The Plague

At the onset of the new year, Oran’s residents, initially hesitant to celebrate the decline in plague cases, gradually find hope that the plague appears to be “leaving as unaccountably as it had come” (131). Even in its final stretch, however, the plague takes more victims, notably Othon, who dies before he can act on his newfound resolve to join the sanitary squad, and Tarrou, who silently puts up his final fight in resisting the plague with a smile on his face. The morning after Tarrou’s demise, a deeply despondent Rieux learns of his wife’s death.

In February Oran reopens amid public celebrations orchestrated by local officials. With the city now permitting incoming and outgoing travel, individuals who were separated during the 10-month lockdown are overjoyed to see and embrace loved ones. Only Cottard retreats from local displays of glee; having prospered during quarantine, his past crime will now become subject to criminal investigation. Growing increasingly instable, he holds a shooting spree from his window prior to being violently apprehended and hauled away by the police.

Finally revealing himself as the chronicle’s mystery narrator, Rieux makes a house call to the elderly asthmatic gentleman, who comments on the joy in the streets, remarking that the people outside remain largely unchanged by the past year’s events.