Perspectives on the Common: The Input of Literature

In the COVID-19 context, journalists and columnists frequently refer to literary texts in order to demonstrate that what is happening under the current circumstances has already been described by writers of fiction. The idea is that literature opens a window to the real world, that, in imagination, we can find a representation of factual events. Various historical and contemporary works of fiction describe societies infected with all sorts of contagious diseases from the bubonic plague in London to AIDS in Africa. Most of these novels can be read as allegories; they demonstrate how people react to illness, social panic, and isolation. They confirm that, although times are changing, the impact of pandemics on individuals does not differ that much. All these works underline that communities can only be based on a humanist approach and solidarity. But they also describe individuals that do not always strive for the common good. The violence in some of the novels is illustrative; the norms and values of social groups become permeated when people get weak or invalid due to a spreading disease.