Author: Dr. Pradip Kumar Behera

Abstract: Meursault, the protagonist in Albert Camus’s The Outsider, is emotionally detached. He shows very less concern for life, death, relationship and everything. He intends to get happiness and peace of mind being detached. He holds the belief that emotions are no source of pleasure, but rather a source of trouble. He also regards all emotional expressions as absurd and meaningless. But his detachment turns into emotional involvement and attachment in many cases in the novel. The feeling of unintentional attachment and intentional detachment run parallel in case of Meursault. He shows unintentional attachment and emotion. He is again and again drawn towards sensual pleasure. He carves for physical relation with his beloved Marie. He also possesses the felling of anger, sadness, anxiety, fear etc. which are the outcome of attachment. He is unconsciously enforced to get emotionally involved with people. He sharpens his physical senses through focusing on their satisfaction. The article discusses how Meursault embodies a type of ‘Vairagya’ (Detachment) which is described as “Markata Vairagya” (Monkey Detachment) in Hindu Philosophy. Such type of detached person deliberately detaches himself emotionally from people to gain happiness, but unaware, he is drawn into emotional involvement with others.

Keywords: Camus, The Outsider, Meursault, emotional detachment, emotional attachment

Article Info: Received: 22 Feb 2024; Received in revised form: 02 Apr 2024; Accepted: 09 Apr 2024; Available online: 17 April, 2024

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.92.27