--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never had much need for…" description: "\"“I have never had much need for companionship, unless it was the companionship of someone I could call a friend. Certainly I have seldom wished the con..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg" --- # I have never had much need for companionship, unless it… ![“I have never had much need for companionship, unless it was the companionship of someone I could call a friend. Certainly I have seldom wished the conversation of strangers or the sight of strange faces. I believe rather that when I was alone I felt I had in some fashion lost my individuality; to…” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg) > ““I have never had much need for companionship, unless it was the companionship of someone I could call a friend. Certainly I have seldom wished the conversation of strangers or the sight of strange faces. I believe rather that when I was alone I felt I had in some fashion lost my individuality; to the thrush and the rabbit I had been not Severian, but Man. The many people who like to be utterly alone, and particularly to be utterly alone in a wilderness, do so, I believe, because they enjoy playing that part. But I wanted to be a particular person again, and so I sought the mirror of other persons, which would show me that I was not as they were.”” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels loss of self when isolated and seeks identity through connection with others. **In simple terms:** Loneliness erodes individuality; friendships restore it. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful relationships to regain self. Themes identity loneliness friendship Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - building friendships - group activities Key Concepts selfhood social mirror existential search Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance solitude and social connection? - What qualities define your true self? A Different Perspective Alone time can foster personal growth, not just loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Companionship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companionship/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Individuality Thrush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality-thrush-2102156/) [Lost Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-individuality-2102155/) [Need Companionship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-companionship-1468329/) ## Related quotes > [People left a lot of things behind when they went in the water. Their clothes, their stuff, their makeup, their fixed-up hair, their voices,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/people-left-a-lot-of-things-behind-when-they-went-in-the-water-their/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Old people don't need companionship. They need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/old-people-don-t-need-companionship-they-need-to-be-isolated-and/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I don't require sex for happiness - I need companionship. I need a partner I can depend on, that I can love and grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erykah-badu/i-don-t-require-sex-for-happiness-i-need-companionship-i-need-a/) [Erykah Badu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erykah-badu/) > [The need for devotion to something outside ourselves is even more profound than the need for companionship. If we are not to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-parmenter/the-need-for-devotion-to-something-outside-ourselves-is-even-more/) [Ross Parmenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-parmenter/) > [“Atoms at such low temperatures lost their individuality and physical properties, going through an identity crisis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meeks/atoms-at-such-low-temperatures-lost-their-individuality-and-physical/) [Christopher Meeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meeks/) > [“Sometimes you will need to be understood; what you never show to anyone will need companionship. And then you must come to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/sometimes-you-will-need-to-be-understood-what-you-never-show-to/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [When I need my wife or when I need companionship or someone to talk to, I need it, like, now. So my wife will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/when-i-need-my-wife-or-when-i-need-companionship-or-someone-to-talk/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [We all need someone to talk to, someone who listens, someone who understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/we-all-need-someone-to-talk-to-someone-who-listens-someone-who/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“The delight in the moment and the gay façade become an excuse for absolving the listener from the thought of the whole, whose claim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adorno/the-delight-in-the-moment-and-the-gay-fa-ade-become-an-excuse-for/) [Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adorno/) > [Technology has just been the major progression of the last 15 years - instant communication. That stuff has gone so global. That's what's interesting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/technology-has-just-been-the-major-progression-of-the-last-15-years/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) > [What's Minnie without Mickey, what's Tigger without Pooh, what's Patrick without Spongebob, what's me without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-rakes/what-s-minnie-without-mickey-what-s-tigger-without-pooh-what-s/) [Sierra Rakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-rakes/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/the-thing-that-counts-most-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-choosing/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [Deliver me from all evildoers that talk nothing but sickness and failure. Grant me the companionship of men who think success and men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/deliver-me-from-all-evildoers-that-talk-nothing-but-sickness-and/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [“Maybe some people were destined to be alone. But, I reminded myself, you're never alone if you read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-raisin/maybe-some-people-were-destined-to-be-alone-but-i-reminded-myself-you/) [Rebecca Raisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-raisin/) ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. A writer with only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/some-writers-say-they-cannot-write-in-front-of-a-window-many-say-they/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Sometimes driven aground by the photon storms, by the swirling of the galaxies, clockwise and counterclockwise, ticking with light down the dark sea-corridors lined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/sometimes-driven-aground-by-the-photon-storms-by-the-swirling-of-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. Some in truth hardly sleep, though some who sleep copiously swear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/whatever-we-may-say-all-of-us-suffer-from-disturbed-sleep-at-times/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“. . .Consciousness came and went. Consciousness went and came like the errant winds of spring, and I, who so often have had difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/consciousness-came-and-went-consciousness-went-and-came-like-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) [Explore all 160 Gene Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I have never had much need for companionship, unless it was the companionship of someone I could call a friend. Certainly I have seldom wished the conversation of strangers or the sight of strange faces. I believe rather that when I was alone I felt I had in some fashion lost my individuality; to the thrush and the rabbit I had been not Severian, but Man. The many people who like to be utterly alone, and particularly to be utterly alone in a wilderness, do so, I believe, because they enjoy playing that part. But I wanted to be a particular person again, and so I sought the mirror of other persons, which would show me that I was not as they were.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Wolfe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companionship-unless-it-was-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companionship-unless-it-was-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/gene-wolfe-2530_communication_i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companion_2619993.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never had much need for companionship, unless it was the companionship of someone I could call a…” — Gene Wolfe", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gene Wolfe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I have never had much need...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companionship-unless-it-was-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-have-never-had-much-need-for-companionship-unless-it-was-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```