--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be silent; to be alone. All the being…" description: "\"To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/virginia-woolf-49_being-alone_to-be-silent-to-be-alone-all-the-being-a_2624055.jpg" --- # To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing… ![“To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/virginia-woolf-49_being-alone_to-be-silent-to-be-alone-all-the-being-a_2624055.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/virginia-woolf-49_being-alone_to-be-silent-to-be-alone-all-the-being-a_2624055.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/virginia-woolf-49_being-alone_to-be-silent-to-be-alone-all-the-being-a_2624055.jpg) > “To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others.” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Solitude reveals a core self, stripped of external roles and expectations. **In simple terms:** Alone, we find our true self. Key Takeaway Seek moments of quiet introspection. Themes solitude identity inner self silence existence Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - meditation - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - When do you feel most yourself? - How can solitude be balanced with connection? A Different Perspective Isolation can feel oppressive without balance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-alone/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Solemnity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemnity/) ## Related quotes > [“All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-glittering-vocal-evaporated-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For now she need not think of anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-now-she-need-not-think-of-anybody-she-could-be-herself-by-herself-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Being silent and doing nothing is never the right answer. What happens in one state can happen in another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson/being-silent-and-doing-nothing-is-never-the-right-answer-what-happens/) [Alan Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson/) > [For now she need not think of anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-now-she-need-not-think-of-anybody-she-could-be-herself-by-herself/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [It is impossible to tell you the perfect sweetness of the lips and closed eyes, nor the solemnity of the seal of death which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-impossible-to-tell-you-the-perfect-sweetness-of-the-lips-and/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Gloom and solemnity are entirely out of place in even the most rigorous study of an art originally intended to make glad the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/gloom-and-solemnity-are-entirely-out-of-place-in-even-the-most/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Because of its tremendous solemnity death is the light in which great passions, both good and bad, become transparent, no longer limited by outward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/because-of-its-tremendous-solemnity-death-is-the-light-in-which-great/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Solemnity is proper in church, but things that are proper in church are not necessarily proper outside, and vice versa. For example, I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/solemnity-is-proper-in-church-but-things-that-are-proper-in-church/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [In self-examination, take no account of yourself by your thoughts and resolutions in the days of religion and solemnity; examine how it is with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/in-self-examination-take-no-account-of-yourself-by-your-thoughts-and/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [Each night the black sky and the bright stars were my stunning companions; occasionally Id see their beauty and solemnity so plainly that I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/each-night-the-black-sky-and-the-bright-stars-were-my-stunning/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It seemed to be a necessary ritual that he should prepare himself for sleep by meditating under the solemnity of the night sky... a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/it-seemed-to-be-a-necessary-ritual-that-he-should-prepare-himself-for/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Solemnity has its limits, it invites derision. But irony is corrosive, it never ends. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-f-kluge/solemnity-has-its-limits-it-invites-derision-but-irony-is-corrosive/) P.F. Kluge > [“The Estate of Solemnity By right, it reigns in its places- in long beards Of spanish moss hanging from a live oak On a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/the-estate-of-solemnity-by-right-it-reigns-in-its-places-in-long/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Solemnity is the shield of idiots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/solemnity-is-the-shield-of-idiots/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. 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I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More Being alone 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/) > [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/) > [Noone understands me,... not even myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syoung/noone-understands-me-not-even-myself/) Syoung > [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 > [I'm hurt all the time. I don't want to cry for the way I feel inside. I just want someone to hold me... I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-hurt-all-the-time-i-don-t-want-to-cry-for-the-way-i-feel-inside-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are terrifying, and strange, and beautiful. Something not everyone knows how to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warsan-shire/you-are-terrifying-and-strange-and-beautiful-something-not-everyone/) [Warsan Shire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warsan-shire/) > [I wish I had someone to love me as much as I could love them. It's hard being alone when everyone else you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wish-i-had-someone-to-love-me-as-much-as-i-could-love-them-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People think being alone makes you LONELY, But I don't think thats true. Being surrounded by wrong people is the loneliest thing in World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-think-being-alone-makes-you-lonely-but-i-don-t-think-thats/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't feel alone, because there is always someone out there who loves you more than you can imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-feel-alone-because-there-is-always-someone-out-there-who-loves/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Be much alone with God, and take time to get thoroughly acquainted. Converse over everything with Him. Unburden yourself wholly -every thought, feeling, wish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/be-much-alone-with-god-and-take-time-to-get-thoroughly-acquainted/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [Fame always brings loneliness. Success is as ice cold and lonely as the North Pole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/fame-always-brings-loneliness-success-is-as-ice-cold-and-lonely-as/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) > [That moment when you burst out crying alone in your room. And you realize that no one truly knows how unhappy you are. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-moment-when-you-burst-out-crying-alone-in-your-room-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Loneliness hits the minds of those that thinks they are single and alone. There's always someone out there waiting patiently for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/loneliness-hits-the-minds-of-those-that-thinks-they-are-single-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im just gonna hide. Another face in your perfect world. Quiet as a mouse.Secretive as a sin. Darkly beautifully. Beautifully strange ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/im-just-gonna-hide-another-face-in-your-perfect-world-quiet-as-a/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [Im not totally mad at you. Im just sad. Youre all locked up in that little world of yours, and when I try knocking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/im-not-totally-mad-at-you-im-just-sad-youre-all-locked-up-in-that/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Browse all 978 Being alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be silent; to be alone. 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