When does an epiphany occur in Roquentin in Nausea Jean-Paul Sartre in his novel Nausea presents the sudden spiritual awakening or epiphany of Antoine Roquentin This realization comes when he truly understands the nature of existence Through this moment Sartre expresses his existential idea that life has no fixed meaning and man must create his own Feeling of Nausea Roquentin s epiphany begins with his strange feelings toward objects He feels disgusted by simple things like a stone or paper He says The Nausea is not inside me I feel it out there in the wall This experience makes him realize that things simply exist without purpose His Nausea is not illness but a vision that exposes the meaningless heavy nature of being Revelation Under The Chestnut Tree The true epiphany occurs when Roquentin sits under a chestnut tree He suddenly feels the powerful presence of existence all around him