Albert Camus' Westphalian Vision of the Plague, Based on the Elements of Space and Time

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor of French Language Department and member of the Research Center for Language and Literature of Allameh Tabataba’i University

Abstract
Today, geographical criticism can be used as a tool for analyzing literary texts in an interdisciplinary field. Among literary texts, novels play an important role in giving spatiality to the narrative. As one of the most prominent French writers, Albert Camus created many works in which space and time play a key role in the unfolding of historical events. In fact, the form that the fictional world takes determines the fate of the narrator and the work itself. In this research, the aim is to examine how space and time are formed in the novel The Plague. For this purpose, a descriptive-analytical method will be used in the analysis of the data, and in particular, Bertrand Westphal's theory in the field of geographical criticism will be used. He considers three hypotheses for space: space and time, transgression and referentiality. Furthermore, the use of the three main axes of geographical criticism according to him, which include tangible space, perceived space and imaginative-imaginary space, allows us to analyze multiple aspects of spatial representation in the novel and understand its role in the construction of key themes. This research shows that space, as a fundamental element in the construction of meaning, is not a neutral place in the novel The Plague, but rather a place of encounter with new phenomena and becomes a full-fledged actor in history, where the fears, concerns and hopes of the city's inhabitants are shaped.

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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 April 2026

  • Receive Date 13 July 2025
  • Revise Date 01 November 2025
  • Accept Date 01 April 2026