S.....O.....L.....I.....T.....U.....D.....E

S o l i t u d e

By: Elias Rafael Decena

May 17, 2011

“Man loves company even if it is only that of a small burning candle”

-Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

If there is one story that I would still remember even on my dying day, it would be William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. I first read the story when I was in High School. Our Literature teacher made us read the whole story for one hour. And for me that time, one hour of reading was just such a pain to endure. But when I got the hang of it and started reading the story, imagining every word come alive and re-enact what the author of the story was trying to illustrate by his words; I never knew from that point on that this story would touch me so much that I still bring it with me several years later.

Solitude. In his darkest day, a man will find himself with no one by his side but himself. We, at many times equate solitude with loneliness, that in the hours in which man doesn’t have anyone to help him but solely his own hands, we can somehow say that he is lonely and helpless. So often that solitude have been consider as a social state so pitiful, that everyday we try to connect and socialize with people; building a tree of connection and familiarity, so that when times of trouble come, we may not be alone to face it. But are we truly alone?

I had a short talk with Mr. Sean Blocklin, a photographer and graduating student of Pratt Institute, about his series of photographs displayed on the wall of the CONTENT AWARE gallery at DUMBO. His theme: Solitude. A picture of a woman standing in front of a wall, looking as if she was posing in front of no one, under the light of a post lamp. A shoe outside of a door, as if its owner was in a hurry, that she tend to slip-off the other pair, leaving it outside and behind the door which it could not open by itself. And a photograph of a woman, seemingly on a party with socialites behind her, she looked isolated with her glass of wine on her hands and looking outside of the low window starring at nothingness. Interestingly, according to Mr. Blocklin, his photographs were taken in the city, a place where almost no one would expect to be alone, not with all of the people walking on its streets dealing with their personal matters.

As I view Mr. Blocklin’s work of art, I could never get out of my mind the story of Ms. Emily Grierson, the fictional character featured on William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily. Her story was so sad and isolated that it took several years for the people around her to find out that she was already dead. Her life started with isolation and ended with her being left alone again by a person she truly treasures. Some people may consider her story as lonely and full of being in the state of solitude, some may consider that her death enabled her to be free at last and maybe let her be reunited with her past lover. In any way we view it, Ms. Emily Grierson has experienced genuine solitude in William Faulkner’s story.

But are we truly alone in this world?

As I ponder upon Mr. Blocklin’s photographs memories of life’s challenges flash back in my mind. Those times where I had to face those challenges alone, think of ways how to cope with the moving world that tends to leave me behind and not mind that I am being left alone to deal with those hardships. Alone. Alone I was back at those times. But did being alone leave me vulnerable to failure?

Most of the time, people find strength in numbers. The more the merrier/better, two head are better than one, united we stand, divided we fall, are just some of the sayings generally accepted to inculcate in the minds of the people the importance of numbers and connection with others. But sometimes, in our most isolated state and standing in life, we have no one but ourselves to trust upon and lean on to. We may find ourselves alone and lonely in tunnels and chambers in which darkness surrounds us. We say to ourselves “I am alone”. We curb our bodies and let ourselves be vulnerable to forces that are bound to get us one way or another. We look at our left and right and find no one but an empty space enough for another person to fit in and we ask ourselves “Why did they leave me?” We may cry and be bound to die but sooner or later, we stand up amidst the darkness, trusting only your senses to guide us, listening to our own ears to hear our way out, using our own eyes to find the light that leads to the exit of these dark times of solitude. If this had ever happen to you literally or methaporically, there are two conclusions: YOU KNOW YOU’RE NOT ALONE and YOU KNOW YOU ARE WITH YOURSELF

We are in solitude in many ways we can think of. Even with our large network of friends and colleagues, we can never really say that we are accompanied with all of the times. Most of the time we enter doors alone only to find out new things, and we don’t even mind if there is someone with us or not. Our drive for progress and success can even be considered as a one man’s job, for at those times that you have to do your part in this success; most often you do it alone.

So are we truly alone?

Mr. Blocklin’s series of photographs have showed me clearer the phenomenon that is “solitude”; his photographs have showed me that even in the most crowded and boisterous place, we can be isolated and filled with silence; but at the day’s end, even if we know it or not, we are never truly alone. Because even in our most isolated time, even in the most desolated place, you will always find someone ready to help to find your own way back: YOU.