u/DMar56

Maman has a pathological fear of being “Nailed-down” or, in other words, being defined, judged, or established by other people in ways that she may not agree with. This mainly manifests in the form of being gazed at, but it also does so in different forms as we’ll discuss later on. Though she was able to live just fine together with Meursault, it all rapidly changed after the White Nights and Dark Days incident. During this, Maman is made aware that an entity (Carmen) is able to watch her anytime, without any real way of hiding nor blocking herself away from Carmen’s gaze. This, of course, drives her insane, leading to her subsequent distortion and death.

A common interpretation I’ve seen in this community is that Maman’s death is entirely the fault of Carmen who, at any time could have withdrawn her gaze— only she was too stubborn to do so because of her saviour-complex. Not only is this a huge misread of her character, but it also actively goes against what we’ve seen of Carmen so far. Though it is true that Carmen has a ‘saviour-complex’, an important thing to note is that she *always takes failure well*. When Carmen fails to distort someone, she very easily lets them go— either to effloresce EGO or, as we saw with Meursault, leave them alone until their next emotional turmoil. Additionally, Carmen says that she doesn’t even dislike EGO. She is very respectful of whatever decision a person goes through when it’s about the Light. It is highly improbable that she kept talking to and bothering Maman this whole time, save for the very end where Maman was finally ready to distort.

What, then, is her reason for continually being with Maman? Contrary to popular belief, Carmen probably couldn’t simply “stop” looking at Maman— she probably isn’t even physically capable of doing so. It is important to remember that Carmen isn’t really “human” anymore, instead taking on a more abstract form: The Light. According to Chesed’s emblem in the GMS, Cogito takes the form of light so that it may easily enter people’s hearts. The light is conspicuous, massive, and true to how Meursault and many others describe it, acts like the ‘Sun’. Based on this, how would it be possible for the sun to exclude illuminating a single place, let alone a single person? The sun will shine in all directions indiscriminately. The only way to hide from the sun’s light would be to hide behind a solid object; which we know isn't possible yet in the City. (except for maybe the GMS, of which I leave the technicalities to for the lore enthusiasts). Carmen couldn't avoid Maman not by her own decision, but by the properties of the Light itself.

It is also important to properly understand Maman after the White Nights and Dark Days incident. Though her distortion is beyond of a doubt caused by Carmen, her latter emotional breakdown isn’t. Carmen— and by extension, the Light— has  been explained time and time again to simply be a “mirror” reflecting one’s own mind. The Light is meant to help people self-reflect. Carmen is very active in the Light to help people reflect towards distortion, and Ayin takes the backseat for efflorescing EGO. However, reflection has a very adverse effect for Maman. Being understood is also another form of being "nailed" down. To reflect and better understand yourself means that Maman must "nail" herself down to fit this sameself understanding. As a result, Maman realizes that by extension, she herself is shackled by her own gaze. Thus, Maman’s hysteria isn’t solely because she was exposed to Carmen’s gaze at any time, but because she was always “nailed” down no matter what. Maman realized that no matter what she might do, no matter which secluded room she might go to, she cannot escape her own gaze. Not even the most sophisticated singularity in the City could rip her own gaze away from her, save for losing herself through distortion, or through death. In the end, Maman decided to finally let herself be pinned one last time, choosing to let Meursault, her “Son”, kill her as an act of mercy for his “Mother”.

In this way, Maman’s death isn’t the result of Carmen's intervention, but rather, a tragedy that would’ve happened no matter what. In Meursault’s house before this scene, there is an interactable plant that I think serves as a great metaphor for Maman’s story. No matter how many nutrients it receives, no matter how much love and care its caretaker gives, the plant will still wilt. After all, it is extremely rare for a plant to be unable to photosynthesize. Maman was never fit to live in this world. She was pinned down by the simple merit of being born as “Human”. She was pinned down by her own biology that developed this unfortunate phobia. All it took for her to finally wilt was a single realization. One that didn’t necessarily need to be caused by Carmen or the Light or whoever, but one that could have popped up in her head at any time. 

BTW, I know she's lowkey megahitler and all but can we stop with calling ANY character \"trash\"? It sours any discussion and nuance to be had especially in such a debatably gray media, I genuinely can't stand seeing discussions of such nature. The moral standards of the City is extremely different from the moral standards of reality. For people that came out of the canto all about being careful with nailing/JUDGING something TOO HARD (keyword \"TOO HARD\"), yall are judging way too much!!