Madame Meursalt's Death (Chapter 1)

I was very impressed about Monsieur Meursalt reaction regarding his mother's death. I can't believe he was so tranquil. At the beginning I thought he was digesting the information, and when he got to Marengo he would realize what had happened and become sad, but he didn't. When he got to the home he seemed absent. He did not know his mother's friends and instead of sharing with them his sadness, he just felt that they were judging him. Instead of feeling grief, the main character was feeling guilty. And this shows that he is giving more importance to what the old people think of him than the pain of loosing his mom. This first chapter tells me a lot about Monsieur Meursalt's personality because he seems pretty much detached from reality, and extremely insensitive.