The Plague

BOOK REVIEW

THE PLAGUE BY ALBERT CAMUS

By Stephen Wilson

 

            Penguin classics, 2002, London, New York. Originally published 1947

 

           'More than one person walking at night along the pavement would experience the feeling of the elastic bulk of a still fresh corpse under his feet. It was as though the very soil on which our houses were built was purging itself of an excess of bile, that it was letting boils and abscesses rise to the surface, which up to then had been devouring it inside. Just imagine the amazement of our little town which had been so quiet until then, ravaged in a few days, like a healthy man whose thick blood had suddenly rebelled against him!' stated the author in his brilliant novel 'The Plague' when he superbly describes how hordes of rats inexplicably run out of the ground, to die and carry plague to the luckless inhabitants of a tranquil city of Oran in Algiers.

           Such evocative passages make Camus ' novel The Plague compelling reading.

 

           Although over the past two months sales of his novel have skyrocketed all around the world as people struggle to make sense of the current Covid 19 crisis, the first and foremost reason for reading this novel is because Camus is a great storyteller. His vivid descriptions of a rapidly changing atmosphere in a city taken by surprise from the onslaught of the plague, how his convincing characters respond to the plague as well as the well constructed narrative make his novel a must.

           But I have to make a confession. I did not want to reread this novel because I was sick and tired of being bombarded by the news of the pandemic. I wanted to forget

about this crisis. So instead I decided to retreat into ancient history by reading about the archaeologists who had been searching for Troy. May be this would help me forget about this. Alas, it was all in vain! When I began to read Homer's The Iliad, I came across a passage where the Greeks were struck down by plague sent by the wrath of Apollo. So much for escapism. There is no light literature. So I again picked up The Plague, by Camus.

 

           The novel is amazingly short, concise and articulate. What I like about Camus is he does not waffle or indulge in long descriptions you read in Tolstoy or Dostoevsky.

           He gets to the point. There is something remarkably honest about Camus. He is never pretentious or preachy, but just gets on with telling the story. His characters are sympathetically drawn and in this sense he reminds me of Andrei Platonov's works.

 

           This novel can be understood on many levels. It is partly but not wholly about an allegory of the Nazis occupation of France. But may be it should just be read as how ordinary people, finding themselves devastated by an unexpected

catastrophe and respond in different ways to an epidemic. And how they react reminds you of how people are currently reacting to the crisis we face now.

           People feel the deepest emotions brought on by the anguish of being separated from their family, friends and loved ones not to mention the fear of being struck down dead by this infection. Some of the stories of how the children die from the fever are harrowing. At first many people deny that a plague has broken out and hope the deaths are a minor exception. People at first joke about the rats and the infection to conceal their anxiety which then turns to real feelings of

terror. What seems so accurate about this book is how it uncannily describes the prelude to the crisis so many countries are in now. As in the novel, the cities round the world appear unprepared and taken aback. As I heard so many people in Moscow tell me, "This is not Italy. It won't happen here." or "We will manage to bring the situation under control". In one unforgettable passage you read:

           'Pestilence is in fact very common, but we find it hard to believe in a pestilence when it descends upon us. There have been as many plagues in the world as there have been wars, yet plagues and wars always find people equally

unprepared. Dr. Rieux was unprepared, as were the rest of the townspeople, and this is how one should understand the reluctance to believe. One should also understand that he was divided between anxiety and confidence. When war breaks out people say: it won't last, it is too stupid.' And war is certainly too stupid, but that does not prevent it from lasting.{page 30}

           In the novel, Camus describes how the greatest burden of the plague falls on the poor and how they organize protests against poverty, how some people attempt to defy the rules of quarantine and how people seek to make a profit from the crisis by selling stuff on the black market. In Moscow, the price of buckwheat in supermarkets has doubled and renting dachas has shot up by five times as people seek to flee to the countryside.

 

           The main character of the book, who is also the narrator, Dr Rieux, organizes special health teams to fight the plague where patients are isolated in special hospitals and people are urged to observe strict measures of hygiene such as wearing masks, washing hands and staying at home. Just as people are convinced the plague is over, it makes a come back. What defeats the plague are just ordinary people who feel that fighting the plague is the normal and natural thing for anyone to do. There is nothing 'heroic' or 'saintly' about this.

           This is a deeply philosophical novel where the characters are constantly asking themselves what is the nature of good and evil and why on earth should an innocent child die? When the plague is gradually defeated, most of the town forget the immensity of the tragedy. They don't look back. Only, those people who have lost loved ones are scarred by the plague and won't forget.

 

           Camus had a sense of humor. For example, when all the rats come out you read, 'Now they saw that there was something threatening in this phenomenon, the extent and origin of which was not clear to them. Only the asthmatic old Spaniard kept rubbing his hands and repeating, with senile delight: 'They're coming out, they're coming out!' And when you see Cottard feeling dismay and disappointment when hearing the plague is coming to an end there is something sad as well as amusing about this.

           But it is the poignant scenes where the worn out members of the health team, Dr Rieux and Tarrou take a break by going for a swim on the beach which haunt you. You can readily identify with the relief and special joy those characters experience.

 

           Camus writes not only about the suffering of life but the pleasant joys which make life worthwhile, such as friendship, going for a stroll, helping someone out or simply going for a swim. One of his characters state that most people are inclined to be good and just need the opportunity to show this. For example, the priest Paneloux joins the health teams despite previously giving a cruel sermon where he tells his congregation that the plague is punishment for their sins. On hearing the priest has joined them, Dr Rieux remarks, 'I'm glad ' said the doctor.'I'm glad to find out that he is better than his sermon'.

           'Everyone is like that', said Tarrou 'You just need to give them the opportunity'.

           It is a very generous notion. People behave better than their words! Those words may well be the voice of Camus himself who was a very non-judgmental person who liked to give people the benefit of the doubt.

           It is the ending of the novel which sounds so prophetically real and relevant.

           Camus writes:

           'In deed, as he listened to the cries of joy that arose above the town, Rieux recalled that the joy was under threat. He knew that this happy crowd was unaware of something that one can read in books, which is the plague bacillus never dies or vanishes entirely, that it can remain dormant for dozens of years in furniture or clothing, that it waits patiently in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, handkerchiefs and old papers, and that perhaps the day will come when for the instruction or misfortune of mankind, the plague will rouse its rats and send them to die in some well-contented city'.