--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique…" description: "\"“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France with..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg" --- # In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen… ![“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France without a clock for one hundred and eleven days, monitored by scientists who wished to study the human body's natural rhythms in the absence of time…” quote by Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg) > ““In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France without a clock for one hundred and eleven days, monitored by scientists who wished to study the human body's natural rhythms in the absence of time cues. For a while, she settled into a pattern of thirty hours awake and twenty hours asleep. She described herself as being "psychologically completely out of phase, where I no longer know what my values are or what is my purpose in life." When she returned to society, her husband later noted, she seemed to have an emptiness inside her that she was unable to fully express. "While I was alone in my cave I was my own judge," she said. "You are your own most severe judge. You must never lie or all is lost. The strongest sentiment I brought out of the cave is that in my life I will never tolerate lying." A little more than a year later, Le Guen swallowed an overdose of barbiturates and lay down in her car in Paris, a suicide at age thirty-three.”” [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Isolation can strip away external cues, exposing inner truths and the harshness of self‑judgment, leading to existential crisis. **In simple terms:** Alone, we confront our deepest values and lies. Key Takeaway Beware of extreme isolation; seek connection. Themes psychology existentialism self‑assessment Mood reflective somber Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - Long‑term solitary work - space missions - personal retreats Key Concepts Isolation effects truthfulness mental health Questions to Reflect On - What truths might you discover in isolation? - How can we protect mental health in extreme conditions? A Different Perspective Extreme solitude may cause lasting psychological harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) [Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep/) [Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cave/) [Clock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clock/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Experiment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiment/) [Explorer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorer/) [Human body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-body/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Live alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-alone/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Overdose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overdose/) [Pattern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pattern/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose In Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-in-life/) [Rhythms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhythms/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientists/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/underground/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Volunteered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volunteered/) ## Related quotes > [Each story, novel, poem and play presents a vision of the world that illuminates the dark cave of life we stumble through. We can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/each-story-novel-poem-and-play-presents-a-vision-of-the-world-that/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Here we stand in the middle of this new world with our primitive brain, attuned to the simple cave life, with terrific forces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-szent-gyorgyi/here-we-stand-in-the-middle-of-this-new-world-with-our-primitive/) [Albert Szent-Gyorgyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-szent-gyorgyi/) > [I volunteered at Meals on Wheels, which is a place where you go and deliver healthy meals to people who are more homebound. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendall-jenner/i-volunteered-at-meals-on-wheels-which-is-a-place-where-you-go-and/) [Kendall Jenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendall-jenner/) > [Welcome to We Day! Since last year, WE have volunteered over 1.7 million hours of our time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/welcome-to-we-day-since-last-year-we-have-volunteered-over-1-7/) [Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/) > [I once volunteered to teach English as a second language, and I thought that I would have all these intense relationships with all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-white/i-once-volunteered-to-teach-english-as-a-second-language-and-i/) [Mike White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-white/) > [Yeah, I volunteered to support the troops, and get out there and show them that we care about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/yeah-i-volunteered-to-support-the-troops-and-get-out-there-and-show/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [“So who else volunteered?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/so-who-else-volunteered/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [And they asked me to take a polygraph as to the allegations and reports I'd made. I volunteered and I took the polygraph and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sibel-edmonds/and-they-asked-me-to-take-a-polygraph-as-to-the-allegations-and/) [Sibel Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sibel-edmonds/) > [“Life is a character-building opportunity that we all volunteered for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/life-is-a-character-building-opportunity-that-we-all-volunteered-for/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“If by ‘graciously volunteered,’ you mean ‘was threatened and coerced,’ then yes, I did,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/if-by-graciously-volunteered-you-mean-was-threatened-and-coerced-then/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [I volunteered at a homeless shelter in preparation for 'Being Flynn,' and when I'm walking along the Bowery, that's the first thing that comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-volunteered-at-a-homeless-shelter-in-preparation-for-being-flynn/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [I've always had this core belief in public service. Even before I became a citizen, I volunteered in the Army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregorio-sablan/i-ve-always-had-this-core-belief-in-public-service-even-before-i/) Gregorio Sablan > [There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess a crime or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-warren/there-is-no-requirement-that-police-stop-a-person-who-enters-a-police/) [Earl Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-warren/) > [I have been at CNN my entire career. When I first started, I raised my hand and volunteered for everything. It allowed me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-bash/i-have-been-at-cnn-my-entire-career-when-i-first-started-i-raised-my/) [Dana Bash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-bash/) > [I volunteered on a farming community in Israel for two years when I was a teenager. One of the jobs involved clearing out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-frost/i-volunteered-on-a-farming-community-in-israel-for-two-years-when-i/) [Nick Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-frost/) ## More by Michael Finkel > [I never do formal interviews. I don't use a tape recorder. I take notes but occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-never-do-formal-interviews-i-don-t-use-a-tape-recorder-i-take-notes/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“He has seen the bottomless nonsense of our world and has decided, like most of us, to simply try to tolerate it. He appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/he-has-seen-the-bottomless-nonsense-of-our-world-and-has-decided-like/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [America might be the land of second chances, but it ain't the land of third chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/america-might-be-the-land-of-second-chances-but-it-ain-t-the-land-of/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“the true solitary does not seek himself, but loses himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-true-solitary-does-not-seek-himself-but-loses-himself/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The American essayist William Deresiewicz wrote that “no real excellence, personal or social, artistic, philosophical, scientific, or moral, can arise without solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-american-essayist-william-deresiewicz-wrote-that-no-real/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“If you like solitude, you're never alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/if-you-like-solitude-you-re-never-alone/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The first great literary work about solitude, the Tao Te Ching, was written in ancient China, likely in the sixth century B.C., by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-first-great-literary-work-about-solitude-the-tao-te-ching-was/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [There have always been hermits: people who want to get away from other humans. Literally, some of the first extant books and poems found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/there-have-always-been-hermits-people-who-want-to-get-away-from-other/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-third-reich-by-william-shirer/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [I think many people have this sense that something about modern society - the screens, the noise, the traffic, the constant busyness - has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-think-many-people-have-this-sense-that-something-about-modern/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [I'd lied many times: to bolster my credentials, to elicit sympathy, to make myself appear less ordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/i-d-lied-many-times-to-bolster-my-credentials-to-elicit-sympathy-to/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“He never bothered listening to sports; the bored him, every one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/he-never-bothered-listening-to-sports-the-bored-him-every-one-of-them/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [Extraordinary things happen in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/extraordinary-things-happen-in-solitude/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“Japanese researchers at Chiba University found that a daily fifteen-minute walk in the woods caused significant decreases in cortisol, along with a modest drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/japanese-researchers-at-chiba-university-found-that-a-daily-fifteen-2/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [My fight-or-flight mechanism... had served me well in Gaza, in Afghanistan, and all the places I'd been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/my-fight-or-flight-mechanism-had-served-me-well-in-gaza-in/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) [Explore all 87 Michael Finkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) ## More Alone quotes > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [If your goal is to look different, you'll see results faster with strength training than with cardio alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kaiser/if-your-goal-is-to-look-different-you-ll-see-results-faster-with/) [Anna Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kaiser/) > [With my songs, the question is always, 'Can you pull it off live, alone on just an acoustic guitar?' That's the litmus test. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-colvin/with-my-songs-the-question-is-always-can-you-pull-it-off-live-alone/) [Shawn Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-colvin/) > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I am not alone in that I've had times of unemployment - unemployment is huge amongst disabled people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-jones/i-am-not-alone-in-that-i-ve-had-times-of-unemployment-unemployment-is/) [Rosie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-jones/) > [I never knew a heart could feel so cold so empty so broken until now , I don't know what to say I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-a-heart-could-feel-so-cold-so-empty-so-broken-until-now/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Real love is a permanently self-enlarging experience…A Journey With My Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luckybannu/real-love-is-a-permanently-self-enlarging-experience-a-journey-with/) Luckybannu > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [I'm used to being alone in a quiet, isolated environment - I'm kind of a low-energy, low-vibration, low-stamina person to begin with - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-cain/i-m-used-to-being-alone-in-a-quiet-isolated-environment-i-m-kind-of-a/) [Ethel Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-cain/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I have developed a nasty habit of losing to the guy who wins the tournament, and that alone makes you think what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-robertson/i-have-developed-a-nasty-habit-of-losing-to-the-guy-who-wins-the/) [Neil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-robertson/) > [As a child, I was this record collector/listener that would sit in a room and listen to the entire Beatles catalog alone, over and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/as-a-child-i-was-this-record-collector-listener-that-would-sit-in-a/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [How one hates to think of oneself as alone. How one avoids it. It seems to imply rejection or unpopularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/how-one-hates-to-think-of-oneself-as-alone-how-one-avoids-it-it-seems/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) [Browse all 3,082 Alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an underground cavern in southern France without a clock for one hundred and eleven days, monitored by scientists who wished to study the human body's natural rhythms in the absence of time cues. For a while, she settled into a pattern of thirty hours awake and twenty hours asleep. She described herself as being \"psychologically completely out of phase, where I no longer know what my values are or what is my purpose in life.\" When she returned to society, her husband later noted, she seemed to have an emptiness inside her that she was unable to fully express. \"While I was alone in my cave I was my own judge,\" she said. \"You are your own most severe judge. You must never lie or all is lost. The strongest sentiment I brought out of the cave is that in my life I will never tolerate lying.\" A little more than a year later, Le Guen swallowed an overdose of barbiturates and lay down in her car in Paris, a suicide at age thirty-three.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Finkel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e4/michael-finkel-7714_alone_in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique_977883.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 1988, a cave explorer named Véronique Le Guen volunteered for an extreme experiment: to live alone in an…” — Michael Finkel", "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": "Michael Finkel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In 1988, a cave explorer named...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/in-1988-a-cave-explorer-named-v-ronique-le-guen-volunteered-for-an/#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 } } ] } ```