Albert Camus’ the Plague and the Philosophy of Suffering

In The Plague by Albert Camus , Dr. Rieux and Father Paneloux take an opposing view on the philosophy of suffering. Due to this, they find themselves in the midst of several heated discussions about faith and suffering.

Dr. Rieux is the narrator of the story. It wasn’t apparent at the start though because he made this fact very plain towards the end of the story. Oran is under siege by a mysterious plague. Its cause is unknown but it all started when the rats died in multitude usually by the thousands daily. Dr. Rieux all devotes his time and energy to attend to the needs of the sick in Oran. As he goes through the motions of his daily tasks he tries to grasp the meaning behind all the sufferings he witnessed.

Father Paneloux is a Jesuit priest who delivers a forceful sermon that is intended to sting and wake up the parishioners from their erring ways at the start of the plague. The sermon starts: “Calamity has come on you, my brethren, and, my brethren, you deserved it” (pg. 94). Paneloux says that the plague was God’s way to separate the good people from the bad. It was the harvest of the “wheat” for heaven and the “chaff” will be left behind and be meted punishment of terrible suffering.

Dr. Rieux comments on Father Paneloux sermon by saying:

“ Paneloux is a man of learning, a scholar. He hasn’t come in contact with death; that’s why he can speak with such assurance of the truth–with a capital T. But every country priest who visits his parishioners and has heard a man gasping for breath on his deathbed thinks as I do. He’d try to relieve human suffering before trying to point out its goodness .” Part 2, pg. 126

Dr. Rieux does not agree with Father Paneloux’s message on his first sermon. He believes that suffering is not God’s way of weeding out the good from the bad. He is more concerned with alleviating the suffering of the person instead of viewing it in the context of philosophy, extolling its virtues the way Father Paneloux does.

Their differences are further noticeable when they circumstances bring them together once again. During the plague, a local magistrate M. Othon’s son falls victim to the illness. The family is forcibly quarantine. Jacques, the son, becomes the test case for Dr. Castel’s newly discovered serum that is intended to counter the plague. Rieux, Paneloux, Tarrou, Castel and Grand watch as the serum is applied to the boy and wait. The boy twists in pain. As they watch they feel deeply affected. The serum unfortunately has no effect and the child dies.