Meursault addresses a specific conversation he has with Marie in a passage from Part One, Chapter 4. With characteristic emotional indifference and detachment, Meursault responds to Marie’s question with complete honesty: "a minute later she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so." Always blunt, he never alters what he says to be considerate or to conform to societal expectations. However, Meursault’s honesty reflects his ignorance. His blunt words connote that he does not fully understand or care to acknowledge the emotional stakes in Marie’s question. In addition, in Meursault’s assertion that whether he loves Marie or not love “doesn’t mean anything,” the reader begins to understand one of Meursault's central idea: that the human life is meaningless.
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