Here at the end we find a bit of literary license, for the abatement of the plague is depicted by Defoe as a swift and decisive stroke from heaven, “the immediate finger of God.” Suddenly the plague abates, and one week, on a day (a Thursday!) that is distinguished with such specificity that it is almost like reentering historical time after the nightmare plague, the bills of mortality show a precipitous drop in deaths from the disease. Physicians marvel that their sick patients appear to be recovering; strangers greet each other in the streets with expressions of amazement and gratitude to God; and the city rejoices.
Defoe would like to end his account on a positive note, so he brings it to a close without going into the “unpleasing work,” as he puts it, of detailing the return to vice and immorality of the city, its lack of thankfulness for the reprieve that has been granted them. He has clearly made of the plague a morality tale, but here, as throughout the work, he chooses only to report on what he has seen and to allow readers to draw their own conclusions from the account.
So this ends the reading of A Journal of the Plague Year. While it’s been a long and harrowing journey, if you’ve come this far you’ve clearly formed some impressions of the work as a whole and, possibly, its relationship to the concerns of our time. In that spirit, I’ve appended a postscript representing some of my own thoughts. If you’re interested, I invite you to “stay tuned” for one more episode. Thank you very much for your time and attention these past few months!
Credits:
Podcast produced by Sam Brelsfoard.
Music from Funeral Sentences of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), performed by the Choir of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, Timothy Brown conducting. Used by permission.
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© 2020 Mark Cummings