Studying Meursault’s Indifferent Nature

In the beginning of The Stranger we the readers are provided startling glimpses of Meursault’s indifferent nature and the startling consequences of his neutrality. Although Meursault’s indifference sometimes allows him to sit back and relax in the moment within a hectic, worry-filled society, as seen through his afternoon spent looking out the window, pleasantly watching the people in the streets below, but on the flip side, his indifference also lets him turn a blind-eye to the evils within the society, characterized by Raymond and the cruel beating his former-lover which Meursault helped instigate.

Meursault’s indifference is caused by his near obsession with his comfort in the present time. For example, he takes irrational decisions such as helping Raymond because his present comfort overrides the expense of the heavy repercussions that would be far in the future, and his indifference to both the evil and the good in the world allows him to take any decisions he likes.

I think that Meursault’s obsession with the present time and his indifference is caused by the fear of his imminent death. We see how Meursault does not really grieve his mother’s death because of his obsession with his present comfort; this could be a defense mechanism of denial. Since he is unable to confront the realities of death, he chooses instead to be indifferent to life itself. By letting seemingly meaningless things such as what he eats, or sitting comfortably, a one night stand, things that are meaningless in the larger perspective of life dictate his own life, he assigns no meaning to his life, and therefore combats the fear and despair that comes with death. Since death only causes a meaninglessness to a meaningful life, squandering it away in the great timeline of the universe, death after living a meaningless life would do nothing. 

There is definite indication that Meursault was not like this before. There are instances where he reflects back to a time when he did care. Therefore there is an indication that there was some event that occurred in his life  that drastically changed Meursault's worldview. What it was is not told to us, but what we can infer is that it was an event that made Meursault understand the meaninglessness of life.