Abstract:

In different periods, some writers made new comments on the antique classics mhytes by readapting them in accordance with the their period. In the XVIIth the french classic playwriters such as Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine took up again the antique myths treated by the antique writers. These playwriters readapted the antique myths in their works according to the conception of their period. In the XXth the french writers such as Jean Giraudoux, André Gide, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus interpreted again the antique mythes in their works by making evocations to the events occured in their epoch. Treating and displaying the antique mythes in the theater works is a well known fact, but it is an uncommon fact in the novels. The russian novelist Dostoïevsky, the czeche Franz Kafka, the american novelists Herman Melville and William Faulkner interpreted again some mythes under different aspects in their novels. This style of myth roman caused that the american critic Stock asked the following question: Is it possible to reconcile the symbolism and the naturalism, what is the principal and formal problem? The myth roman gives answer to the question : Do the realism and naturalism giving importance the exterior appearance of the matter and things and the symbolism giving importance to the the invisible aspect of the matter and things come together in the same plane? The novel of Albert Camus, The Plague (La Peste) containing both realist –naturalist and symbolist elements constitutes an typical exemple of this myth roman. In this novel, Camus relates how the epidemic disease pestilence not occured in reality according to the historical documents, but fabricated fictively by the writer, besieges the algerian city Oran and causes a chaotic situation to the inhabitants as the enemy army did, in a given date, this is to say, in1940’s and a given space. This pestilence event as epidemic disease evokes symbolically the occupation of France by the german nazi army, the badness problem of the humanity, the human metaphysical solitude in the universe, generally the wars and massacres which occurred in the history or which would be able to occur in the futur. In The Plague Albert Camus used the epidemic disease for multi purposes. This myth novel has evocative symboles. By composing his myth novel The Plague Camus has been influenced from The Theater and The Plague (le Théatre et la Peste), Antoine Artaud’s works. Artaud establishes the resemblance between the theater and the pestilence. Antoine Artaud says that the play displayed on scene like the pestilence case brings the goodness rather than the badness because showing the play on scene before the spectators causes to reveal the human characters , drop masks and exhibit the hypocrisy, vileness, lying, lowness, indolence of the human being. He shows that the characters with sublim sprite are clearly distiguished from the characters with low and vicious sprite in the theater scene. The characters with sublim sprite struggle heroically against their bad destiny by discovering their secret aptitudes. Another inspiration source influencing Camus to write The Plague (La Peste) is Moby Dick , Herman Melville’s work. Moby Dick is a myth novel symbolising the struggle against the badness in the universe. Camus describes the legendary and enthusiasming struggle of the inhabitants in Oran against the epidemic desease as Herman Melville exhibited the legendary struggle of the monomaniac captain Ahab against the whale breaking off his leg. The fact that Camus presents symbollically the epidemic desease pestilence has a value surrounding the past, the present and the futur in a spatio-temporal dimension. This pestilence symbole evokes especially the occupation of France and the western Europe by the german nazi army, generally all totalitarian and imperialist ocuupations. It also symbolises the tortures and massacres of french army in Algeria where Camus was born, during the Algeria Independence War. Another symbolic meaning of The Plague is to express the metaphysical solitude and the suffering of the human being in the universe. The communication interrruption of the algerian city Oran with the world during the pestilence contamination symbolises the closed world of the absurde. Camus being influenced from the existentialist philosophy of the danish philosopher Kierkegaard and the german philosopher Heidegger, enlarged the exxperience of failure in his absurde conception. The metaphysical solitude of the human being in the universe causes a psychological boredom. The human being becoming conscious of this psychological boredom arrives to the existence secret by revolting against the badness. In conclusion, Camus showed his absurde-revolte philosophy by the figure of the epidemic disease in his novel The Plague.

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