Man first of all exists

While Meursault’s insensitivity and utter indifference to his supposedly aggravating situation cover all the characteristics of psychopathic behavior, they are in fact the purest extract of existentialist existence. There are certain emotions a person is expected to have after its mother dies. Be it sadness, relief, anger, confusion, but emotions after all. In fact, humanity is supposed to be driven, in compound, by a series of these emotions throughout life, and we are raised to believe that these are the sole things that give meaning to existence.

“Then I felt like having a smoke. But I hesitated, because I didn’t know if I could do it with Maman right there. I thought about it; it didn’t matter. I offered the caretaker a cigarette and we smoked.” (pg.8)

Meursault, as previously said doesn’t react emotionally to his mother’s death. In fact in the whole book few times (two or three) does he express any emotional sensitivity. He felt like having a cigarette, hesitated because he didn’t know if it was appropriate, but eventually gave in to his crave because in his rationale, that is what he wants to do, and therefore does it. But there is no emotion backing up his impulse. No, “My heart was filled with such despair, my hands were shaking, I was so overwhelmed by the violent wave of heavy emotions that I needed a cigarette to calm down.” No.

But there is authenticity in Meursault’s existence. He finds no need to seek meaning in his life, be it by emotions, religion, love. He is, and that is enough reason to exist. That is why he smokes the cigarette, because why not?

Existence, despite all, is still absurd. “It occurred to me that anyway one more Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was going back to work, and that, really, nothing had changed.” (pg.24) I will only mention briefly The Myth of Sisyphus, as the readers of this entry will already be familiar with its relation to the text. “one more Sunday was over…really, nothing had changed.” So existence is essentially redundant. Meursault recognizes redundancy as a major component of his existence, but that allows him to live of momentary experience, nothing else. There is no connotation of sadness, or disappointment in his statement. Although things have happened, life is still the same, and things will continue to happen, but in the end life conserves its spot in the universe. No extraordinary thing can or will happen, because it all ends the same, with death.