Mersault's indifference to his mother's death is clear in
the first line of the novel. However, he is shaken a bit from his daily routine of
repetition and his concept of the absurd meaninglessness of life in this scene; he is
aware of others noticing his lack of emotion and his inappropriate mourning.' this is
even used against him in trial. Although still alienated and unaffected by his mother's
death, he is forced to, at the very least, consider his mother's place in his life and
what, if any, impact her death will have on his own
life.
His relationship with Raymond was also one born out
of alienation. Despite what may be interpreted as his better judgement, he vouches for
Raymond so Ray won't get arrested for beating his (Ray's) girlfriend; and I would guess
that Mersault does so simply as part of his rejection of society's rules and human
justice. If he was not alienated, and rather in tune with society, his conscience
and/or guilt would have implored him to turn Ray in. While behaving unethically and
selfishly, Mersault is just following his philosophy of Absurdity. So, his primary
concern of isolation via rebellion and rejection of human society get him linked up with
Ray and, thus, in the situation with the Arabs.
With
Marie, Mersault finds himself considering a commitment with her: this of course would go
against his psychology of self-alienation.
Mersault's crime
and imprisonment were affected by these relationships; namely with Ray which put him at
the beach in the first place. But in the end, it was Mersault's philosophical outlook.
It could have been a subconscious effort to evade any commitment to Marie (which, in
prison, he would regret). It also could be part of his rejection of society. He claimed
he did it because he was hot; a simply matter of indifferent free will. I get the sense
that he didn't appreciate any relationship until he was physically alienated
(prison.)
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