--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When so many are lonely as seem to be…" description: "\"When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.\" — Tennessee Williams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png" --- # When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be… ![“When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.” quote by Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png) > “When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.” [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling isolated while others also feel isolated is selfish; we should seek connection instead of solitary loneliness. **In simple terms:** Being lonely alone is selfish when many are lonely. Key Takeaway Choose companionship over solitary loneliness. Themes loneliness selfishness connection Mood reflective empathetic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - support groups - online forums - friendship building Key Concepts empathy social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can you help someone feeling isolated? - What steps can you take to avoid being lonely alone? A Different Perspective It may be hard to recognize one's own loneliness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [Do you know why I hate myself? I'm selfish, lonely, insecure, annoying, bitchy, but most of all because I'm me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-know-why-i-hate-myself-i-m-selfish-lonely-insecure-annoying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But if I decide to decide there’s a different, less selfish, less lonely point to my life, won’t the reason for this decision be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/but-if-i-decide-to-decide-there-s-a-different-less-selfish-less/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Not only the lonely lonely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-zubry/not-only-the-lonely-lonely/) [Boris Zubry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-zubry/) > [I'm lonely. And I'm lonely in some horribly deep way and for a flash of an instant, I can see just how lonely, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-m-lonely-and-i-m-lonely-in-some-horribly-deep-way-and-for-a-flash/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“I feel lonely, very lonely when I turn off the lights and make my way to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-alberto/i-feel-lonely-very-lonely-when-i-turn-off-the-lights-and-make-my-way/) [Melissa Alberto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-alberto/) > [I don't want to be lonely and I'm not lonely cos loneliness is part of my life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hmangte/i-don-t-want-to-be-lonely-and-i-m-not-lonely-cos-loneliness-is-part/) [Steven Hmangte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hmangte/) > [What's the difference between two? A lonely me, A lonely you. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-s-the-difference-between-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never feel lonely. You are never lonely. At the deepest core of your being, God resides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-feel-lonely-you-are-never-lonely-at-the-deepest-core-of-your/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I refuse to be with you and be forgotten. After all, I'm used to being lonely. I might as well be lonely alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-refuse-to-be-with-you-and-be-forgotten-after-all-i-m-used-to-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am alone, I am alone, but not lonely, not lonely for people, it seems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcelroy/i-am-alone-i-am-alone-but-not-lonely-not-lonely-for-people-it-seems/) [Joseph McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcelroy/) > [Lonely, ain't it? Yes, but my lonely is mine. Now your lonely is somebody else's. Made by somebody else and handed to you. Ain't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/lonely-ain-t-it-yes-but-my-lonely-is-mine-now-your-lonely-is-somebody/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [...lonely, very lonely to have a past no one else can share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howatch/lonely-very-lonely-to-have-a-past-no-one-else-can-share/) [Susan Howatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howatch/) > [The trouble is not really in being alone, it's being lonely. One can be lonely in the midst of a crowd, don't you think?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/the-trouble-is-not-really-in-being-alone-it-s-being-lonely-one-can-be/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“I am alone, but never lonely. I am lonely, but never alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-aubrey-myers/i-am-alone-but-never-lonely-i-am-lonely-but-never-alone/) [Benjamin Aubrey Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-aubrey-myers/) > [What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-opposite-of-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Tennessee Williams > [“Nothing human disgusts me unless its unkind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/nothing-human-disgusts-me-unless-its-unkind/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [These are the intensities that one cannot live with, that he has to outgrow if he wants to survive. But who can help grieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/these-are-the-intensities-that-one-cannot-live-with-that-he-has-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“Well, you better look out. They got a new bureau in the guvamint files. It’s called U.W. Stands for Useless Wimmen. Tha’s secret plans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/well-you-better-look-out-they-got-a-new-bureau-in-the-guvamint-files/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [People go to the movies instead of moving. Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/people-go-to-the-movies-instead-of-moving-hollywood-characters-are/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [They chatter together like birds on Cypress Hill, but all they say is 'Live, live, live, live, live!' It's all they've learned, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/they-chatter-together-like-birds-on-cypress-hill-but-all-they-say-is/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [You take it for granted that I am in something that I want to get out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/you-take-it-for-granted-that-i-am-in-something-that-i-want-to-get-out/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Guessing isn't knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/guessing-isn-t-knowing/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I respect a person that has had to fight and howl for his decency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-respect-a-person-that-has-had-to-fight-and-howl-for-his-decency/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/life-is-all-memory-except-for-the-one-present-moment-that-goes-by-you/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Most of the confidence which I appear to feel, especially when influenced by noon wine, is only a pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/most-of-the-confidence-which-i-appear-to-feel-especially-when/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I cannot write any sort of story unless there is at least one character in it for whom I have physical desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-cannot-write-any-sort-of-story-unless-there-is-at-least-one/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position. I've seen such pitiful cases in the South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-know-so-well-what-becomes-of-unmarried-women-who-aren-t-prepared-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“The Jefferson is such a dignified hotel / There is no such thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/the-jefferson-is-such-a-dignified-hotel-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“A drinking man's someone who wants to forget he isn't still young and believing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/a-drinking-man-s-someone-who-wants-to-forget-he-isn-t-still-young-and/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“As for me, no one will ever love me. But you could get used to me, couldn't you, Jimmy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/as-for-me-no-one-will-ever-love-me-but-you-could-get-used-to-me/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) [Explore all 373 Tennessee Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) ## More Loneliness quotes > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I'm not alone, but I am lonely without you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-alone-but-i-am-lonely-without-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-the-opposite-of-two-a-lonely-me-a-lonely-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We often refer to loneliness as something negative. And we look at it as a weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/we-often-refer-to-loneliness-as-something-negative-and-we-look-at-it/) [Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/) > [I need the pain of loneliness to make my imagination work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-need-the-pain-of-loneliness-to-make-my-imagination-work/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [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/) > [Don't let 'being single' make you feel like a loner. Its better to be alone. Relationships arent cures for loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-let-being-single-make-you-feel-like-a-loner-its-better-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Attempt to be creative for the joy it brings… Select something like music, dance, sculpture, or poetry. Being creative will help you enjoy life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/attempt-to-be-creative-for-the-joy-it-brings-select-something-like/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [Get away from me misery, get away from me loneliness, get away from me fake bitches I can't take the phoniness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/get-away-from-me-misery-get-away-from-me-loneliness-get-away-from-me/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) [Browse all 4,995 Loneliness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tennessee Williams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lonely-it-would-be-inexcusably/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Loneliness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lonely-it-would-be-inexcusably/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/tennessee-williams-745_loneliness_when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lo_1356890.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, it would be inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone.” — Tennessee Williams", "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": "Tennessee Williams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When so many are lonely as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lonely-it-would-be-inexcusably/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/when-so-many-are-lonely-as-seem-to-be-lonely-it-would-be-inexcusably/#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 } } ] } ```