Meursault is a Psychopath

What is a psychopath? According to Psychology Today, a psychopath has a certain number of characteristics such as being uncaring, shallow emotions, irresponsibility, insincere speech, overconfidence, narrowing of attention, selfishness, violence, and inability to plan for the future. Hmm, doesn’t that sound familiar? From the very beginning of The Stranger,  Meursault demonstrated at least half of these characteristics yet he seems like a normal guy. He goes about his day without feeling the urge to bear ill will against anyone nor does anyone suspect he’s anything but ordinary. Compared to sociopaths, who are much easier to spot in society, the psychopath has the benefit of being able to be a part of the masses without being detected.

Additionally, psychopaths are much more common in society than you think. In one study, while it is incredibly hard to measure, they estimated that about 1 in 100 people are psychopaths. Before you go and invest in a full armor body suit, it’s important to note that not all psychopaths want to murder you. In fact, much like Meursault, they deal more with management/office work and are people who are just not capable of feeling empathy for other people. They tend to be focused more on themselves and see people as things that are designed to give them pleasure.

Thinking about this, we can easily see this in Meursault's reaction to his mother’s death. While everyone who attended the sigil was crying or showing some degree of grief, Meursault wasn’t really feeling any sadness. Of course, you could say he was in a state of shock, but even the days following the death, he doesn’t think of his mother in a way that follows normal grieving patterns. He instead returns to his normal lifestyle and focuses on what to do with his extra days off from work. Earlier, I mentioned how psychopath’s don’t care about what happens to other people. Well, if we go back to the funeral scene, we can see this in action when Meursault is holding sigil with his mother’s friends. When one of them starts crying, Meursault is annoyed and wishes for them to stop. This is a perfect example of the psychopath's inability to feel empathy for other people.

Furthermore, psychopath’s see people as something to use for pleasure. Soon after his mother’s death, Meursault enters a relationship with Marie. We all know what’s going on there and that there isn’t any real love between the two (maybe with Marie but definitely not Meursault). Meursault makes it extremely clear that he does not love Marie and that she is there for more physical reasons. He repeatedly says that he “wants her”, but that’s really just him using Marie as a source of pleasure.

Even Meursault’s relationship with Raymond highlights Meursault’s psychopathic personality. From how Raymond treats his girlfriend to when Raymond is attacked by an Arab, Meursault doesn’t show any emotion or react in any way. Similarly, the murder of the Arab wasn’t inspired by his thirst for vengeance but rather it just happened. Meursault isn’t sad that it happened but he is upset that his freedom is taken away. A psychopath only cares for him/herself and no one else. While Meursault may seem like a normal guy in a terrible situation, there are several clues that reveal his true nature as a psychopath in the end.

What does it take to get a little appreciation around here?

           I can honestly say I’m glad I’m not in Gregor’s situation. Transforming into a giant bug overnight does not appeal to me in the slightest. I’d probably die of fear from myself before anything even happened in the story. In contrast to my severe entomophobia, Gregor remains relatively calm and even finds pleasures in his life as an insect (e.g. crawling on the wall and whatnot). Yet, this new life comes with a pretty steep price tag. Along with his humanity, Gregor discovers just how much his family has been using him and how easily they are able to move on without him. In my opinion, the greatest tragedy to befall Gregor is his realization that his family had manipulated him into thinking they couldn’t live without him then abandoning him as soon as he becomes a burden.

In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the family. The father who can’t work due to his age and has crippling debt yet enjoys languish breakfasts. The mother who, besides being one of the more sympathetic characters, actually doesn’t do too much besides feel stress over Gregor’s new state. And finally, Gregor's sister, Grete, a girl who loves her brother but is introduced as someone that is relatively frail and shy. Now, after multiple discussions in class and readings, we can identify that Gregor’s family heavily relied on Gregor for money. Even Gregor believed himself to be the only solution to absolve his family’s debt. With this in mind, let’s look back at the first scene.

At the beginning of the story, as the family began to recognize that something is wrong with Gregor, they surrounded his room and began badgering him about his work. When they finally realize that something has happened to Gregor, the mother immediately sends for a doctor.

“You must go to the doctor right away. Gregor is sick. Hurry to the doctor. Have you heard Gregor speak yet?”  (20)

Yet, once Gregor emerges, he is quickly forced back into his room and left alone. Never once does it occur to the family to find someone to help Gregor after this incident. They seemingly accept that Gregor is a bug (or dead) and that they can do nothing to change the situation. Much like earlier, when Gregor believed himself to be the sole solution, the family believes that there is nothing to be done about their ~new~ roommate. What is really astonishing to me about this scene is that the family does absolutely nothing in response to Gregor’s new body. You could draw the comparison between Gregor’s non reaction to his new form and the family’s acceptance of the bug, but that’s not what I want to focus on. Instead, this lack of acknowledgement suggests that the family, now rid of their only source of income, do not want to go to the effort of figuring out the mystery of the bug. Their new goal is find another stable source of cash and latch their parasitic claws onto that.

But, wait, doesn’t the family end up having to work to provide for themselves? In a perfect world, that could mean they’re finally realizing the true value of all that Gregor did for them. Yet, that wouldn’t explain the parents new fascination with Grete at the end of the book. Throughout the story, Grete is the one who begins to become the financial provider of the family. While the father definitely contributes to this role, let’s be honest he won’t last nearly as long as Grete could. The final paragraph of The Metamorphosis especially highlights the moment the family begins to recognize Grete as not only a woman but as someone capable of being successful. This realization immediately changes the focus of the story from Gregor’s struggle with his humanity to Grete’s transformation in the story. All of Gregor’s labors are forgotten and the family moves on.

Gregor, throughout this entire process, is torn between appreciation for his family’s (very little) effort to accommodate him and anger at not being able to work and provide for the family. While it is kind of noble for Gregor to think so kindly of his family, it is a little unjustified. All Gregor did was work and provide for the family, but when times get rough, his family deserts him. I think Gregor was never really in it for the money or getting rid of his father’s debt. Instead, all Gregor really needed was some appreciation for what he did. After all the years he put in for his family and only to be rewarded by abandonment must have hurt. Being acknowledged for his dedication would have prevented a lot of the guilt that plagued him by the end of the story, and possibly, could have prevented his death. Ultimately, a little appreciation may have gone a long way in the life of Gregor but his family wasn’t able to view Gregor as anything other than a bug, and as a result, treated him like one.

Kafka, Franz, and A. L. Lloyd. Metamorphosis. New York: Vanguard, 1946. Print.