Comparisons

10-28-2014 Rachel Craig

Essay #13: Marie's Reaction!

! Marie's reaction to Meursault telling her about his mother's death was almost no

reaction at all. The text states, "She made no remark, though I thought she shrank away

a little… Anyhow, by evening Marie had forgotten all about it." At first, she seemed a bit

wary of Meursault, but soon forgot about his loss when it came time to watch a comedic

movie and enjoy a night of love-making. There are several aspects as to what Marie's

response and neglect may have meant, but they all come to the same conclusion: her

actions were not in congruence to how most people would react.!

! One might argue Marie was trying to make Meursault feel better about his

mother's death. Most people, when they hear of a loss in someone's family, especially

that of a mother, would say "I am so sorry for your loss, do you need anything?" Marie,

however, took a completely different approach. Going to see a comedic movie may

have been her way of comforting him, but this is not the most common way of showing

comfort. Marie's take on his mother's death leads the reader to question Marie's own

psychological state.!

! Marie may have had more feelings than annoyance, unlike Meursault, but she

may have lacked the ability to completely process and comfort someone during their

supposed time of need. Of course Meursault was not a "regular" person, he didn't feel

much, but Marie did not know this when she first learned of his mother's passing.

Meursault showed his feelings about life, how meaningless he found it. Marie showed

the same kind of thoughts and feelings in her reaction to his mother's death. She shied

away at first, but later thought nothing of it. Her seeming...