After his meal he muses that yet another Sunday is over. His mother is buried, and he must return to work in the morning. He concludes that nothing has changed after all. The next day, Meursault goes to work. His boss is friendly and asks Meursault about his mother. Celeste asks Meursault if everything is alright, but Meursault changes the subject after only a brief response. He takes a nap and then returns to work for the rest of the afternoon. After work, Meursault runs into his neighbor, Salamano, who is on the stairs with his dog.
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It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. There are no anguished feelings of guilt within Meursault as he relates the details of his interview; instead, he tells us about the physical features of the magistrate, who gives the impression of being highly intelligent except for one small aspect — his mouth has a rather ugly, nervous tic.
Camus combines this stroke of description with the ridiculousness of an examination for murder taking place in a living room, suggesting further absurdity when Meursault admits that, when leaving, he does so almost as if he had finished a chat.
He is ready to extend his hand and say good-by to the magistrate. Then, momentarily, Meursault remembers that he has killed a man. Yet his use of the word "man" is not wholly convincing. If he felt that he had actually murdered another human being, surely there would be more internal struggling within himself as to why he did it.
There seems to be none. And his admission that he remembered "just in time" about the murder is almost an aside, as though he had forgotten something far less important than taking the life of another man. When Meursault talks with the lawyer that the court has appointed, he agrees to follow the lawyer's advice.
The lawyer already knows that Meursault's case is not the simple case that Meursault is convinced it is. For example, he does not like the possibility that he will have to explain Meursault's attitude toward his mother's death. He tells Meursault that the police know that, according to rumors, Meursault showed "great callousness" during his mother's funeral.
This matter of Meursault's callousness bothers the lawyer. If Meursault evidenced a lack of feeling during his own mother's funeral, what defense can the lawyer use when he must explain the actions of his client who has murdered a stranger, without motive?
He tries to make certain that Meursault realize the seriousness of this charge of callousness. Only Meursault can help himself in this court of law, he says. Asking Meursault if he felt any grief at all during the funeral, the lawyer is distraught when Meursault replies that the question is terribly odd.
Meursault would have been embarrassed to ask anyone such a personal question. He admits that he doesn't think much about his feelings and that his "detachment" has increased in recent years.
Most questions are difficult for Meursault to answer, as we have seen, unless he can answer them with a simple yes or no. When a question requires thinking and considering, Meursault becomes confused and wonders why he is being asked such a question, particularly questions with philosophical dimensions.
Truthfully, he knows that he was quite fond of his mother. But note that he does not say that he loved her. At this point, Meursault says only that he was "quite fond" of his mother. This is the most positive statement he can make, which does not carry much legalistic clout, especially when one is considering a charge of callous, cold-blooded murder.
Meursault considers himself just a normal man, yet note that the magistrate looks at Meursault with much curiosity, and even Marie earlier wondered if Meursault's oddness was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. All of the accumulated evidence convinces us that Camus is showing us that Meursault is certainly not "just a normal man.
Meursault says that all normal people probably have, at one time or another, wished the death of those they loved. He adds that his thought occurred to him as sort of an afterthought; he does not realize the potential gravity of what he has said. To him, it is just an after-thought, a harmless musing. It is little wonder that Meursault's lawyer is greatly perturbed. He begs Meursault not to make such damning statements during the trial. And Meursault promises — for one reason: "to satisfy him.
But now he warns the lawyer that his promises are not iron-bound. He explains that his "physical condition at any given moment" usually influences what he says and does and how he feels. This is rare insight for Meursault to realize about himself, and it is rarer still for him to admit such a statement, when his life depends on convincing a jury that he should not be executed for murdering another man.
Will use this technique of highlighting tenses in A-Level class. Great resource, thank you. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
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