---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But perhaps these are the very hours…"
description: "\"“But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as the beginning of spring..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg"
---

#  But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude…

![“But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as the beginning of spring.” quote by Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg)

> ““But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as the beginning of spring.””

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

## About This Quote

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

Solitude intensifies during certain times, feeling both painful like growing up and melancholy like early spring.

**In simple terms:** Loneliness can be both painful and beautiful.

Key Takeaway

Embrace solitude’s growth.

Themes

solitude growth melancholy

Mood

reflective poetic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- creative writing
- mental health
- seasonal change

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does solitude affect your creativity?
- When does loneliness become harmful?

A Different Perspective

Solitude may also lead to isolation if not balanced.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/)

## Related quotes

> [“But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-during-which-solitude-grows-for/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [You will be sad in the beginning, but you will be happy in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/themonsterace/you-will-be-sad-in-the-beginning-but-you-will-be-happy-in-the-end/)

TheMonsterAce

> [I'm as much my own master as anyone can be, without being the master of others. I can write anywhere - all I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-woods/i-m-as-much-my-own-master-as-anyone-can-be-without-being-the-master/)

[Stuart Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-woods/)

> [Animals are born and bred in litters. Solitude grows blessed and peaceful only in old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/animals-are-born-and-bred-in-litters-solitude-grows-blessed-and/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [In solitude there grows what anyone brings into it, the inner beast too. Therefore solitude is inadvisable to many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-solitude-there-grows-what-anyone-brings-into-it-the-inner-beast/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Long ago, when Harry had been left alone while the Dursley's went out to enjoy themselves, the hours of solitude had been a rare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/long-ago-when-harry-had-been-left-alone-while-the-dursley-s-went-out/)

[J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/)

> [ \[Gardening\] is a means by which you can attain many valuable hours of solitude without being thought unsociable. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/gardening-is-a-means-by-which-you-can-attain-many-valuable-hours-of/)

[Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/)

> [The cat makes himself the companion of your hours of solitude, melancholy and toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/the-cat-makes-himself-the-companion-of-your-hours-of-solitude/)

[Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/)

> [Hours of solitude, hours of creation, hours of meditation. Solitude and meditation gave me an awareness, a perspective which I have never lost: that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-aleixandre/hours-of-solitude-hours-of-creation-hours-of-meditation-solitude-and/)

[Vicente Aleixandre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-aleixandre/)

> [“Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/go-into-yourself-find-out-the-reason-that-commands-you-to-write-see/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“it is good to be solitary, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult must be a reason the more for us to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/it-is-good-to-be-solitary-for-solitude-is-difficult-that-something-is/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [Solitude is nothing that one can choose or retrain from. We are solitary. We can delude ourselves about this and act as if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/solitude-is-nothing-that-one-can-choose-or-retrain-from-we-are/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [a good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-good-marriage-is-that-in-which-each-appoints-the-other-guardian-of/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“there is only one solitude, and it is great and is not easy to bear, and to almost everyone there come hours when they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/there-is-only-one-solitude-and-it-is-great-and-is-not-easy-to-bear/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

## More by Rainer Maria Rilke

> [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“Out of infinite longings rise finite deeds like weak fountains, falling back just in time and trembling. And yet, what otherwise remains silent, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/out-of-infinite-longings-rise-finite-deeds-like-weak-fountains/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“A complete sharing between two people is an impossibility and whenever it seems, nevertheless, to exist, it is a narrowing, a mutual agreement which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/a-complete-sharing-between-two-people-is-an-impossibility-and/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“But this is what ... people are so often and disastrously wrong in doing: they (who by their very nature are impatient) fling themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-this-is-what-people-are-so-often-and-disastrously-wrong-in-doing/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“If there is nothing you can share with other people, try to be close to Things. Things will not abandon you. The nights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-there-is-nothing-you-can-share-with-other-people-try-to-be-close/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [To be here is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/to-be-here-is-immense/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“Sin is the most wonderfully roundabout path to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/sin-is-the-most-wonderfully-roundabout-path-to-god/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [Swells, Marina? we ocean, depths, Marina? we sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/swells-marina-we-ocean-depths-marina-we-sky/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [You life will find its own paths... and that they be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/you-life-will-find-its-own-paths-and-that-they-be-good-rich-and-wide/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [I do not want to be folded for where I am folded, there I am a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-do-not-want-to-be-folded-for-where-i-am-folded-there-i-am-a-lie/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [At no other time (than autumn) does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/at-no-other-time-than-autumn-does-the-earth-let-itself-be-inhaled-in/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“That is why the sadness passes: the new presence inside us, the presence that has been added, has entered our heart, has gone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/that-is-why-the-sadness-passes-the-new-presence-inside-us-the/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms, like books written in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/have-patience-with-everything-that-remains-unsolved-in-your-heart-try/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

[Explore all 861 Rainer Maria Rilke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

## More Solitude quotes

> [“Truth is, I’m generally happiest when it’s just me. It’s okay to be madly in love with yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/truth-is-i-m-generally-happiest-when-it-s-just-me-it-s-okay-to-be/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/)

[Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/)

> [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [“I still love to love my friends, but I punctuate those moments with solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-klein/i-still-love-to-love-my-friends-but-i-punctuate-those-moments-with/)

[Stephanie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-klein/)

> [You will not find a soulmate in the quiet of your room. You must go to a noisy place and look in the quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/you-will-not-find-a-soulmate-in-the-quiet-of-your-room-you-must-go-to/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [“Point is, that’s when I really realized that I don’t think like most people. I’m fine with solitude. In fact, I get antsy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-e-taylor/point-is-that-s-when-i-really-realized-that-i-don-t-think-like-most/)

[Dennis E. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-e-taylor/)

> [By all means use some time to be alone, salute thyself, see what thy soul doth wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/by-all-means-use-some-time-to-be-alone-salute-thyself-see-what-thy/)

[George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/)

> [“...the solitude was intoxicating. On my first night there I lay on my back on the sticky carpet for hours, in the murky orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/the-solitude-was-intoxicating-on-my-first-night-there-i-lay-on-my/)

[Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/)

> [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“The journey towards your inner self is Solitude!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farheen-viquas/the-journey-towards-your-inner-self-is-solitude/)

Farheen Viquas

> [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/)

[Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/)

> [Cease speaking of enemies when an achievement can kindle a great light. Solitude will transmit the message better than the murmurs of crowds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-roerich/cease-speaking-of-enemies-when-an-achievement-can-kindle-a-great/)

Nicholas Roerich

> [“Well…there’s only one glove. Right away, I wonder, where’s the other glove? How did it become separated from its mate? Does it feel lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/well-there-s-only-one-glove-right-away-i-wonder-where-s-the-other/)

[Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/)

> [“Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-james/seclusion-wasn-t-good-for-anyone-it-made-you-forget-how-to-protect/)

[Heather James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-james/)

> [I cannot keep quiet even when I am a lone voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahathir-mohamad/i-cannot-keep-quiet-even-when-i-am-a-lone-voice/)

[Mahathir Mohamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahathir-mohamad/)

[Browse all 4,219 Solitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing of boys and sad as the beginning of spring.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Rainer Maria Rilke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-during-which-solitude-grows-for-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Solitude"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-during-which-solitude-grows-for-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/rainer-maria-rilke-193_solitude_but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-dur_383917.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But perhaps these are the very hours during which solitude grows; for its growing is painful as the growing…” — Rainer Maria Rilke",
                "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": "Rainer Maria Rilke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“But perhaps these are the very...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-during-which-solitude-grows-for-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-perhaps-these-are-the-very-hours-during-which-solitude-grows-for-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
