Loneliness vs. Solitude

In ninth grade we read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter over the summer, and this year we read One Hundred Years of Solitude over the summer; so then what’s the difference between loneliness and solitude?

Apparently, solitude refers to “a state of being alone without being lonely.”  According to one article, “We cannot grow at a soul level without solitude. The soul cannot surface if we fail to distance ourselves from the noise of the world.”  (The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Tereza, anyone?)  Yet loneliness is different; loneliness is “a negative state of mind marked by feelings of isolation.”  So you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely.  On the other hand, solitude is positive.

So a century of solitude doesn’t necessarily mean a century of loneliness…it refers to physical, not emotional, isolation.

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/10/20/the-gift-of-spending-time-alone-the-difference-between-loneliness-solitude/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200307/what-is-solitude

http://davidjoragui.com/environment/solitude-vs-loneliness/