“man against the elements”
”man against the captain”

In the face of devastation, its less about banding together to fight the elements/ forces of nature and more about fighting amongst ourselves. The structures designed to keep us in order, break down. The people trying to survive just the same as we are, become our enemies. The bubonic plague places all of these characters inside this house but, once they are together, the plague becomes less of a threat to them when compared to the threat they have become to each other.

we are a risk to ourselves. limit exposure. (witty, i know.)

also, take notice: none of the characters die from the plague. one could argue that their deaths were a result of their exposure to one another.