My father once said, "If you cannot love, then you cannot live." In
the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, Muersault, the main character would not
be able to comprehend this statement, let alone agree. Love seems to have no
importance to character Muersault. In the beginning of the novel Muersault
mother passes away. "Sunday was over, that Maman was buried now, that I was
going back to work, really, nothing had changed." This is Muersault’s
thoughts two days after his mother's death. Usually when a person mother dies
there is a long healing process that can last a life time, but in Muersault’s
case he shows no signs of loss or pain. He gives the impression that he did not
love his mother, and feeling this way is okay. Muersault is involved with a
young woman named Marie. One day Marie asks Muersault if he loves her, he tells
her "It didn't mean anything but that I didn’t think so." When two
people are involved, there is a mutual compassion and concern for each other's
feeling. If one were to ask if the other loved them, and they did not, they
would find a delicate and considerate manner to tell them how they felt.
Muersault answer gives the impression that he had not given his and Marie’s
relationship any thought before that moment, love wasn’t a meaningful enough
issue to subject it to any thought. To Muersault the issue love does not deserve
contemplation. His mother death and significant other love request were dealt
with as though they were an everyday event. How can a person really know how to
enjoy the virtues of life if they cannot see the importance of love.