Amazing how a big city is full of people and how sometimes, you can get very lonely or isolated. I thought of the study I read last year about loneliness in France, when I saw this lady, alone on this wall by Beaubourg. The study (by Fondation de France) says that one French person in ten lives by him(her)self and that one in ten also, has less than 3 personal conversations per year. I find it hard to believe, but it seems to be true. Not a very joyful note, I agree...
Beau - ti - ful! But, as the child of a parent who is a real loner and likes it that way, I have to say, its too bad they couldn't query about the happiness level of the one in ten. I hope this lady is enjoying her solitude and not feeling sad and disconnected, as many, I'm sure, do.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo which speaks not only to my eyes but also to my heart.
ReplyDeleteI dont' feel loneliness but a blur of activity and she is sitting still
ReplyDeleteI can understand one in ten living alone, but one in ten having fewer than three personal conversations per year? That is astounding, and depressing.
ReplyDeleteBeing alone does not necessarily equate to being lonely. En Français, mieux vaut etre tout seul que mal accompagné ;)
ReplyDeleteBut still, 3 conversations per year?!! Seems hard to believe. How do these people do their shopping?
Love the shot, BTW.
I very well believe this sad rate, as I live in Paris. Single people are so numerous, you can them shopping on their own late after working hours, buying only single portions. Asking for a baguette is not I would call a personnal conversation, not even with adding "Nice weather today" :(
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Pic. It's showing feeling of heart.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the post the image is made even more significant, time flying by as she sits alone, mind you there could be many reasons, she could be thinking 'thank the Lord, peace and quiet at last'!!
ReplyDeleteTrès très belle photo, j'aime beaucoup !
ReplyDeleteThis is a theme of great interest and great sadness to me - I read a French article some time ago and posted a photo with the contents of loneliness on my Flickr page. Will you allow me to point readers there?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/vol-au-vent/6138022054/
loneliness is THE Grand National Cause of 2011 - (la solitude sera la Grande Cause Nationale 2011)....
BUT maybe this woman wasn't lonely but had a pause. Her coffee cup points in that direction. UNLESS she is a beggar, then she might well be alone and lonely.
Already years ago, I studied the differences between loneliness and solitude, having neither French nor English as my mother tongue. It's a fascinating theme and I am still 'working' on the perfect match of one of my millions of pixies and my trillions of thoughts on this theme...
Forgot to add that I didn't read it on the same page you quoted but it was on the same theme - I am quite sure it was in Le Monde... VERY SAD and very sadly TRUE! Paris is not only the City of Love and Lights but also a terribly lonely place for many.
ReplyDeleteVery nice picture.
ReplyDeleteA very peaceful picture i think...she is relaxed
ReplyDeletehas anyone notice,that she is reading the paper or magazine....
beautiful photo...I guess she enjoyes her time...
Salu
Well you know what she said.
ReplyDeleteIf this was a picture of me, it would not be loneliness! A small cup of coffee and a magazine outside would be a lovely way to spend a few minutes in my life.
ReplyDeleteSolitude with dreams is a lovely thing, but solitude without dreams is a lonely place.
Your photo says it all—life just seems to be going on around her. Still, perhaps she's content with her paper and coffee (at least she knows where to get coffee to go in Paris). But fewer than 3 personal conversations a year?!? Incroyable.
ReplyDeleteEric, a very touching post! With our faux social media, people do a lot of superficial connecting, but not true conversations. Facebook, tweeting, email, blogging -- we may be communicating but we aren't having conversations:) I have a need for a lot of solitude but going on my second year of working at home full time (and I belong to no groups, churches, clubs or organizations) I interreact verbally with maybe a half a dozen people a year and even then, it's not deep conversations.....Going to check out the links now!
ReplyDeleteOf course living one one's own doesn't automatically mean that one is lonely.
ReplyDeleteAlso, some people are perfectly happy being on their own. :)
Ships that pass in the night and speak each other in passing;
ReplyDeleteOnly a signal and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and a silence.
This is getting depressing.
Another study says 9 out of ten live with others and have more than 3 personal conversations per year.
I feel better already.
Perth is right - she might have ten kids at home!!
ReplyDeleteInteresting from the comments that it's hard to accept an old and lonely Paris!!:)
ReplyDeleteBonjour! Comment allez vous? Bien? Aujourd'hui, c'est un beau jour, n'est-ce pas? Ah, oui, je ne parle pas de francais tres bien, mai j'aime Paris. D'accord, a bientot.
ReplyDeleteDoes this seem odd to read this? Why is it so hard for us to do this? People are funny, aren't we?
Hello to all of you out there, whether or not we've met. Do something to enjoy your day, ok?
I actually agree with what a lot of you have said: this photo does not really evoke loneliness. Besides it's true she may be just taking a break!
ReplyDeleteBut the fact that some people can be lonely in a big city remains.
Thank you Drummond for reminding us that "9 out of ten live with others and have more than 3 personal conversations per year." So much positive thinking, I could tell - if I did not know already! - that you're not French LOL!
@Jeff. Your French is definitely improving. You could have more than 3 personal conversations per yer, for sure LOL!
It is a beautiful image and I like your thoughts behind it!
ReplyDeleteInteresting that so many voices cannot accept an artist's interpretation of his work.
ReplyDeletenice pic. how were you able to take the blur in the background? it wasn't a moving train or something?
ReplyDeleteThere certainly are plenty of lonely people in Paris. I remember an elderly disabled man who I saw every day when I went running, drinking a beer alone on the terrace of a cafe on Boulevard Menilmontant.The nice thing for me, since I was also pretty lonely, was that after I said hello a couple times, I became part of his day. After I spent a long weekend with my cousins in Bordeaux and missed several days of running, the next time I saw him, both he and the cafe owner said they had been worried not to see me!
ReplyDeleteOh and I just remembered! So often I overheard people in my neighborhood (near Pere Lachaise) say "Elle est pas parisienne la petite, car elle sourit tout le temps."
ReplyDeleteDidi, I enjoyed your running vignette. Your comments made me smile:)
ReplyDelete