Emotional Detachment in The Stranger (The Outsider) In The Stranger (The Outsider), Albert Camus portrays Meursault, the book's narrator and main character, as aloof, detached and emotionless. He doesn't think much about events or their consequences, nor does he express many feelings in relationships or emotional moments. He displays an impassivity throughout the book in his reactions to the people and events described in the book. After his mother's death he sheds no tears; He seems to show no emotion. He shows limited feelings for his girlfriend, Marie Cardona, and shows no remorse for killing an Arab. His reactions to life and people distance him from his emotions, positive or negative, and from intimate relationships with others, which is why he is called by the book's title, "the stranger". While this behavior can be seen as a negative trait, there is a young woman who seems to want to have a relationship with Meursault and a neighbor who longs for friendship. He seems content to be indifferent, perhaps protected from pain by his indifference. Meursault rarely shows feelings when placed in situations that, for most people, would arouse strong emotions. Throughout the vigil, watching over his mother's corpse, and at her funeral, he never cries. He is also depicted drinking a cup of coffee with milk during the vigil and smoking a cigarette with the caretaker of the nursing home where his mother died. The next day, after his mother's funeral, he goes to the beach and meets a former colleague named Marie Cardona. They swim, go to the movies and then spend the night together. Later in their relationship, Marie asks Meursault if he wants to marry her. He replies that he doesn't care, and if she wants to get married, he would be okay with it. Then she asks him if he loves her. To that question he replies that probably not, and explains that marriage isn't really that serious and doesn't require love. This reaction is quite typical of Meursault as depicted in the book. He appears to be casual and indifferent to life events. Nothing seems to be very significant to him. Later in the book, after killing an Arab, he never once shows remorse or guilt for what he did. Did he really feel nothing? Camus seems to indicate that Meursault is almost oblivious and totally unperturbed and untouched by the events and people around him. He is not willing to lie, during the trial, about killing the Arab. His reluctance to get involved in the defense results in a verdict of death by guillotine. If Meursault had been involved in his defense, explaining his actions, he might have been freed. Meursault's callous behavior, far from any apparent emotion, is probably reinforced by the desperation he sees open and sensitive people experience. He observes, for example, Raimondo betrayed and hurt by a friend, and sees his other neighbor, Salamano, very depressed when he loses a dear companion, his dog. Meursault's responses are very different, he does not get depressed at the death nor does he get emotionally involved. He appears to be totally apathetic. In this way he seems to feel no pain and is protected from life's disappointments. Sometimes a person like Meursault can attract others because he is so nonjudgmental and uncritical, probably the result of indifference rather than sympathetic feelings. His limited involvement might appeal to some people because the end result of his distance is a kind of acceptance of others, so he poses no threat to their ego. Raymond Sintes, a nearby pimp, seems to feel comfortable with Meursault. Sintes does not have to justify himself because Meursault does not comment on how Sintes earns or how he chooses to live his life. Although.