The Stranger
Keiko Hector
ENG 110 Section 3
February 8th 2013 The Stranger Final Reflection The role of the “strange little woman” in the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus plays relates to a larger theme at play in the text. This woman intrigues Meursault as he is having dinner at Celeste’s and she asks him if she can join him at his table. This little robot-like woman provides a bold contrast to Meursault’s own character, and it is very prevalent to the reader. “While she was waiting for her first course, she opened her bag, took out a slip of paper and a pencil, added up the bill in advance, then took the exact amount, plus tip, out of a vest pocket and set it down on the table in front of her”(43). Every little moment of her life was carefully planned out, contrasting Meursault’s character as he spends his days smoking and looking out the window. This “strange little woman” helps the reader really see the contrasting characters to get to know Meursault a little better. Meursault does not have every moment planned out like the robotic woman does, for he likes to let life just happen. In some ways, we can see that Meursault himself can be stigmatized as a robot. He lives day-by-day going through the motions of life and daily routine. He asks little about anything and does not desire the reasoning behind many occurrences that happen in his life. “I didn’t have anything to do, so I left too and followed her for a while” (43). Meursault decides to follow the women because he is very curious of her actions and is intrigued by her robotic like movements. He does not seem to understand what propels her to move forward so fast-paced and live her life with such structure. In one way, the woman can be seen as a robot following routine for an ultimate purpose, and on the other hand, Meursualt can be seen as a robot following routine just to pass the day by without an ultimate goal or purpose. Camus introduces this woman in the novel to show that not
ENG 110 Section 3
February 8th 2013 The Stranger Final Reflection The role of the “strange little woman” in the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus plays relates to a larger theme at play in the text. This woman intrigues Meursault as he is having dinner at Celeste’s and she asks him if she can join him at his table. This little robot-like woman provides a bold contrast to Meursault’s own character, and it is very prevalent to the reader. “While she was waiting for her first course, she opened her bag, took out a slip of paper and a pencil, added up the bill in advance, then took the exact amount, plus tip, out of a vest pocket and set it down on the table in front of her”(43). Every little moment of her life was carefully planned out, contrasting Meursault’s character as he spends his days smoking and looking out the window. This “strange little woman” helps the reader really see the contrasting characters to get to know Meursault a little better. Meursault does not have every moment planned out like the robotic woman does, for he likes to let life just happen. In some ways, we can see that Meursault himself can be stigmatized as a robot. He lives day-by-day going through the motions of life and daily routine. He asks little about anything and does not desire the reasoning behind many occurrences that happen in his life. “I didn’t have anything to do, so I left too and followed her for a while” (43). Meursault decides to follow the women because he is very curious of her actions and is intrigued by her robotic like movements. He does not seem to understand what propels her to move forward so fast-paced and live her life with such structure. In one way, the woman can be seen as a robot following routine for an ultimate purpose, and on the other hand, Meursualt can be seen as a robot following routine just to pass the day by without an ultimate goal or purpose. Camus introduces this woman in the novel to show that not