Page "The Plague" Paragraph 48

Rieux is also aware that working for the common good demands sacrifice ; he cannot expect personal happiness.

This is a lesson that Rambert learns.

At first he insists that he does not belong in Oran, and his only thought is returning to the woman he loves in Paris.

He thinks only of his own personal happiness and the unfairness of the situation in which he has been placed but gradually comes to recognize his membership in a larger human community, which makes demands on him that he cannot ignore.

Ultimately he realizes he cannot face his lover if it is as a coward.