In the novel, The Stranger by Albert Camus the the narrator, Meursault, is in a relationship with a woman named Marie who he explains is someone he cares for deeply, however does not seem to show any emotion when it comes to their relationship. After witnessing Raymond (Meursault neighbor) physically and verbally abuse a woman whom Raymond thought was cheating, Marie, “wasn’t hungry; I [Meursault] ate almost everything” (37). He seems to be unaware of the importance of that just happened and is almost unbothered by this.

Meursault also refuses to express much emotion, no matter the situation and seems as though he cannot think for himself. After having dinner with Marie one night, she suddenly asks Meursault to marry her, to which he explains that, “…it didn’t make any difference to me and that we would if she wanted. Then she wanted to know if I loved her. I answered the same way I had last time, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t love her. ‘So why marry me, then?’ she said. I explained to her that it didn’t really matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married” (41). Meursault does not seem to care whether he marries Marie which, realistically, is a huge deal. He repeats the similar phrases, “it didn’t make a difference to me” or “it didn’t mean anything” which shows his lack for involvement in both his relationship and everyday life. With something has large as marriage typically someone would be either nervous or ecstatic but he is neither of those.

Lastly, Meursault shows little emotional connection to Marie, by only really describing her physical characteristics and also that Meursault doesn’t show any emotion ever. When Meursault, Marie, and Raymond decide to go to the beach on a warm Sunday to meet one of Raymond’s friends, Marie invites Meursault into the water with her, when he explains, “We ran and threw ourselves into the first little waves. We swam a few strokes and she reached out and held onto me. I felt her legs wrapped around mine and I wanted her” (51). This is not the first time he has explain something about Marie and then afterwards explains that he wants her. He consistently only describes her physical appearance and wants to just have sex with her, he doesn’t really ever explain her personality or another reason he’s with her other than her physical appearance.