The Stranger Characters: Complete Analysis
The Stranger features complex characters representing different aspects of society, each embodying themes of the novel.
Meursault is the French-Algerian clerk who feels disconnected from everything and everyone. He doesn't cry at his mother's funeral, doesn't believe in God, doesn't perform expected emotions. Marie is his girlfriend who wants more than he can give emotionally. Raymond is his sketchy neighbor whose conflicts lead to violence. The Arab man Meursault kills doesn't even get a name, which is itself commentary on colonial attitudes.