In times of epidemic and ordinary life: The world of old age in the writings of Albert Camus

What is it about?

In reaction to the absurdity of the world, Albert Camus hoped that revolt would not imprison human beings in passivity but would lead them to act in defence of freedom, justice and the relief of suffering. Camus thus aimed in his writings to set out ‘‘an ethic of understanding’’. His novel The Plague tells of an epidemic that strikes a city and decimates all generations. What was the place of the elderly in this catastrophe? The experience of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which mainly affected the elderly, prompted us to explore this issue, which, beyond the pandemic, raises questions about a society’s view of the elderly and about intergenerational relationships. It was then tempting to peruse the whole of Camus’s writings and to explore the way he viewed the elderly - he who rose up against an absurd world but was intent on resisting it, he who had Doctor Rieux, visiting his patients across the city, say that a world without love was like a dead world. Camus’ view of old people deserves to be pondered in today’s world

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