appetite suggests grief. Earlier, at the funeral, he refuses to see his mother dead. This to me suggests that he doesn't want to believe that she is dead.
Though Meursault has little emotion, I think that he did love his mother. The last piece of evidence for this is that he still calls her "Maman"-close to "Mom" or "Mommy" in English. Throughout the book, he doesn't refer to her as anything else. Because of this, I think that she meant much more to him than what it appears she did.
I also thought that Meursault really loved his mom, on the other hand, I also considered that maybe calling her Maman was just his way of "going through the motions". Which is pretty evident in almost all of his life. Although he does call her Maman on his own, and it would be nice to think that he at least some emotion within him.
ReplyDeleteI definitely thought that Mersault did in fact love his mother despite showing little emotion at his mother’s death. I was always under the impression that Mersault was a normal guy who cared for lots of things before his mother’s death, and this "phase" of lack of emotion is just a way to cope with his mother’s death. This for me is quite obvious when it seems as If everyone around him before his mother’s death thinks that he is a completely normal guy; people wave to him on the balcony and actively engage with him it conversation. It is only after the intense scrutiny of the trial do people truly question his mind. So the fact that this intense chapter in his life where he lacks emotion is a result of his mother’s death must show that he had a very deep connection and love for his mother.
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