코로나 시대에『페스트』다시 읽기를 통한 소고-등장인물이 보여주는 인간 조건을 중심으로

Abstract

La Peste de Camus, published in 1947, shows situations similar to our current reality, as if the author predicted the Covid-19 pandemic. This is because the plague set up by Camus is a device that clearly shows the absurd reality that humans face like war or epidemic. We would like to look at the solution that Camus proposes in the era of the crisis by re-reading the Plague in particular through the human conditions shown by the protagonists. First, what we can find in the Plague is the similarity between the work and the situation of Covid-19. Then we paid attention to the blockade of the city which symbolizes the human condition as death from which no one can escape. Likewise, our study aimed to observe the protagonists facing the plague. Protagonists like Rieux and Grand do their best even when the city is closed and the authorities and citizens are in confusion. Tarrou organizes a volunteer team for the health facility that gives hope to a city devastated by fear. Moreover, Rambert, who wanted to escape the city, chooses to stay there in solidarity with them. They are different protagonists but they can all be considered as one protagonist fighting the plague. Rieux does not give in to the plague and rebels like Sisyphus. He shows the human condition of sincerity by doing his best in his profession as a doctor. Camus calls life a plague. Faced with the absurdity of life, Camus refers to the human condition of sincerity that we have shown through Rieux. Just as sincerity makes other virtues shine, sympathy and solidarity are built on each of our sincerity. And yet if we can find a love that sustains us, we might overcome the peste. This can be evaluated as a naive moralist solution, but this is the reason why we re-read Camus in the face of the absurdity of life, and the hope that the Pestee gives us.