The Stranger

Meursault works during the week. On the weekend, he goes on a date with Marie to a beach outside Algiers. They play games in the water, they kiss, and then they take the bus back to Meursault’s apartment to have sex. The next day, while Meursault prepares lunch, Marie asks Meursault whether he loves her. He replies that the question has “no meaning” (29), but he supposes that he does not. Marie is sad for a short time but cheers up as they prepare their food.

A woman screams and all the neighbors rush to the hallway to investigate. Marie and Meursault hear Sintes beating his mistress. Marie asks Meursault to fetch a policeman but he refuses, explaining that he does not like the police. Eventually, someone else fetches an officer, and Sintes opens the door with a cigarette in his mouth. He refuses to stop smoking, so the policeman slaps the cigarette out of his mouth. The mistress complains to the policeman, saying that Sintes is a pimp who beats her. The policeman sends her away and threatens to take Sintes back to the police station. Marie and Meursault return to their lunch, but she has lost her appetite.