Bottom Quote by Jean-Paul Sartre
“And I too wanted to be. That is all I wanted; and this is the last word. At the bottom of all these attempts which seemed without bounds, I find the same desire again: to drive existence out of me, to rid the passing moments of their fat, to twist them, dry them, purify myself, harden myself, to give back at last the sharp, precise sound of a saxophone note. That could even make an apologue: there was a poor man who got in the wrong world.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: Nausea, 1938
The narrator seeks to purge the meaningless flow of time, yearning for a pure, precise expression like a saxophone note, reflecting existential desire for authenticity.
In simple terms: He wants to strip away emptiness and find precise meaning.
Key Takeaway
Pursue authentic, precise expression.
Themes
existentialism
authenticity
purification
artistic expression
Mood
intense
reflective
Type
existential
literary
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- artistic creation
- self‑examination
Key Concepts
existential philosophy
literary analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “purifying” moments mean to you?
- Can art capture absolute truth?
A Different Perspective
Purity may be impossible in a chaotic world.
![“[Stéphane Mallarmé] theory of the hermetic is a mistake, but he can be only difficult to read when he has difficult things to say.” quote by Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/35f/jean-paul-sartre-220_difficult_st-phane-mallarm-theory-of-the-hermetic_20348.jpg)
