Literary notes about seclusion (AI summary)
Literature employs "seclusion" to evoke a state of physical or emotional withdrawal that can be both protective and oppressive. In some works the term is used to describe a chosen retreat that offers introspection and creativity, as in the quiet intensity of learning or meditation ([1], [2]), while in others it signifies an imposed isolation reflecting societal constraints or personal loss ([3], [4]). Authors also apply the notion of seclusion to highlight the tension between inner life and outer expectations, portraying characters who withdraw to gain solace or who are forced to seclude themselves as a result of circumstances beyond their control ([5], [6]). This multifaceted use underscores the complexity of solitude as both a sanctuary and a trap in the literary imagination.
- So the first year went by, in magnificent seclusion and activity of learning.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - Locking myself away from secretaries and visitors, I spent the next twenty-four hours in seclusion.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - And the impetuosity of his passion also moved our veiled heart-bride in the seclusion of her corner.
— from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore - But now we are overtaken by the outside world, our seclusion is lost for ever.
— from Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore - He thought it better, however, to withdraw from Paris, and live for a time a life of seclusion at his country-seat.
— from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay - As if it whispered to him of its fifty years of silence and seclusion, it shuts him up the closer.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens
