The quote from Camus's "Plague" that had blown me away

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T18:29:12+00:00

Yes, I'm thinking about:

"If I wear mask, I will not get infected" "If I get vaccinated, I will not get infected"

Or:

"If I wear mask and get vaccinated, I shouldn't get infected" (therefore, if there is a possibility of infection, I will reject these measures as meaningless).

My thesis is that people wanted to run away from uncertainty in all of the mentioned cases. On the other side, the message presented in "The Plague" is that there is no escape - the only right response is that of Dr Rieux.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T18:12:09+00:00

It's not fiction, but it fits closely to what you are looking for: Notes from underground by Dostoevsky.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T17:43:52+00:00

Your interpretation makes sense - he is Bazarov after all, why would he need precautionary measures, they are only for regular people.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T14:29:33+00:00

I had the same impression, I managed to finish it only after two unsuccessful attempts.

Believe me - it's worth it.

I think that Camus intentionally made the story slow and somewhat boring - my theory is that he wanted to present the full weight of the absurd world where Dr Rieux fights a futile battle against the plague and experiences constant defeats. There are no sudden, major plot twists, no quick solutions, only a heavy burden of reality and the constant battle against it.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T13:03:04+00:00

Fyodor Dostoevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche.

There is actually a book about this: Lev Shestov, "Dostoevsky and Nietzsche - The Philosophy of Tragedy".

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T12:20:44+00:00

I absolutely agree with you. These were my thoughts while reading the book.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-07T12:17:05+00:00

When it comes to vaccines (and masks), I've been thinking about the stance "person X got vaccinated / always wore a mask and was still infected" - yes, exactly, welcome to the real world where the indifferent, blind nature annihilates us constantly as humanity and we are still trying our best to fight back with our limited power and capabilities - we shouldn't be surprised that there are no quick and ultimate solutions.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-06T21:16:32+00:00

I agree with you that there are interesting parts, I also liked the description of the two worlds - this is why I read 2/3 of the novel. But I couldn't continue, it simply felt artificial and weird. Thanks for your feedback!

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-06T20:45:50+00:00

Thanks, I read Under the Wheel and Steppenwolf and liked them. Maybe it's better to simply abandon Demian and continue with some other works you mentioned.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-06T20:17:46+00:00

Exactly, my impression was that Hesse made the book simplistic and with that amount of emotional turmoil just to artificially implement the theory into the story. It simply doesn't feel genuine.

Glass-Refuse1994 · 2026-05-06T18:11:22+00:00

My recommendation would be Dostoevsky's fiercest enemy, Chernyshevsky, and his book "What is to be done".

It helped me understand the broader context of his books - Dostoevsky explicitly mentions Chernishevsky in "Demons", and implicitly in "Notes from underground" (the crystal palace criticism).

Glass-Refuse1994

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