The Stranger: International Edition characters

Appears from the start

A French Algerian shipping clerk living in Algiers. He narrates with unusual detachment, attending closely to heat, light, physical comfort, and immediate events while showing little interest in conventional displays of feeling. News of his mother's death sends him to the care home at Marengo for her funeral.

Also known as Meursault's Mother

Appears from the start

Meursault's mother, who has died at a residential home in Marengo before the story begins. Meursault had placed her there because his modest income and their increasingly silent life together made caring for her at home difficult.

Appears from the start

The director of the home where Meursault's mother lived. He explains her life at the institution and arranges the vigil and funeral, while making Meursault conscious of the social expectations surrounding a son's grief.

Appears from the start

An elderly resident of the home who became Meursault's mother's close companion. Though they often argued, he is deeply affected by her death and struggles to keep pace with the funeral procession.

First appears in chapter 2

A former typist in Meursault's office whom he meets again while swimming on the day after the funeral. She is lively and affectionate, and the renewed acquaintance quickly becomes romantic despite her surprise at how recently his mother died.

Appears from the start

The proprietor of a restaurant where Meursault regularly eats. He treats Meursault with easy familiarity and sympathy, and later speaks of him as a dependable customer and friend.

First appears in chapter 3

Meursault's neighbor, a warehouse worker with a reputation for living off women. He wants help punishing a former mistress whom he accuses of betrayal, and recruits Meursault to write a letter designed to lure her back.

First appears in chapter 3

An elderly neighbor who is almost always seen quarrelling with his scabbed, aging spaniel. Their harsh daily routine conceals a dependence that becomes clear when the dog goes missing.

First appears in chapter 4

Raymond's former mistress. After receiving the letter Meursault writes, she comes to Raymond's room, where an argument turns violent and brings the police to the building.

First appears in chapter 6

A friend of Raymond who owns a small beach house outside Algiers. He welcomes Raymond, Meursault, and Marie for a Sunday visit with his wife, offering them lunch after a morning by the sea.

First appears in chapter 6

The brother of Raymond's former mistress. He appears with a companion near Masson's beach house and confronts Raymond. Meursault knows neither his name nor his personal history and identifies him only through this connection.

First appears in chapter 7

The examining magistrate assigned to question Meursault after the beach killing. He is perplexed by Meursault's lack of conventional remorse and presses him about both the repeated shots and his religious unbelief.

First appears in chapter 7

The court-appointed lawyer who prepares Meursault's defense. He is troubled that the authorities are investigating Meursault's conduct at his mother's funeral and urges his client to offer an emotionally acceptable explanation.

First appears in chapter 9

The prosecutor at Meursault's trial. He presents the funeral and the killing as parts of a single moral case, arguing that Meursault's apparent indifference to his mother reveals a dangerous absence of feeling.

First appears in chapter 11

A prison chaplain who visits Meursault after his legal appeals have failed. He tries to bring the condemned prisoner toward faith and repentance, but encounters a man determined not to claim beliefs he does not possess.