Anyone can be affected by isolation. But what about relationships? Albert Camus has written The Stranger about Meursault. While his isolation greatly affects his relationships, he chooses to remain alone. Because isolation can lead to a blockage of emotions and indifferentity towards other situations, it can negatively impact relationships. It can also prevent you from having deep or complex relationships. Your relationships can be negatively affected by isolation.
An isolation can lead to a person feeling numb or unable to feel any emotions towards anyone else. Many times, the main character does not acknowledge his feelings. All people desire and need love. Your relationships with others can be destroyed if you fail to acknowledge it or block it. This is evident in Meursault’s book. He has a girlfriend, who he loves. But he doesn’t really love her. He has a great affection for her, but not because he loves her. Marie asked Meursault to mar him. I told her I was fine with it; if she wanted, I would marry her. Next, she asked me if my love for her was the same. I said, as usual, that my question meant nothing or near nothing. But I suspected she wasn’t. She replied that she felt the same way, and asked me why I was marrying her. (Camus 28). Meursault sends Marie mixed messages. He claims he wants to marry Marie, but he does not love her. He tells Marie he wants her to be his forever, but he does not love her. This is an example where he doesn’t acknowledge or block his feelings towards Marie. The final stages of life are important for all people and the book. Although it is a sad time for all, isolation can also affect one’s feelings about death. Meursault’s father died from a tumour. He sent her there because he was concerned about her happiness and also for other reasons. He didn’t speak to her for long and didn’t know anything about her cancer. He didn’t care for her at home. He didn’t feel sadness when she died. He behaved as if nothing had happened. He acted as if nothing had happened. I responded that, in recent years, it was easier to forget about my feelings. I didn’t know what else to say. “I could easily say that Mother was a dear friend, but it didn’t really mean anything” (Camus41). Although he said he loved his mother, he didn’t feel any emotion about her death. He also stated that he does not love his mother, but is only fond of her. He does not feel sadness or other emotions towards his mother. Isolation can have a negative impact on your emotions. It can make it hard to acknowledge or feel emotions. Meursault is creating domestic violence for people he does not know. Raymond and his ex-girlfriend are the people I am referring to. Meursault assisted him in writing a note that would get her to Raymond. If she didn’t, he would punish her for cheating. He had beaten her before for cheating and there was a good possibility he would do it again. Normally, Meursault would stop Raymond from cheating. He would have advised him to get out of the relationship but Raymond convinced him. He saw his friend hit his girlfriend and didn’t intervene. Raymond responded that it was just chance. The Prosecutor responded that this was a case where “chance” and “mere coincidence” were both a major factor. Did it happen by chance that Raymond attacked his mistress?” This shows that he didn’t really care about Raymond’s predicament or the beating of his girlfriend. He watched and if they were friends, he would have called the police or intervened. This shows that his friend doesn’t care whether he is doing anything illegal or could go to prison. He doesn’t care much about his family. His mother died suddenly, and his friends were devastated. Normally, someone would comfort her or grieve with them. However, he didn’t. He never spoke to her or her best friend, and he didn’t even call her friends. His mother’s best friend was called up to the stand during his trail. He said, “Well, it was very upset. It was too difficult to see the details. I believe my grief blinded and almost made it impossible to see the things around me. It was such a shock that my dear friend died. I actually fainted during his funeral. “So, I didn’t notice the young man at all,” the Prosecutor said to him. He asked Perez if he had ever seen me weep. Perez replied “No” to the Prosecutor (Camus57). Perez might have noticed if Perez stayed to grieve with his mother’s family. If Perez cried, it may have been too. This suggests that he didn’t grieve mother’s passing with the people he loved. This is not normal behavior.
People can be isolated and have negative effects on their relationships. Meursault suffered from isolation that made it impossible for him to develop deep and complex friendships. He had trouble forming a relationship with Meursault’s mother and sent her away to live in a home. She was too busy to talk to him so he placed her in an old-age home. Meursault and his mother have a special bond. They care for each other until something happens. Salamano, who was representing Meursault in court, said that Salamano believed that Mother and he had very few similarities, which explained why he set up the Home to allow his mother to enter. He continued, “You must understand.” He said, “You have to understand.” But nobody seemed to get it. Salamano tried to help but it failed. Everyone else believed that she shouldn’t be allowed to talk to him about things they don’t want to discuss. He had a very casual relationship at home with his mother. This is not typical for mother and child relationships. His isolation is the reason. Marie doesn’t know him well enough to even attempt to have a deeper relationship. Marie attempts to ask him if his love for Marie is genuine, but he doesn’t say no. He thinks their relationship is mostly physical and he tells me, “Marie shouted that I must have hope. As she said it, I smiled at her and wanted to hug her. I wanted to feel that thin material, and I didn’t really have any other options. (Camus 47) This is a part that shows how he relied on her physical comfort and not her words and actions. They have been together for many years and would normally develop an emotional connection. Meursault is isolating Meursault from their emotions, which results in a primarily one-sided emotional connection.
Meursault would be better if he didn’t isolate himself. Isolation can lead to a life of misery. Meursault’s isolated life ruined the lives of many people, including those in close relationships.
