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Charles
Achille is a small, nervous man who enters a restaurant shortly after Roquentin and begins to hassle the waitress. When she serves him slowly and inattentively, Achille tries to make himself look more important by insisting that she call him “Monsieur Achille” and condescending to her, but she quickly takes offense and starts to ignore him even more. Achille grows more agitated, staring at both the waitress and Roquentin. Roquentin identifies with Achille, recognizing a loneliness that verges on madness in him. Achille only calms down when Doctor Rogé, a man who bears himself with the confidence and experience of someone who has a family and a well-regarded profession, enters and jokingly calls him “crazy.”
Achille Quotes in Nausea
The Nausea quotes below are all either spoken by Achille or refer to Achille. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 17: Shrove Tuesday
Quotes
Soft glow: people are in their houses, they have undoubtedly turned on the lights too. They read, they watch the sky from their window. For them it means something different. They have aged differently. They live in the midst of legacies, gifts, each piece of furniture holds a memory. Clocks, medallions, portraits, shells, paperweights, screens, shawls. They have closets full of bottles, stuffs, old clothes, newspapers; they have kept everything. The past is a landlord’s luxury.
Where shall I keep mine? You don’t put your past in your pocket; you have to have a house. I have only my body: a man entirely alone, with his lonely body, cannot indulge in memories; they pass through him. I shouldn’t complain: all I wanted was to be free.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Achille Quotes in Nausea
The Nausea quotes below are all either spoken by Achille or refer to Achille. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 17: Shrove Tuesday
Quotes
Soft glow: people are in their houses, they have undoubtedly turned on the lights too. They read, they watch the sky from their window. For them it means something different. They have aged differently. They live in the midst of legacies, gifts, each piece of furniture holds a memory. Clocks, medallions, portraits, shells, paperweights, screens, shawls. They have closets full of bottles, stuffs, old clothes, newspapers; they have kept everything. The past is a landlord’s luxury.
Where shall I keep mine? You don’t put your past in your pocket; you have to have a house. I have only my body: a man entirely alone, with his lonely body, cannot indulge in memories; they pass through him. I shouldn’t complain: all I wanted was to be free.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
