Solitude – different perspectives
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the concept of solitude, of being alone, has taken a back seat to the constant “social networking” via cell phone. Skype, Facebook, Twitter to name a few of the currently popular mediums. However this was not always the case. During the 17th century, John Milton, the author of the epic Paradise Lost, and his fellow poets recognized solitude as a time to reflect on societal and moral ideals. Solitude was seen as something to be treasured and cultivated by many writers of this period. The Oxford English Dictionary defines solitude as “The state of being or living alone; loneliness, seclusion, solitariness (of persons)” and as “A complete absence or lack” (OED). Adam and Eve experience solitude, but each views it with a different lens. When Adam sees the animals around him with partners, he senses “a lack,” in his solitude; he feels something is missing; he feels alone; and he seeks a companion “fit to participate / All rational delight” (8.390-91) to fill his emptiness. However, Eve does not feel this lack or loneliness. For her, solitude is something she actively seeks, when she proposes that she and Adam work separately in the mornings. Adam believes this search for solitude will lead to Eve being “led a stray” by Satan,
In Book 8, when Raphael comes to educate Adam and Eve, Adam relates to Raphael his (Adam’s) conversation with God, and his loneliness, his solitude due to the lack of not having a companion. He tells Raphael “I found not what me thought I wanted still” (8.355) indicating he knew something was lacking in his life and he was feeling dissatisfied, nut he could not pin point it immediately. Adam, although he instinctively knows what name to give each animal, and when he has finished his task of naming all the animals he has authority over, feels an emptiness growing within him. He feels, even with everything that God has given to him, he is still profoundly lacking something. As...