Raymond Rambert is another of the characters on whose
character the plague has had a profound impact. He is a writer for a newspaper
in Paris and happens to be in Oran on assignment when the outbreak of the
plague beings. He is consequently trapped inside of Oran when the town is
quarantined. He believes because he has no attachment to the city, and
therefore he should be allowed to leave, despite the quarantine. He has left
his wife behind in Paris and is desperate to return to her; it is this
desperation that blinds him to his selfishness in his endeavors to escape the
town. He first goes to the Prefect’s office, explaining how his “presence in
Oran was purely accidental, he had no connection with the town and no reasons
for staying in it [therefore] he was surely entitled to leave” (84).
He
is unable to see the inherent selfishness in his actions: the whole town is in
quarantine he can’t be the only one there by chance, yet he expects an
exception to be made in his case. In his appeal to Dr. Rieux to write him a
certificate of health Dr. Reiux explains to him that “there are thousands of
people placed as [he] is in this town, and there can’t be any question of
allowing them to leave it” (86). Entire families have been separated as a
result of the quarantine, however Rambert is unable to gain perspective because
of his central focus of his own escape. He is persistent in his desperation:
appealing to every official in the town. His argument remaining “that he was a
stranger to [the] town and, that being so, his case deserved special consideration”
(106). He is always met, however, with a response adding that “a good number of
other people were in a like case, and this his position was not so exceptional
as he seemed to suppose” (106).
Despite being met with this response at every turn, he continues his
frantic search for a way out of the town. The fact that, despite receiving a
similar response from everyone whom he tries to evoke sympathy, he still
maintains that his position is exceptionally important illustrates how blinded
to reason as a result of his desperation he is. After exhausting all of his
legal methods of escape, he beings contacting smugglers. Cottard volunteers in
his quest for illegal transport out of the city, however, as Rambert is on the
brink of escape the two smugglers with whom Cottard put him in contact back out
of the deal. By their absence the smugglers, who typically brought lesser items
such as notes in and out of the town, illustrate their comprehension of the gravity
of the town’s situation: they understand that by smuggling one individual out
of the town they could possibly be risking catalyzing the spread of the plague
not just through surrounding areas, but because of its high level of contagion,
possibly the world. That Rambert cannot realize that not only would his escape
from the town be unfair to the families who have suffered separation as well,
but could possibly cause a worldwide epidemic is incredible. More incredible
still is that he could maintain the value he places on his escape while
continuing his acquaintance with Dr. Rieux, and in turn being exposed to news
of the devastation of the plague first hand as well as its brutality and ease
in spreading. His relationship with Dr. Rieux serves to foil his character: he
is desperate to fulfill his own selfish desires and escape the town to return
to his wife, while Dr. Rieux steadfastly battles a seemingly endless plague
while his wife’s condition worsens in a sanatorium outside of the city. Before
his transformation as a result of the plague, Rambert’s weakness of character
and morals is seen highlighted through the foil Dr. Rieux provides by his
strength and devotion to fighting the plague, despite his own personal
circumstances.
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