I read this in college 20 years ago, and understood it as an allegory of existentialism (which it is). I’ve been thinking A LOT about it the last few weeks. Worth a read, but not for the faint of heart.
Camus actively rejected labeling his work as “existentialism”. It only frequently gets lumped into that category because of his relationship/friendship with Sartre and de Beauvoir and because some of his work contains existentialist-like themes. He was more accepting of the term “absurdism” for his work. But his work never fully aligned with existentialist thought.
“The Plague” is typically read as an allegory of the French resistance to the Nazi invasion and occupation of France, and an analysis of the relationship that humans have with authoritarianism, fascism, and how we can either help or hurt each other in times of crisis. Camus was also a humanist and believed that people were more good than evil (which he comments on in “The Plague”).
Source: I got my university degree in Philosophy and Camus was my main subject of interest/study for a number of years (and continues to be even now).
this is just fascinating for me since I picked up The Stranger last week and am mesmerized by his writing style. The Plague is now next on my list. I don't want to compare him with others since he very much has a distinct & brilliant style (short crisp and far from pretentious - sentences are clear and appeal to uneducated riffraff like myself - think I have seen this also in Orwell and Hemingway). The feelings and emotions he raises in me are nevertheless similar to those I get when reading Kafka and Dostoevsky. Truly amazing being in this man's head. I only regret not having picked up his work sooner.
Well, fine, but. He gets lumped into existentialism whether he liked the term or not. And, yes, Nazis and the resistance. But there’s also Rieux’s struggle as an individual to confront the plague, ie the meaningless of existence and death, and define his existence.
In part, yes. Good books aren’t limited to a single interpretation though. How I read it, the plague is unexplained, an uncaring force without direction or animus, and can be interpreted as a symbol both for death itself as well as the consequent meaninglessness of life. The book not only treats how society and individuals react to this existential crisis, but also how an individual (Rieux, the protagonist) _should_ react. Faced with overwhelming despair, Rieux continues to treat his patients.
