Meursault, throughout The Stranger by Albert Camus, is characterized by having very little emotional connections with anyone. The prosecutor portrayed him as soulless, failing to even cry at his own mother’s funeral. In fact, the prosecutor happily pointed out that Meursault was “swimming, starting up a dubious liaison, and going to the movies, a comedy, for laughs” the day after his mother had died (94). While Meursault may have not outwardly displayed affection or traditional grief towards his mother, he clearly listened to her and took her words to heart while she was alive.

In part 2, Meursault mentions the words and advice of his mother that help him get through prison. Meursault after acknowledging Maman’s often repeated philosophy “that after a while you could get used to anything,” concedes that he too could have gotten used to living in the trunk of a dead tree (77). During his time of thought he chooses to remember his mother (which is significant since he barely thinks about other important people in his life such as Marie) and ponder her expressions. Meursault thinks of his mother again when he contemplates her death and his own. He can relate to the sense of freedom and finally understands that even “where lives were fading out, evening was a kind of wistful respite” (122). Impeding death, when accepted, is a sense of freedom that allows an individual to be ready to live all over again. Meursault realizes that “nobody had the right to cry over her” (122).

Meursault was able to commemorate his mother in a way that felt authentic to himself. Thinking of her during meaningful times allowed him to keep her alive in his mind. Meursault finally comes to the conclusion that while everyone was telling him that he was “weird” and “different” for not crying, he may have been the one doing the most appropriate thing by not being sad and continuing to live his own life.

In The Stranger, a strange woman entered Celeste’s and asked Meursault to sit with him. She was quite peculiar and described as having “robotlike movements” (43). Her actions serve as a foil to Meursault’s character.

The robot lady was very driven, quick-moving, and meticulous. She “studied the menu feverishly” and ordered in a “clear and very fast” voice (43). She had a no-nonsense attitude, getting straight to the point. She wasted no time between meals by checking off radio programs “one by one, and with great care” (43). She so deeply cared about checking off the radio programs and then proceeded to continue on with her life with “incredible speed and assurance.”

Meanwhile, Meursault’s character is the opposite. He is passive, soft-spoken, and unmotivated. When asked to move to Paris, he claimed he “wasn’t dissatisfied with [his current life]” and “had no ambition” (41). He does what other people tell him to do and has very little free thought of his own. He would rather stay stagnant than pursue satisfaction. He does not even find passion when being proposed to. He was indifferent and his reasoning for getting married was simply because Marie had wanted to.

yThe robot lady is assertive while Meursault is passive. The robot lady preemptively added up her dinner bill and placed the cash on the table (43). Meursault does whatever other people tell him to do. He prioritizes practicality over happiness. He accepted Raymond’s dinner invitation only so he wouldn’t have to cook for himself (28).

Meursault begins to display motivation and interest by following the robot lady for a while after she left the restaurant. Although this change in character was short lived as he regressed to his old ways and “forgot about her a few minutes later” (44). Maybe Meursault is right: “people never change their lives” (41).