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Nausea
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Jean-Paul Sartre sits at a cafe with a cup of coffee and a notebook, a pipe in his mouth.
Jean-Paul Sartre French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, known as a founding figure of existentialism, in Paris.

Nausea

novel by Sartre
Also known as: ā€œLa NausĆ©eā€
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History

Nausea, first novel by Jean-Paul Sartre, published in French in 1938 as La NausĆ©e. It is considered Sartreā€™s fiction masterwork and is an important expression of existentialist philosophy.

Black-and-white photo of a suited man with glasses on a balcony; overlaid text reads ā€œWho was Jeanā€‘Paul Sartre?ā€ with a hazy cityscape in the background.
Nausea, Nothingness, and Existentialism: Meet Jean-Paul SartreAccording to this philosopher, ā€œMan is condemned to be free.ā€
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Nausea is written in the form of a diary that narrates the recurring feelings of revulsion that overcome Roquentin, a young historian, as he comes to realize the banality and emptiness of existence. As the attacks of nausea occur more frequently, Roquentin abandons his research and then finds and loses his few friends. In an indifferent world, without work, love, or friendship to sustain him, he must discover value and meaning within himself.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.