---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the case of the solitary, his…"
description: "\"“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary cause a disordered love ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg"
---

#  In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it…

![“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary cause a disordered love of the crowd, which so far overruled every other feeling that, not being able to win, when he goes out, the admiration of his hall-porter, of the…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg)

> ““In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary cause a disordered love of the crowd, which so far overruled every other feeling that, not being able to win, when he goes out, the admiration of his hall-porter, of the passers-by, of the cabman whom he hails, he prefers not to be seen by them at all, and with that object abandons every activity that would oblige him to go out of doors.””

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The solitary avoids social interaction because his deep, unhealthy desire for approval from strangers drives him to withdraw completely, even to the point of isolation.

**In simple terms:** He shuns crowds due to a distorted need for admiration.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and address unhealthy approval seeking.

Themes

loneliness social anxiety approval seeking withdrawal

Mood

reflective somber introspective

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- workplace dynamics
- public speaking
- mental health therapy

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology self-esteem

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your need for external validation?
- How can you find self-worth without others' approval?

A Different Perspective

Avoiding crowds may protect from rejection but deepens isolation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Disordered Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disordered-love-2890795/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Lost time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-time/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proust/) [Seclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seclusion/) [Seclusion Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seclusion-absolute-3362105/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Solitary Seclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary-seclusion-2873055/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/)

## Related quotes

> [Regardless of communication between man and man, speech is a necessary condition for the thinking of the individual in solitary seclusion. In appearance, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-wilhelm-von-steuben/regardless-of-communication-between-man-and-man-speech-is-a-necessary/)

[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-wilhelm-von-steuben/)

> [Disordered love always leads to misery and breakdown. The only way to 'reorder' our loves is to love God supremely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/disordered-love-always-leads-to-misery-and-breakdown-the-only-way-to/)

[Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/)

> [In the last volume of In Search of Lost Time, Proust compares himself to Scheherazade: he says he has finally understood the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/in-the-last-volume-of-in-search-of-lost-time-proust-compares-himself/)

[Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/)

> [Proust's 'In Search of Lost Time,' especially 'Time Regained,' made me think differently about what the novel is and can do. Then I forgot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/proust-s-in-search-of-lost-time-especially-time-regained-made-me/)

[Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/)

> [By itself, an ordinary snapshot is no less banal than the petite madeleine in Proust's In Search of Lost Time... but as goad to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lesy/by-itself-an-ordinary-snapshot-is-no-less-banal-than-the-petite/)

[Michael Lesy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lesy/)

> [“In the literary machine that Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time” constitutes, we are struck by the fact that all the parts are produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/in-the-literary-machine-that-proust-s-in-search-of-lost-time/)

[Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/)

> [Proust writes, he remembers, physically. He depends on his body to give him the information that will bring him to the past. His book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/proust-writes-he-remembers-physically-he-depends-on-his-body-to-give/)

[Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/)

> [The idea of some kind of objectively constant, universal literary value is seductive. It feels real. It feels like a stone cold fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/the-idea-of-some-kind-of-objectively-constant-universal-literary/)

[Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/)

> [How about Proust's In Search of Lost Time?" Tamaru asked. "If you've never read it this would be a good opportunity to read the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/how-about-proust-s-in-search-of-lost-time-tamaru-asked-if-you-ve/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinancy to implore an inclement and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-have-friends-wherever-there-are-companies-of-trees-wounded-but-not/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Anzi, da un punto di vista puramente realistico, i paesi che noi desideriamo tengono in ogni istante assai più posto nella nostra esistenza vera,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/anzi-da-un-punto-di-vista-puramente-realistico-i-paesi-che-noi/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“One felt that in her renunciation of life she had deliberately abandoned those places in which she might at least have been able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/one-felt-that-in-her-renunciation-of-life-she-had-deliberately/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“A real person, profoundly as we may sympathize with him, is in a great measure perceptible only through our senses, that is to say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-real-person-profoundly-as-we-may-sympathize-with-him-is-in-a-great/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Proust's life changed due to a very large inheritance he received (in today's terms, a principal of about $6 million, with a monthly income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/proust-s-life-changed-due-to-a-very-large-inheritance-he-received-in/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“You're as strong as the Pont Neuf. You'll live to bury us all!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/you-re-as-strong-as-the-pont-neuf-you-ll-live-to-bury-us-all/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

## More by Marcel Proust

> [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

[Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

[Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/)

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary cause a disordered love of the crowd, which so far overruled every other feeling that, not being able to win, when he goes out, the admiration of his hall-porter, of the passers-by, of the cabman whom he hails, he prefers not to be seen by them at all, and with that object abandons every activity that would oblige him to go out of doors.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marcel Proust"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7af/marcel-proust-114_life_in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusio_367743.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has…” — Marcel Proust",
                "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": "Marcel Proust",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“In the case of the solitary,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
