Meursault has already been introduced as a rather odd character. I have never read a book told in first person that had the lack of passion, thought process and emotion as this book does so far. Because of Meursault’s lack of passion towards himself as well as others, makes most of his relationships seem one sided. He is there for that person and they are not their for him, he doesn’t necessarily enjoy their presence but they enjoy his. Specifically his relationships with his two male neighbors. When no questions asked Meursault helps Raymond write a letter to his ex and testifies in court for him. Or when Salamano’s dog died, he went to Meursault for reasurance. Why does Meursault’s lack of passion attract passionate people?

Their is one relationship in particular that seems to be the other way around. That is his relationship with Marie. From just these first few chapters Marie and Meursault’s relationship has grown tremendously. It started out as just a sexual relationship, then some pages later they are discussing marriage- “That evening Marie came by to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I said it did not make any difference to me” (41). Yet again Meursault is attracting passionate people. But in this situation some of this passion seems to rub off on him as he thinks to himself, “For no apparent reason, she laughed in such a way that I kissed her” (35 ). Although Meursault describes this scene in a very bland way, he is showing passion without being asked. He is showing passion because he wants to. What about his relationship with Marie makes it different from all the other relationships in his life