The Autodidact is a fictional character from Jean-Paul Sartre's 1938 novel Nausea.[1] The Autodidact, who lives in Bouville near the protagonist Antoine Roquentin, passes his time by reading every book in the local library in alphabetical order. Self-instruction is of critical importance to him, and provides the explanation for his odd behaviour and continual self-delusion.
The name Autodidact comes from the noun Autodidactism, which is the act of self-directed learning about a subject or subjects in which one has had little to no formal education.