camus ~ the plague (1947)

Camus - The Plague - slide 1

Camus ~ The Plague (1947)

The plague strikes Oran– Setting is in the 1940s in Oran, a

French port on the Algerian coast– Oran is an ordinary, ugly, commercially-

oriented place with an “absurd lay-out” (24).

– Plague begins– Dr. Rieux sees his wife off to a

sanitarium in the mountains



– Reflects how he has been remiss in his attentions to his wife. Significance of this.

Meanings of the plague– Occupation of a city during time of war– Resistance of nature to human choices.

Cf. Sartre– Encounter with nothingness--the absurd,

meaninglessness



– Natural evil– A boundary situation



Theme 1 - the absurd; the experience of nothingness– The Existentialists took this theme

from Nietszche– For the Existentialists, there are two

main sources for this experience•1. The rejection of God and of all

transcendental values



•2. Epistemological skepticism– There is no certain knowledge– Scientific knowledge cannot answer

the most important questions in life» Camus in “An Absurd Reasoning”

states: “Whether the earth or the sun revolves around the other is a matter of profound indifference.”



» Rejection of the Enlightenment faith in science.

– Knowledge cannot give meaning to life & cannot answer the most fundamental questions about life.

– Cf. Plato - knowledge is salvation; knowledge is one of the highest values and that which is most worth pursuing



Joseph Grand– Municipal clerk– Never gets raises or promotions

because he “coundn’t find his words” (45)

– Separated from his wife



– Has a secret project •“Gentlemen, hats off!” (102)•Interpretation: His way of fighting against

the absurdity of life– When plague begins, he works on sanitary

squads; his city job suffers– Rieux reflects that Grand is an “insignificant

and obscure hero who had to his credit only a little goodness of heart and a seemingly absurd ideal” (137).



– Gets plague, but survives– At end of plague, writes to his wife.

Theme 2 - boundary situation– The plague causes a crisis in the lives

of the people of Oran; it forces them to reevaluate their lives



Theme 3 - Resistance against life & nature as we find it – All persons encounter meaninglessness

at some point in their lives– How can this be faced and transcended?– One must resist it, fight against it (see

133 - “Many fledgling moralists . . .”)– “The Myth of Sysyphus” (1942)

•The myth



•How does Sysyphus find meaning in his punishment?

•Resistance for the sake of what?



Raymond Rambert – Journalist from Paris– Has mistress in Paris– Tries repeatedly to escape

•His initial form of resistance– Decides to stay; joins Rieux in fighting

plague•This is his new form of resistance



– Survives the plague & has joyous reunion with is mistress

Theme 4 - transcending absurdity by commitment to other persons– Rieux: “If there is one thing one can

always yearn for and sometimes attain, it is human love” (300).



– Camus in Notebooks, 1942-1951: “What balances the absurd is the community of men fighting against it. And if we choose to serve that community, we choose to serve the dialogue carried to the absurd against any policy or falsehood or of silence. That’s the way one is free with others” (126).



Theme 5 - Theory of stages; brings themes 1, 3, & 4 together– Not a descriptive theory; rather

prescriptive - a moral theory– Three moments or stages in achieving

mature personhood•1. Awareness of absurdity•2. Resistance to this absurdity•3. To fellow human persons



Jean Tarrou– The chronicler, diarist– At the outset of the plague, immediately

volunteers to help; organizes sanitary squads

– Reveals to Rieux that he has already had the plague•Story about his flight from home for the

sake of creating a more perfect world



•Then came to realize that no ideology could justify “such butcheries” (252).

•Even the best of the revolutionaries could not keep from killing “because such was the logic by which they live” (252).



– In The Rebel (1950), Camus proposes that revolt must have limits. •Revolt must never be for absolute

(perfect) justice, but only for a “measure of justice.”

•The rebel must be a scrupulous, hesitant, careful, reflective.

– Tarrou contacts the plague and dies



Paneloux– Jesuit priest, learned & militant– 1st sermon

•The plague has come upon “you” because of your evil ways

•The plague is God’s punishment•Helps in sanitary camps; witnesses

death of Othon’s son.



– 2nd sermon•Opens with “we”•Rejects explanation of plague given

in 1st sermon•Adopts a Kierkegaardian Christianity

-- belief which goes beyond understanding

– Becomes ill; refuses medical treatment



– Dies– Camus’ viewpoint: Paneloux refused

to resist the plague Othon

– Judge– Has two children whom he marches

into his favorite restaurant like “performing poodles.”



– Othon is very rigid, formal, unvarying in his habits

– Son gets the plague & dies– Othon volunteers to help in the

camps; becomes a camp manager– Shoelaces untied– Papers lost; he accepts situation.– Contacts plague & dies



Cottard– Criminal– At home with the plague– After the plague is over, he goes insane– Camus’ anti-hero

Dr. Bernard Rieux– Sees wife off to sanitarian before plague

breaks out



– Man of habit and routine– Events like the plague help “men to

rise above themselves” (125).– Rieux says that he thinks he is on the

right road “in fighting against creation as he found it” (127).•Rieux’s form of resistance is fighting

the plague through the practice of medicine.



– Comparison of the practice of medicine with the practice of life•In both one must sometimes make

choices based on insufficient knowledge

•“A man can’t cure and know at the same time, so let’s cure as quickly as we can. That’s the more urgent job” (210).



Theme 6 - Skepticism about reason; the importance of choice– On the really important questions of

life, once must make choices which go beyond knowledge

See beautiful closing paragraph - p. 308.

camus ~ the plague (1947)

Documents

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boundary situationthe

absurdity of lifewhen

survivesat end of plague

mistress theme

absurd lay

plato knowledge

salvation knowledge