While Meursault is simply linked to his mother by blood and not by choice, Perez and Meursault's mother voluntarily initiates a close relationship that reflects solidity and depth. Therefore, Perez's emotional response to the death is normal and expected, accentuating Meursault's own emotional peculiarity in being indifferent to the event. .
Also, Meursault's obsession with minute details at a time of grief shows his withdrawal from emotion in his observance. The fact that he notices the duty nurse greeting him "without a trace of smile on her long, bony face " (Camus 10) demonstrates that he does not wallow in despair as a son should be at a parent's funeral. This poses stark contrast with Perez's expression of being "too upset to notice things " (Camus 57), illustrating how a person in mourning would conventionally act. Hence, with regards to emotional norms, Perez acts as a foil to Meursault, demonstrating the profound difference between the protagonist's treatment of death and the behavior of the rest of society. While Meursault's emotional response is a strange and remote one, it manifests itself in the form of his radical freedom as he is genuinely comfortable with the idea that his mother's death "didn't mean anything "; he is not burdened by a human relationship that no longer exists. Therefore, Meursault's lack of grief over the death of his mother reflects, to a certain extent, his emotional emancipation, which is presented in stark contrast to Perez's vulnerability to emotions.
Not only is Meursault's emotional indifference shown at times of despair; it is also shown in matters of romance through his interactions with Marie. When questioned by Marie about his attachment to the relationship, Meursault replies simply that he would have "accepted the same proposal from another woman, with whom I had a similar relationship " (Camus 29).
