''The State of Siege'' (french: L'État de siège) is the fourth

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

Albert Camus, Obsedno stanje, SNG v Mariboru

Written in 1948, ''The State of Siege''—the original sense is closer to state of emergency—is a play in three acts presenting the arrival of

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, personified by a young opportunist, in sleepy Cadiz and the subsequent creation of a

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

regime through the manipulation of fear. In a piece written in 1948, in reply to criticisms from

Gabriel Marcel Gabriel Honoré Marcel (7 December 1889 – 8 October 1973) was a French philosopher, playwright, music critic and leading Christian existentialist. The author of over a dozen books and at least thirty plays, Marcel's work focused on the mode ...

, Camus defended his decision to set the play in Spain, and not in Eastern Europe, citing the ongoing oppression in Spain, France's collusion in it, and the Catholic Church's abandonment of Spanish Christians. "Why Spain" in Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. Trans. Justin O'Brien. New York, Vintage; 1960. The piece was first performed in October 1948, and was initially received poorly by critics and public, who had eagerly awaited the work, but expected a dramatisation of Camus's novel '' The Plague''. While the two share a common background, the treatments are entirely different in tone. Although Camus himself was pleased with the work, critics remained unimpressed. ''The State of Siege'' has remained almost constantly in print in French, and since 1958 in an English translation by Stuart Gilbert—in ''Caligula and Three Other Plays''—with a foreword by Camus.

References

External links

Article on Camus dealing with his plays
1948 plays Plays by Albert Camus 1951 books Books by Albert Camus Books about revolutions Books about totalitarianism Éditions Gallimard books {{1940s-play-stub