Abstract

RICO MORENO, Javier. Towards a History of Solitude. Hist. graf [online]. 2014, n.42, pp.35-63. ISSN 1405-0927.

This article is a preview of a larger study on the experience of solitude in the western culture. It explores the phenomenon and the solitude dialectics through various forms of expression (the myth, the ascetical and mystical practices, and the poetry), both in early Christianity and the middle Ages, and in modernity and the twentieth century. It approaches the study of the phenomenon through the convergence of different perspectives to integrate a history of solitude. From the distinction between objective aspects of the solitude (being alone), and subjective one (feeling alone), the historical meaning that solitude has had through history is exposed. Hence, a historical inquiry of solitude contributes, not only to expand the dimensions of cultural history, but also, in a more specific sense, to the integration of the history of emotions.

Keywords : history; solitude; fellowship; otherness.

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