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Illustrated portrait of The Self-Taught Man

A character in Nausea

The Self-Taught Man

A Bouville library regular whose faith in humanism offers Roquentin an earnest but compromised counterargument.

What they want in The novel’s account

To educate himself completely, belong to a moral idea of humanity, and gain the recognition and contact he lacks in ordinary social life.

The book

Cover of Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
NauseaJean-Paul Sartre, 1938

Existence itself becomes physically disturbing to a solitary writer in a French town.

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At a glance

Habit
Reads library books alphabetically
Belief
Humanism and progress
Conflict
Expelled from the library

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

The Self-Taught Man reads the library alphabetically as part of an enormous program of self-education. His optimism about humanity appears generous beside Roquentin’s disgust, but it also relies on broad abstractions.

His removal from the library after sexual contact with a schoolboy creates a sharp contradiction between declared universal love and respect for an actual vulnerable person.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Earnest library regularHe appears diligent and socially awkward.
  • Modest 1930s suitHis clothing is respectable but unremarkable.
  • Open optimistic expressionFaith in progress is sincere.
  • Underlying uneaseThe portrait does not turn him into a harmless mascot.
  • Close engraved bustNo books, library, or child appears.
  • Muted olive accentThe color supports his earnestness.
What happens to The Self-Taught ManHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

A librarian catches the Self-Taught Man making sexual contact with a schoolboy, assaults him, and expels him. The event exposes a serious contradiction beneath his abstract humanism.

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