In The Stranger, Albert Camus plays Meursault, the narrator and main character of the book, detached and emotionless. He doesn't think much about events or their consequences, nor does he express many feelings in relationships or emotional moments. He is shown to be emotionless throughout the book in his reactions to the people and events in the book. After her mother's death she sheds no tears and appears to show no emotion. He shows limited feelings for his girlfriend, Marie Cardona, and shows no remorse for killing an Arab. His reactions to life and people distance him from his emotions, positive or negative, and from intimate relationships with others and this is why he is called by the book's title, "the stranger". While this behavior can be seen as a negative trait, there is a young woman who seems to want to have a relationship with Meursault and a neighbor who longs for friendship. He seems to show no emotion, perhaps protected from pain by not showing himself to people. Meursault rarely shows feelings when placed in situations that, for most people, would bring out strong emotions. Throughout the vigil, watching over his mother's corpse, and at her funeral, he never cries. He is further shown enjoying a cup of coffee with milk and smoking a cigarette with a janitor standing next to his corpse: "Then he offered to bring me a cup of coffee with milk. I like milk in my coffee, so I said yes, and he came back a few minutes with a tray. I drank the coffee and then I wanted to smoke. But I hesitated, because I didn't know if I could do it with my mother at that moment it doesn't matter" (page 8). The next day, after her mother's funeral, she goes to the beach and meets a former friend named Marie Cardona. They swim, go to the movies and then spend the night together. Later in their relationship, Marie asks Meursault if he wants to marry her. "That evening Marie came to see me and asked me if I wanted to marry her. I told her that it didn't matter to me and that we could if she wanted.