Nausea

by

Jean-Paul Sartre

Nausea: Chapter 10: 3.00 p.m. Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Roquentin half-heartedly returns to his research. Noticing the Self-Taught Man admiringly watching him write, Roquentin looks at the books the Self-Taught Man is reading and realizes that he’s working his way through the entire library in alphabetical order. Roquentin is impressed with the Self-Taught Man’s resolve. He imagines the day the Self-Taught Man began his undertaking, as well as the day when it will end, picturing the Self-Taught Man finishing his last book and asking himself, “Now what?”
As Roquentin’s own reason for living is losing its appeal, he starts to notice the Self-Taught Man’s own search for meaning. The Self-Taught Man is a foil to Roquentin in this regard. After all, Roquentin spent six years of his life pursuing meaning by travelling the world and walking through foreign streets, while the Self-Taught Man’s experience is entirely contained within the dusty Bouville reading room. A well-read man himself, Roquentin still seems skeptical of how effective the Self-Taught Man’s approach can be. The Self-Taught Man will eventually run out of books and outside opinions to consult, and his life will ultimately be meaningless again.
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