This is a
difficult point to argue for, because Meursault himself struggles to articulate it in a
satisfactory manner both to himself and to others.
As with nearly all
elements of the narrative of "", absurdism and its nihilistic perspectives rule over
many decisions. While Meursault says he loved his mother "as anyone would", he seems
to think this way more out of social obligation than any true emotion. Further, his
"practical" approach to rationalizing the way in which he put her in the elder care
facility in Marengo is driven purely by a pragmatical perspective; that she made him
uncomfortable, that she had no friends, that he didn't have the time or money to care for her.
This is further compounded by the fact that he hadn't visited her, largely because of the
inconvenience of the trip.
The specific life value, if it can be called that,
which is illustrated by his mother is his principle of thinking only of his immediate physical
needs. If his mother makes him uncomfortable, he seeks to remove the discomfort by removing her,
rather than taking a more humane approach. This is pointed out by the overzealous prosecutor at
his trial, in large and small forms, such as his acceptance of a cup of coffee while sitting in
vigil by his mother's body; according to the prosecutor, a good son might be offered a cup of
coffee, but he should refuse it as a means of observing respect for the person that brought him
into this world. The minor pleasure of a cup of coffee ought to pale in comparison to the social
duty one is obliged to observe.
As far as having a deep connection with his
mother, Meursault simply didn't. Meursault clearly struggles to find any meaning in emotional
gestures; with both his mother and his girlfriend, he offers negative or tepid responses to
emotional prompts, and says they don't really matter anyway. When he learns that others think
badly of him for putting his mother in a home, and that his mother herself was angry with him
for it, he seems surprised.
What might indicate a deeper
"connection" is the fact that his mother's death is the first of numerous deviations
from a normal pattern, which is intended by Camus as a catalyst for absurdist analysis. This is
probably the first time that Meursault has been faced with a situation where he knows emotion is
expected of him, and is being displayed in generous amounts by others around him, and yet his
apparently inability or unwillingness to feel anything becomes his primary
identifier.
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