“Never forget that solitude is my lot ... I implore those who love me to love my solitude."(Letter to Mimi Romanelli, May 11, 1910)”

“I still love to love my friends, but I punctuate those moments with solitude.”

“I began to wonder if writers don’t choose to love long-distance, a sure way of blending passion and prose. The love letter seems perfectly suited to the contradiction of a writer’s life... the love letter may be the emblem of a vocation that demands solitude but desires communication.”

“My solitude doesn’t depend on the presence or absence of people; on the contrary, I hate who steals my solitude without, in exchange, offering me true company.”

“I was a man who thrived on solitude; without it I was like another man without food or water. Each day without solitude weakened me. I took no pride in my solitude; but I was dependent on it. The darkness of the room was like sunlight to me.”

“My love for imaginary objects and my facility in lending myself to them ended by disillusioning me with everything around me, and determined that love of solitude which I have retained ever since that time.”