Чума
Part I
Oran,ontheotherhand,appearstobeatownwithoutinklings,thatistosay,anentirelymoderntown.Asaresultitisnotnecessarytodescribeindetailhowpeoplehereloveoneanother.Menandwomeneitherconsumeeachotherrapidlyinwhatiscalledtheactoflove,orelseenterintoalong-lasting,sharedroutine.Oftenthereisnomiddlebetweenthesetwoextremes.That,too,isoriginal.InOran,aselsewhere,forwantoftimeandthought,peoplehavetoloveoneanotherwithoutknowingit.
Somethingmoredistinctiveaboutourtownishowdifficultitcanbetodiethere."Difficult"isnotactuallytherightword;itismoreaquestionofdiscomfort.Itisneverpleasantbeingill,buttherearetownsandcountrieswhichsupportyouinsicknessandwhereonecan,asitwere,letoneselfgo.Asickpersonneedstenderness,hequitenaturallylikestoleanonsomething.ButinOran,theextremeclimate,theamountofbusinessgoingon,theinsignificanceofthesurroundings,thespeedwithwhichnightfallsandthequalityofpleasure,alldemandgoodhealth.Asickpersonisverylonelyhere.Sojustthinkofonewhoisabouttodie,trappedbehindhundredsofwallssizzlingwithheat,whileatthesametimethereareallthosepeople,onthetelephoneorincafes,talkingofdrafts,ofbillsofladingandofdiscounts.Youwillunderstandwhatcouldbedisagreeableaboutdeath,evenamodernone,whenithappensinsuchadryplace.
Evensothismeagreinformationmaygiveasufficientideaofourtown.
