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Françoise is the owner of the Rendezvous des Cheminots, a bar and restaurant that Roquentin visits often. She and Roquentin are in a very casual, low-commitment sexual relationship. According to Roquentin, Françoise also takes many other lovers, needing to have “a man a day.” Their encounters are devoid of any romantic feelings to the point of being transactional and businesslike in tone, and throughout the novel, Roquentin seems to grow increasingly disgusted with the sex as his Nausea worsens. At one point, Roquentin is beset with vivid images of a garden full of grotesque beasts as he touches Françoise’s genitals. It is unclear whether Roquentin expresses his distaste internally or externally, but in either case, Françoise remains neutral and unflappable. At the end of the novel, Roquentin and Françoise part ways politely, and she tells him that he should reach out to her if he finds himself in Bouville again.
Françoise Quotes in Nausea
The Nausea quotes below are all either spoken by Françoise or refer to Françoise. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 16: 11.00 p.m. Quotes
I dined at the Rendezvous des Cheminots. The patronne was there and I had to kiss her, but it was mainly out of politeness. […] I played distractedly with her sex under the cover; then my arm went to sleep. […] I let my arm run along the woman’s thigh, and suddenly saw a small garden with low, wide trees on which immense hairy leaves were hanging. Ants were running everywhere, centipedes and ringworm. There were even more horrible animals: their bodies were made from a slice of toast, the kind you put under roast pigeons; they walked sideways with legs like a crab. The larger leaves were black with beasts. Behind the cactus and the Barbary fig trees, the Velleda of the public park pointed a finger at her sex. “This park smells of vomit,” I shouted.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Françoise Character Timeline in Nausea
The timeline below shows where the character Françoise appears in Nausea. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Tuesday, 30 January
...with one another, Roquentin reflects on how alone he is. He sometimes has sex with Françoise, a woman who runs the nearby Rendezvous des Cheminots, but their conversations are impersonal and...
(full context)
Chapter 8: 5.30
Roquentin goes to the Rendezvous des Cheminots to see Françoise, but when he arrives, a waitress named Madeleine tells him that she’s not there. Roquentin,...
(full context)
Chapter 16: 11.00 p.m.
Roquentin visits Françoise at the Rendezvous des Cheminots and kisses her through a feeling of disgust. As he...
(full context)
Chapter 33: One hour later
...Anny, imagining where they are now. Roquentin arrives at the Rendezvous des Cheminots and bids Françoise and Madeleine goodbye. Madeleine puts on Roquentin’s favorite record, and he reflects on the purity...
(full context)
