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Raymond Rambert
A man who committed an unknown crime in the past and so lives in a constant state of paranoia and fear of arrest, though he also craves human contact. Dr. Rieux meets him when Cottard tries to kill himself, fearing external punishment. Cottard is the only citizen of Oran who welcomes the plague, as it reduces the rest of the population to his natural state of fear and loneliness, and distracts the authorities from potentially arresting him. Cottard also runs a profitable smuggling business during the epidemic. When the plague retreats he goes mad and is arrested for firing a gun at passersby in the street.
Cottard Quotes in The Plague
The The Plague quotes below are all either spoken by Cottard or refer to Cottard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 4
Quotes
“In short, this epidemic has done him proud. Of a lonely man who hated loneliness it has made an accomplice… He is happily at one with all around him, with their superstitions, their groundless panics, the susceptibilities of people whose nerves are always on the stretch; with their fixed idea of talking the least possible about plague and nevertheless talking of it all the time…”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Plague LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cottard Quotes in The Plague
The The Plague quotes below are all either spoken by Cottard or refer to Cottard. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 4
Quotes
“In short, this epidemic has done him proud. Of a lonely man who hated loneliness it has made an accomplice… He is happily at one with all around him, with their superstitions, their groundless panics, the susceptibilities of people whose nerves are always on the stretch; with their fixed idea of talking the least possible about plague and nevertheless talking of it all the time…”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
