Marie and Mersault match the stereotype of a man and a woman in love, display the traditional relationship emotions toward each other, and spend time together like other couples; however, these very things that make them normal also isolate them because no other love-based relationships in the book are like theirs. Marie expresses her emotions toward Mersault a few times in the book, and they are what you'd expect her to feel given their relationship. In chapter five, Marie "mumbled that [Mersault] was peculiar, that that was probably why she loved [him]" (50-51). Normal relationships work in that exact way: the two partners love each other because of their peculiarities. When their relationship is forced to end, Mersault presents the typical degradation of love that one would expect from a human with a broken heart. "Salamano’s dog was worth just as much as his wife. The little robot woman was just as guilty as the Parisian woman Masson married, or as Marie, who had wanted me to marry her. What did it matter that Raymond was as much my friend as Céleste, who was worth a lot more than him? What did it matter that Marie now offered her lips to a new Meursault?" (128). Mersault and Marie's love meets the norm almost exactly, even in its death. However, that very fact separates them from the rest of the world. Salamo loves his dog, but he beats it and treats it horribly. Masson loves his wife, but he's a drunk and doesn't spend much time with her. Raymond feels strongly for Celeste but he beats her and is a pimp. The old man and maman loved each other but they didn't get married or show their love to the world. So really, by being exactly what one would expect, Marie and Mersault's relationship makes them unique in society, and thus outsiders.
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