Comment on the Instances of ‘Bad Faith’ as Represented in the Novel Nausea.

Answer

Comment on the instances of ‘bad faith’ as represented in the novel Nausea.

Or, what do you understand by bad faith”? Focus on the instances of bad faith in Nausea.

Fear and anguish in the face of an immeasurable existential burden leads individuals to seek an escape from the responsibility that comes with human freedom. In Sartre’s (1905-1980) philosophy, the tendency to present oneself as indifferent to one’s free existence is termed “bad faith’‘. One is in bad faith when one is not responding directly to one’s existence; rather, one has an artificial construct that mediates between him and reality. That is, one is guilty of regarding oneself not as a free person but as an object. Bad faith, however, has to be differentiated from falsehood, as Sartre makes a distinction between the two:

 Bad faith… has in appearance the structure of falsehood. Only what changes everything is the fact that in bad faith it is from myself that I am hiding the truth.

So bad faith is a kind of self-deception. Based on this definition, we shall attempt to point out and explain the instances of bad faith scattered across the novel Nausea. 

Monsieur Fasquelle’s Bad Faith: As Roquentin’s existential investigation of the world goes on, we can see numerous people who are in “bad faith.” Monsieur Fasquelle, the manager of Cafe Mably, is infected with “Bad faith”, as he seems to have defined himself by his profession:

 When his establishment empties, his head empties too.

He has forgotten that he has chosen the profession. It is a common trait among professionals to internalize certain fixed ways of looking at life. They are keen to perform social roles imposed upon them from outside without attempting to create their individual essences. They always look for a label to explain things. 

The bad faith of Doctor Roge and Achille: Doctor Roge is one such fellow. He dubs Monsieur Achille “an old crackpot.” Achille, too, is in “bad faith’, as he humbly accepts the label. In the Sartrean world, if you accept the label given by others, you are not exercising your freedom to create essence for yourself. Again, if you think that you are getting wiser because you are aging, you are in “bad faith. You are trying to hide the painful reality with a comforting facade. This is exactly what happens in the case of Doctor Roge. He is getting closer to death, and his body and mind are decaying. He looks in the mirror and pretends to feel that the laps on his face are signs of his wisdom and experience. Roquentin’s observation of Doctor Roge is a disturbingly fascinating expose of man’s attempt to take refuge in “bad faith.”

The bad faith of Self-Taught Man: People, like the Autodidact, will certainly not pay heed to any suggestion. A strange fellow who aims to read all the books of the Bouville library in alphabetical order is The Self-Taught Man. The Autodidact embraces ‘bad faith’ and attaches too much importance to certain essences. He tries to escape his existence with stuff of knowledge and dreams of adventure. He pretends that life is elsewhere, outside. He cannot create his own meaning – hence, he always refers to books or other people’s thoughts. 

Bad faith in Roquentin’s diary: Some other instances of ‘bad faith can be found in Roquentin’s diary. On one occasion, when a young couple enters a restaurant,  

One distinguished-looking gentleman … nods his head with a certain coquetry playing at feeling paternal.

Though he is old, he pretends “that with his dark complexion and slim figure, he is still attractive.” 

Bad Faith of the Young Couple:  The young couple, too, is in ‘bad faith. They assume an air of innocence, even though both of them are aware of their sexual interests in each other. They are going to sleep together. They know it. But as they are young, chaste, and decent, as each wants to keep his self-respect and that of the other, and as love is a great poetic thing which mustn’t be shocked, they go several times a week to dances and restaurants, to present the spectacle of their ritualistic, mechanical dances. 

Through the above instances of ‘bad faith,’ we can understand how people deny their freedom and are reluctant to accept existential responsibility. For Sartre, one must accept that one is free and responsible for one’s actions. If we say we have acted under someone’s advice, we are responsible for choosing that advisor. So, in order to become an authentic individual, one must refrain from bad faith.