Introduction
Jean-Paul Sartre's "Nausea" is a groundbreaking novel that delves deep into the human psyche, exploring the fundamental questions of existence and meaning. Published in 1938, this philosophical fiction work introduces readers to Antoine Roquentin, a 30-year-old historian grappling with an existential crisis in the fictional French town of Bouville. Through Antoine's eyes, we experience the overwhelming sense of meaninglessness that can pervade everyday life, and witness his struggle to find purpose in a world that seems inherently absurd.
As we follow Antoine's journey, we're introduced to the core ideas of existentialism, a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual freedom, personal responsibility, and the creation of meaning in an apparently meaningless universe. Sartre, one of the leading figures of existentialism, uses Antoine's experiences to illustrate these complex concepts in a relatable and visceral way.
Antoine's Diary: The Beginning of Nausea
The novel opens with a fictional editor's note, informing us that we're about to read the unaltered diary of Antoine Roquentin, a Parisian historian. The diary entries date back to 1932 when Antoine settled in Bouville to complete his research on the Marquis de Rollebon, a historical figure of his own invention.
Antoine begins his diary because he's experiencing unsettling changes in his perceptions and feelings. He describes his solitary life in Bouville, painting a picture of a man adrift in a world that increasingly feels alien to him. His days are spent in the local library, researching his subject, interspersed with walks, visits to cafés and bars, and casual sexual encounters.
As Antoine goes about his routine, he starts noticing odd changes within himself. He experiences moments of inexplicable anxiety and revulsion towards his surroundings. His research subject, once fascinating, now bores him intensely. Even looking in the mirror becomes a challenge. Most disturbingly, he begins to feel a strange sense of dread emanating from physical objects around him. A simple pebble on the beach can trigger a wave of nausea.
One particular day, Antoine visits a café hoping to see Françoise, the owner and his current casual affair. Upon learning she's out of town, he's seized by a terrible feeling he describes as nausea. Even attempts to distract himself with a game of cards and a movie fail to shake off this unsettling sensation.
These early diary entries set the stage for Antoine's deepening existential crisis. The nausea he experiences is more than just physical discomfort; it's a visceral reaction to the realization of life's inherent meaninglessness. Sartre uses Antoine's growing alienation from the world around him to introduce key existentialist themes that will be explored throughout the novel.
The Self-Taught Man's Secret
Despite the nausea that plagues him, Antoine continues to work on his book about the Marquis de Rollebon. However, progress is slow, and he finds himself increasingly frustrated by the elusive motivations of his subject.
During one of his wanderings around the town square, Antoine becomes transfixed by a statue, fascinated by the poise and power of the man depicted. His reverie is interrupted by the Self-Taught Man, an acquaintance from the library who taps him on the shoulder.
In their ensuing conversation, Antoine asks the Self-Taught Man about his current reading material. With an inexplicable sense of shame, the man reveals he's reading two books: one by Larbalétrier and another by Lastex. Initially puzzled by the seemingly random choices and the man's embarrassment, Antoine later has a revelation: the Self-Taught Man is methodically reading through the entire library in alphabetical order!
This discovery sparks a newfound admiration in Antoine, who invites the Self-Taught Man back to his hotel. As they look through photographs from Antoine's travels, the conversation turns to the Self-Taught Man's plans after completing his ambitious reading project. He expresses a desire to go on a cruise, longing for a real adventure after living vicariously through books for so long. He then asks Antoine if he's ever had any adventures.
Reflecting on this question later that night, Antoine realizes that he hasn't truly experienced any adventures. Everything that has happened to him seems like random, uncontrollable happenstance. Only in hindsight can he twist some of these experiences into meaningful stories. This realization plunges Antoine into a deep depression about the arbitrariness and emptiness of life.
Antoine's thoughts then turn to his relationship with his ex-lover, Anny. He remembers her volatile moods and her attempts to chase "perfect moments" of romance. Antoine had struggled to open up to her, and he's unsure whether he ever truly loved her. These reflections are interrupted by a letter from Anny, informing him that she will be in Paris soon and requesting to meet.
The Self-Taught Man's systematic approach to reading and Anny's pursuit of perfect moments represent different attempts to create meaning in life. While Antoine is fascinated by these efforts, he struggles to understand or emulate them. He hasn't yet discovered how to create meaning for himself, a central tenet of existentialist philosophy.
Thoughts of Death
Seeking refuge from his tumultuous thoughts about Anny's letter, Antoine finds himself in a bar. His contemplations are interrupted by the arrival of a peculiar man, Monsieur Achille, who stares at Antoine before being driven away by another patron, the accomplished Dr. Rogé.
Antoine ponders the difference between these two men. He finds himself respecting Monsieur Achille more, admiring his nonconformity to societal expectations. Yet, he also feels a twinge of envy for Dr. Rogé's worldly success. However, as he observes the sickly-looking doctor, Antoine is struck by the realization that death awaits everyone, regardless of their achievements in life.
In the days that follow, Antoine's work on his book progresses more smoothly, providing him with a temporary sense of purpose and happiness. However, his newfound contentment is short-lived as thoughts of death's inevitability continue to haunt him.
One day at his favorite café, Antoine encounters a distressed waiter worried about the café owner, who lives upstairs and hasn't been seen all day. Mischievously, Antoine tells the waiter he heard choking sounds and a thud from upstairs before leaving for the library. Unable to concentrate on his work, Antoine returns to the café to learn the truth, only to find it deserted. The next morning, he discovers that the café owner had merely been sick with the flu.
Antoine's morbid fascination with death extends to his visits to the local museum. Once, he enjoyed admiring the portraits of Bouville's former high society. Now, he feels judged by the powerful, handsome men in the paintings. Compared to them, he feels he has no reason to be alive.
Overwhelmed by these dark thoughts, Antoine decides to stop working on his book, feeling that his words have lost all meaning. In a disturbing moment, he stabs his hand with a knife, watching the blood trickle onto the pages of his diary. The next day's entry consists of just two words: "Nothing. Existed."
This section of the novel delves deeper into Antoine's existential crisis as he grapples with the concept of mortality. The arbitrary nature of death and the fleeting nature of human achievements weigh heavily on him. His self-harm can be seen as a desperate attempt to feel something, anything, in the face of life's apparent meaninglessness.
A Profound Realization
As Antoine's meeting with Anny in Paris draws near, his restlessness intensifies. Four days before their scheduled reunion, he has a lunch date with the Self-Taught Man. During their meal, Antoine attempts to share his observations about the meaninglessness of life. The Self-Taught Man, however, accuses him of being a pessimist and shares his own experience as a prisoner of war. He explains how the camaraderie among prisoners helped him develop a deep appreciation for humanity.
Antoine finds the Self-Taught Man's humanism "naive and barbaric," arguing that the man doesn't truly love others, but rather the abstract idea of people in general. Their philosophical clash escalates until Antoine is overcome by nausea and abruptly leaves the restaurant, drawing stares from other patrons.
As he wanders around Bouville, Antoine becomes fixated on the meaninglessness of words. He realizes that things have names like "bus" and "seat," but these are merely arbitrary labels. In reality, things simply exist or do not exist.
Finally, Antoine seems to have a moment of revelation, though the nature of his insight remains unclear. The following day, he records his realization in his diary. He believes that the nausea isn't something external to him – it is him. It's an integral part of his being.
This realization leads Antoine to a profound understanding of existence: Everything comes into being without reason, continues to exist because it doesn't know any better, and ceases to exist at random. With this epiphany, Antoine feels he has grasped all there is to understand about life.
Driven by this newfound understanding, Antoine decides to leave Bouville for good and move to Paris. As he waits at the train station, he experiences a long-awaited sense of adventure.
Antoine's debate with the Self-Taught Man highlights the contrast between humanism and existentialism. While the Self-Taught Man finds meaning in human connections and shared experiences, Antoine sees this as a naive attempt to ignore the fundamental absurdity of existence. His realization about the nature of nausea marks a turning point in his existential journey. By recognizing that the nausea is part of him, he begins to accept the absurdity of existence rather than fighting against it.
The Existentialist Promise
Upon arriving in Paris, Antoine visits Anny in her hotel room. He's taken aback by how much she's aged, but this observation also makes him realize that he has truly loved her all along. However, Anny has no intention of rekindling their romance. She tells Antoine that while she once loved him passionately, those feelings are now in the past.
Anny reveals that she's currently dating an older Englishman who's taking her on a world tour, staying in luxurious hotels. She's abandoned her acting career to become a kept woman and no longer pursues the "perfect moments" she once sought. When Antoine shares his depressing theory of existence, Anny dismisses him as "selfish," accusing him of wanting the universe to care about him and his work while failing to care about others.
As their meeting comes to an end, Antoine attempts a passionate embrace, but Anny refuses to reciprocate. She tells him he's learned to care for her too late, then shuts the door on him and their expired love.
Returning to Bouville to collect his belongings, Antoine realizes that all his reasons for existing – Anny, his book, his past travels – are now gone. This realization leaves him feeling completely free.
At the library, where he goes to return his books, Antoine encounters the Self-Taught Man engaged in a conversation with a Boy Scout. The Self-Taught Man appears nervous, and suddenly begins stroking the boy's palm. The librarian catches this inappropriate behavior and bans the Self-Taught Man from the library, effectively ending his quest to read everything in it.
Antoine's final stop in Bouville is at the train station café, where he bids farewell to the patrons, including his lover Françoise and the waitress, Madeleine. He requests that Madeleine play his favorite old jazz record. As he listens to the music, Antoine has an epiphany: the musicians have created a work that transcends their existence. This realization sparks an idea in Antoine – he could write a novel to make sense of his life.
As he heads to the train station, Antoine feels on the cusp of a new beginning. He imagines looking back at this moment as the start of his book. He leaves Bouville filled with resolve, a sense of possibility, and a glimmer of hope.
This final section of the novel marks a significant turning point for Antoine. His meeting with Anny forces him to confront the consequences of his existential crisis and his failure to engage meaningfully with others. The incident with the Self-Taught Man serves as a cautionary tale about misdirected freedom and the importance of ethical behavior.
Antoine's decision to write a novel represents his first step towards embracing the core tenet of existentialism – the idea that individuals must create their own meaning in a meaningless world. This mirrors Sartre's own journey as a writer and philosopher, suggesting that art and creative expression can be powerful tools for grappling with existential questions.
Final Thoughts: The Existentialist Journey
"Nausea" is more than just a story about a man's existential crisis; it's a profound exploration of the human condition and the search for meaning in an apparently meaningless universe. Through Antoine Roquentin's journey, Sartre introduces readers to key existentialist concepts and grapples with fundamental questions about the nature of existence.
The novel's power lies in its ability to articulate the vague sense of unease and disconnection that many people experience but struggle to express. Antoine's nausea is a visceral manifestation of the existential angst that can arise when we confront the absurdity of life. His experiences of alienation, boredom, and a lack of purpose are likely to resonate with many readers, even decades after the book's publication.
Sartre uses Antoine's interactions with other characters to explore different approaches to finding meaning in life. The Self-Taught Man's systematic reading of the library represents an attempt to find purpose through knowledge and self-improvement. Anny's pursuit of "perfect moments" reflects a desire to create meaning through intense experiences. Antoine's own journey, from passive observer to aspiring novelist, illustrates the existentialist idea that we must actively create our own meaning.
The novel also touches on the theme of freedom, a central concept in existentialist philosophy. As Antoine sheds his attachments to his research, to Anny, and to his past, he experiences a profound sense of freedom. However, this freedom is initially paralyzing, highlighting the existentialist idea that with great freedom comes great responsibility. It's only when Antoine decides to write a novel that he begins to use his freedom constructively.
"Nausea" doesn't offer easy answers to the questions it raises. Instead, it encourages readers to confront the absurdity of existence and to consider how they might create meaning in their own lives. The novel's open-ended conclusion, with Antoine leaving Bouville full of resolve and hope, suggests that the existentialist journey is ongoing. There's no final destination, only a continuous process of choosing, acting, and creating meaning.
In many ways, "Nausea" can be seen as a precursor to Sartre's later philosophical works. The novel introduces, in narrative form, many of the ideas that Sartre would later develop more fully in his philosophical writings. Concepts like radical freedom, the absurdity of existence, and the need to create one's own essence through choices and actions are all present in "Nausea," albeit in a more accessible, literary form.
Despite its heavy themes, "Nausea" is not a pessimistic book. While it doesn't shy away from the difficulties and anxieties of human existence, it ultimately presents a message of empowerment. By accepting the lack of inherent meaning in the universe, we are freed to create our own purpose and values. Antoine's decision to write a novel at the end of the book symbolizes this potential for self-creation and meaning-making.
For modern readers, "Nausea" remains relevant and thought-provoking. In an age of information overload, social media, and constant distraction, the questions the novel raises about authenticity, purpose, and the nature of existence are perhaps more pertinent than ever. Antoine's struggle to find meaning in the banality of everyday life, his feelings of alienation and disconnection, and his search for genuine experiences all resonate with contemporary concerns.
Moreover, the novel's emphasis on individual responsibility and the importance of conscious choice speaks to our current cultural moment. In a world where external pressures and societal expectations often seem overwhelming, "Nausea" reminds us of our fundamental freedom to shape our own lives and create our own meaning.
In conclusion, "Nausea" is a powerful and enduring work of literature that continues to challenge and inspire readers. Through its vivid portrayal of one man's existential crisis, it invites us to examine our own lives, question our assumptions, and consider how we might live more authentically and purposefully. While the experience of reading "Nausea" can be unsettling, even nauseating at times, it ultimately offers a profound and potentially liberating perspective on the human condition. It reminds us that while existence may be absurd and meaningless, we have the power – and the responsibility – to create our own meaning and write our own stories.