Before the onset of his nausea, Roquentin had been working on a biography of the Marquis de Rollebon, an 18th-century diplomat. He believed that by reconstructing the past, he could give it order and meaning. However, as his condition worsens, Roquentin realizes that the past does not exist. Only the present moment exists—a sticky, viscous present that refuses to be rationalized. He eventually abandons his work because he realizes that trying to pin down the truth of a dead man is an impossible task. The past is a story we tell ourselves, but the present is a chaotic mess of being.
By the end of the novel, Roquentin gives up on his history book. He hears a jazz song ("Some of These Days") and realizes that while existence is messy and "nauseating," art is "necessary." Art possesses a mathematical, clean precision that transcends the "ooze" of reality. He decides to write a novel, hoping that by creating something, he can justify his own existence. Why It Still Matters nausea by sartre
This is the mature existentialist position: We cannot escape absurdity, but we can choose how to respond to it. We can create values, write novels, love people—not because the universe demands it, but because we freely choose to. Before the onset of his nausea, Roquentin had
You need a fast-paced story with clear goals and resolutions. You prefer characters who are likable or actively heroic. You find philosophical abstraction tedious. You are currently feeling depressed or anxious about your own life's purpose. Only the present moment exists—a sticky, viscous present