Nausea - Jean-Paul Sartre

Summary

Nausea (La Nausée) is a philosophical novel by Jean-Paul Sartre, published in 1938. It is presented as the diary entries of Antoine Roquentin, a reclusive historian living in the fictional French town of Bouville. Roquentin is attempting to write a biography of an 18th-century adventurer, the Marquis de Rollebon, but finds himself increasingly plagued by a strange, debilitating sensation he calls "the Nausea."

This feeling is a profound realization of the sheer contingency and absurdity of existence. Everyday objects and people lose their conventional meaning and appear in their naked, superfluous being, overwhelming Roquentin with their lack of inherent purpose or necessity. As his perceptions shift, he grapples with the meaninglessness of his own life, the past, human relationships, and the very fabric of reality. The novel explores themes of existential dread, radical freedom, the burden of consciousness, and the struggle to create meaning in a world devoid of inherent value. Roquentin's journey culminates in a tentative resolution: though existence is absurd, meaning might be found in the conscious act of creation, particularly through art.

Book Sections

Section 1

Antoine Roquentin, a historian, has been living in Bouville for three years, attempting to write a biography of the Marquis de Rollebon. He begins keeping a diary to record a peculiar, unsettling feeling he has started to experience, which he calls "the Nausea." Initially, this sensation manifests as a subtle unease, a feeling of alienation from his own hand, a stone, or the glass of beer he holds. He struggles to pinpoint its exact nature, but it often accompanies a perception of objects as suddenly overwhelming and superfluous. His work on Rollebon also begins to falter, as he finds himself unable to believe in the objective truth of history or the fixed identity of his subject. He encounters an eccentric character at the local library, known as "the Autodidact."

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Antoine Roquentin	Reclusive historian, intellectual, introspective, melancholic, detached from conventional social interactions. He is keenly observant but increasingly plagued by an internal crisis that manifests as "the Nausea."	To complete his biography of the Marquis de Rollebon (though he increasingly questions its purpose). To understand and articulate the strange, unsettling sensation he experiences. To find meaning or escape from the perceived absurdity of existence.
The Autodidact	Self-taught man, socialist, humanist, fervent believer in human progress and knowledge. He meticulously reads every book in the library in alphabetical order, hoping to absorb all human knowledge.	To gain universal knowledge and self-improvement through systematic reading. To connect with others based on shared humanistic ideals. He seeks to find universal truths and build a coherent understanding of the world, contrasting sharply with Roquentin's disillusionment.
Marquis de Rollebon	An 18th-century French adventurer and diplomat, the subject of Roquentin's historical research. He is a historical figure whose "fixed" identity Roquentin increasingly doubts.	As a historical figure, his motivations are to achieve renown, exert influence, and navigate the political landscape of his time. For Roquentin, Rollebon represents the past and the constructed nature of historical narratives, challenging the very idea of a stable, consistent self over time.
Anny	Roquentin's former lover, mentioned briefly as someone who taught him "a thing or two." She represents a past connection and a potential return to a different way of being, though she doesn't appear in person yet.	Her motivations are not yet fully revealed, but her past relationship with Roquentin suggests a connection built on shared intellectual interests or a particular intensity of experience. She represents a bygone era in Roquentin's life, and her potential reappearance holds a certain enigmatic promise or threat to his current state.

Section 2

The Nausea intensifies, shifting from a mild discomfort to an overwhelming sense of the superfluousness of existence. Roquentin has a profound experience while looking at a chestnut tree root. He perceives the root not as an object with a specific function or name, but as a monstrous, formless, absurd mass of being, devoid of any inherent reason for existing. This realization extends to all objects around him – a pebble, a door handle, even his own body parts. They simply "are," without justification, contingent and "in-itself." This vision of brute, undifferentiated existence is terrifying and liberating at the same time, as it strips away all conventional meaning and order. He understands that existence precedes essence, and that objects do not have fixed natures beyond their sheer presence.

Section 3

Roquentin tries to escape his solitude and the Nausea by observing people in cafes and on the streets of Bouville. He becomes acutely aware of their self-deception, their belief in their own fixed identities and roles, and their comfortable illusions about the meaning of their lives. He observes the "respectable people" of Bouville, particularly on a Sunday afternoon walk, and sees them as trying to justify their existence through social conventions, ownership, and history. He feels a vast, unbridgeable gulf between his raw perception of existence and their carefully constructed realities. He recognizes their bad faith, their refusal to confront the contingency of their own being.

Section 4

Anny, Roquentin's former lover, arrives in Bouville after a long absence. Roquentin had hoped she might offer some solace or a connection to a more stable past. However, Anny has changed significantly. She has become cynical and disillusioned, having given up her youthful pursuit of "perfect moments" and "situations" which she once meticulously crafted. She now believes that "the past no longer exists" and that all forms of human experience are equally meaningless. Their reunion is sterile and disappointing; they can no longer connect. Anny confesses that she now experiences her own form of disillusionment, having exhausted her search for extraordinary experiences. She rejects Roquentin's attempts to rekindle their shared past, reinforcing his own sense of isolation and the irrelevance of history.

Section 5

Roquentin spends more time at the library, often observing the Autodidact. The Autodidact's unwavering faith in humanity and systematic pursuit of knowledge stands in stark contrast to Roquentin's despair. The Autodidact believes in human solidarity and the inherent goodness of people, advocating for universal love. During an interaction, the Autodidact makes an advance on a young boy in the library, leading to his public exposure and dismissal. Roquentin reflects on the Autodidact's misguided humanism, seeing it as another form of self-deception, a desperate attempt to find meaning in a collective abstraction rather than confronting individual existence.

Section 6

Roquentin decides to leave Bouville and abandon his biography of Rollebon. He sits in a café and hears a jazz song playing on a gramophone. The melody, for the first time, offers him a fleeting sense of transcendence. He realizes that the song, as a created object, has an essence that exists outside of time and contingency. It is a song, and its existence is justified by its creation, unlike the raw, superfluous existence of natural objects. This experience sparks a new idea: perhaps he can find meaning by creating something himself, a work of art, a novel, that would have its own necessary existence. This wouldn't erase the Nausea, but it might offer a way to endure it and give purpose to his own freedom. He concludes his diary with the possibility of writing a book that would reveal the truth about existence, a book that "must be beautiful and hard as steel" to justify its own creation.

Literary Genre

Existentialist Novel, Philosophical Novel, Diary Novel.

Author Facts

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, political activist, and literary critic. He was a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy, particularly known as a key proponent of existentialism. Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964 but famously declined it, stating that a writer should not allow himself to be transformed into an institution. His work explored themes of freedom, responsibility, bad faith, and the nature of consciousness. Beyond Nausea, his major works include Being and Nothingness (a foundational philosophical treatise), the plays No Exit and The Flies, and the novel The Age of Reason.

Moral and Curiosities

Moral/Message:

• Existence Precedes Essence: The core tenet of existentialism. Humans are born into existence without predetermined purpose or nature (essence). We are "condemned to be free" and must create our own meaning and values through our choices and actions.
• Radical Freedom and Responsibility: Because there is no inherent essence or divine plan, individuals are solely responsible for their choices and for defining themselves. This freedom is both a burden and an opportunity.
• The Absurdity of Existence: Life has no inherent meaning or purpose. Roquentin's Nausea stems from his realization of the brute, superfluous, and contingent nature of all things, including himself.
• Bad Faith (Mauvaise Foi): The self-deception of individuals who deny their radical freedom and responsibility by conforming to social roles, seeking fixed identities, or clinging to external justifications for their actions.
• The Potential for Creation: While existence is absurd, meaning can be created through conscious human endeavors, particularly art. By creating something that has its own necessary existence (like a novel), one might find a way to justify one's own being.

Curiosities:

• Original Title: Sartre initially titled the novel Melancholia, but his editor, Gaston Gallimard, suggested La Nausée (Nausea), which Sartre adopted.
• Autobiographical Elements: The novel draws heavily from Sartre's own experiences and philosophical development. He began writing it while teaching in Le Havre, a port city that inspired Bouville.
• Literary Debut: Nausea was Sartre's first published novel and is considered one of the most accessible introductions to existentialist philosophy, presenting complex ideas through a narrative rather than a philosophical treatise.
• Influence of Husserl and Heidegger: While distinctively Sartrean, the novel shows the influence of phenomenological philosophy (Edmund Husserl) in its focus on direct perception and the "things themselves," and existential philosophy (Martin Heidegger) in its exploration of being and Dasein.
• The Role of Music: The jazz song "Some of These Days" by Sophie Tucker plays a crucial symbolic role at the end of the novel, offering a glimmer of hope and a possible path for Roquentin's future.