In Which The Stranger is Concerned

In many ways, Mersault is a heroic antihero.
>He is unconcerned about his role in a warrior society, despite the fact he killed the Arab.
>He has absolutely no desire to be recognized (In the beginning of the trial, he realizes "Usually people didn't pay much attention to me. It took some doing on my part to understand that I was the cause of all the excitement"(83)).
>Mersault does not care about immortality.
>Nor does he feel particularly worthy and peruse what he does best.
>Obviously, he is unaffected by a desire to not loose face or honor (seeing as he is relatively undisturbed by his-murdering-someone-and-ensuing-trial).

But yet, near the end, he does manage to reach a state of heroism, even by the classical code.
>By the end, the does desire to be recognized, if only to the extent "for a large crowd of spectators...[to] greet me with cries of hate"(123).
>He finds his place in a warrior society--if not as a warrior, in "the gentle interference of the world" wherein he finds inner peace, a solace.

Mersault also reaches a kind-of-heroism beyond the traditional definition:
>He reaches a state of understanding, almost of reconciliation. He realizes that "So close to death, Maman must have felt free then and ready to live it all again. Nobody, nobody had the right to cry over her" (122).
>He refuses to lie throughout the entire story. Whether it be conscious or unconscious, it is there nonetheless. I believe it is conscious—stemming from his realization that "none of it really mattered" (41). This requires a sort of bravery, even if it is buffered by a nonchalant attitude.
>His consistency is also very commendable. Even while in jail, though he is affected, his personality does not range, like Raymond's does.

I also feel Marie is over looked. She seems to have a much stronger personality and be much less fickle than portrayed. As far as we know (it can be inferred as such), she remains true to Mersault even after he a) kills someone b) is put in jail c) remains in jail d) goes through trial and e) is sentenced to death. She visits him in jail and attends his trial. He discounts her quickly by assuming she was now offering herself to "another Mersault." Marie is extremely brave to have held on that long—I don't think any of us (at least me) would have held it against her if she'd jumped ship after Mersault killed the Arab, let alone after contact was cut off while he was in jail. I also think this answers a question about love. Although it doesn't matter if it's there or not (according to Mersault), love is here. Otherwise, how could she have gone through this for a condemned man? I feel that love is ever present, whether it is detected or not; "to me she was Marie" (99).