“I hate who steals my solitude, without really offer me in exchange company.”
Source: Factotum (1975), Ch. 17
Context: I got into bed, opened the bottle, worked the pillow into a hard knot behind my back, took a deep breath, and sat in the dark looking out of the window. It was the first time I had been alone for five days. I was a man who thrived on solitude; without it I was like another man without food or water. Each day without solitude weakened me. I took no pride in my solitude; but I was dependent on it. The darkness of the room was like sunlight to me. I took a drink of wine.
Source: In the Image of Orpheus: Rilke - A Soul History
“A bore is someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.”
“Solitude was corrupting me. I needed company and care.”
Source: Lolita
“Solitude desolates me; company oppresses me.”
Ibid.
The Book of Disquiet
Original: A solidão desola-me; a companhia oprime-me.
A mis soledades voy,
de mis soledades vengo,
porque para andar conmigo
me bastan mis pensamientos.
Act I, sc. iv. Translation from John Armstrong Crow An Anthology of Spanish Poetry (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State Univ. Press, 1979) p. 107.
La Dorotea (1632)
“Solitude: a sweet absence of looks.”
