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"La Peste" en français |
Though it's been a couple months since I finished reading it, I still haven't
decided whether "The Plague" is a bit too on the nose – or the perfect book –
for this COVID-19 era. It tells a fictional tale of bubonic plague in a
coastal city, following the lives of various citizens as they look for meaning
amidst the suffering. Much of the human experience is on display: selfishness
and greed and denial, yes, but also empathy and care and even heroism found
pursuing a shared purpose. It's part philosophy, part psychology, and fully
profound.
A few of my favorite passages follow1.
On denial:
They went on doing business, arranged for journeys, and formed views. How should they have given a thought to anything like the plague, which rules out any future, cancels journeys, silences the exchange of views. They fancied themselves free, and no one will be free so long as there are pestilences. (37)
On stockpiling supplies:
He also noted that peppermint lozenges had vanished from the drugstores, because there was a popular belief that when sucking them you were proof against contagion. (114)
On essential workers:
The disorganization of the town's economic life threw a great number of persons out of work. Few of the workers thus made available were qualified for administrative posts, but the recruiting of men for the "rough work" became much easier. From now on, indeed, poverty showed itself a stronger stimulus than fear. (176)
On burials:
A municipal employee had an idea that greatly helped the harassed authorities; he advised them to employ the streetcar line running along the coastal road, which was now unused. So the interiors of streetcars and trailers were adapted to this new purpose, and a branch line was laid down to the crematorium, which thus became a terminus. During all the late summer and throughout the autumn there could daily be seen moving along the road skirting the cliffs above the sea a strange procession of passengerless streetcars swaying against the skyline. The residents in this area soon learned what was going on. And though the cliffs were patrolled day and night, little groups of people contrived to thread their way unseen between the rocks and would toss flowers into the open trailers as the cars went by. And in the warm darkness of the summer nights the cars could be heard clanking on their way, laden with flowers and corpses. (178)
On equality:
Thus, whereas plague by its impartial ministrations should have promoted equality among our townsfolk, it now had the opposite effect and, thanks to the habitual conflict of cupidities, exacerbated the sense of Injustice rankling in men's hearts. They were assured, of course, of the inerrable equality of death, but nobody wanted that kind of equality. (237)
Verdict: "The Plague" is a moving meditation on humanity and our values brought vividly to life by Stuart Gilbert's masterful translation. Highly
recommended.
1 Interesting to note how similar they are to some of our own experiences this past year. (back)
Thanks for the review! Clearly I have to read it again--read it when I was fresh out of college.
ReplyDeleteIt could definitely resonate differently today! The only other Camus novel I've read is "The Stranger," I think when I was still in college. I don't think I got much out of it at the time and wonder if I'd like it better now.
DeleteThe last quotation (on equality) struck me as questionable, with some outdated British locutions or just plain weirdness, e.g. "ministrations," "conflict of cupidities," "inerrable." So I did some research on translations of The Plague and found a lot of dissatisfaction with Stuart Gilbert's version (1948), ranging from annoyance to downright loathing. American readers seem to prefer Robin Buss's version (2001), which they say is truer to the original and also reads better in English. Some are waiting eagerly for the next major translation, by Laura Marris. You can order it now on Kindle but it won't be delivered until November.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I decided to start translating the original myself. Here is how I would render that quotation on equality, followed by the gold standard (Camus himself), with its punch line so short and sweet.
Whereas the plague, by its extremely impartial dealings, should have promoted a sense of equality among our fellow citizens, on the contrary, by also enriching the normal dealings of selfish opportunists, it sharpened the sense of injustice already piercing men’s hearts. There was always, of course, the perfect equality of death, but nobody wanted that.
Alors que la peste, par l’impartialité efficace qu’elle apportait dans son ministère, aurait dû renforcer l’égalité chez nos concitoyens, par le jeu normal des égoïsmes, au contraire, elle rendait plus aigu dans le cœur des hommes le sentiment de l’injustice. Il restait, bien entendu, l’égalité irréprochable de la mort, mais de celle-là, personne ne voulait.
Translating the whole book will be a big project! Sounds like fun though. I think it took me a couple dozen pages to wrap my head around Gilbert's somewhat flowery language but I didn't have any issues after that.
DeleteTranslations are definitely a tricky business. That's actually something I've wondered before: are there thoughts that it's impossible to have in English? Does language affect what we think, not just how we think it?