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The Plague Part 2, Chapter 5 Summary

  • Speaking of people who are trying to escape, how’s old Rambert doing?
  • He’s been pulling strings and making phone calls and chatting up all the right people – but to no avail. Turns out the word "exception" has no meaning during plagues. Rough.
  • Finally – a glimmer of hope! One official asks Rambert to fill out a series of forms, for "contingencies."
  • Oops – turns out the "contingency" they have in mind is Rambert maybe dying of the plague.
  • Basically, Raymond just lurks about at the railroad station (though there are no trains) with other people who are…also…lurking about.
  • He spends much of his time thinking of his "wife" in Paris.