2009 - Autumn

[El Gordo]

One comment of yours however has got my brain in something of a conundrum. I sort of instinctively know what you mean mean you say "...there's irony in seeking solitude amongst large crowds, but you'll find a purer form of isolation within a multitude of strangers than you will on a remote mountainside", but I'm railing against it without fully knowing why. I'm also uncertain about your use of "amongst" when "among" would suffice, although that's merely a distraction from the fact that I disagree with you but can't articulate a proper argument. I'll mull it over some more and probably forget about it.

Re among v amongst -- good question. The latter is commonplace in British English though there no longer seems to be any significant difference between the two in terms of meaning. Amongst is more weighty and formal, and appeals to my inescapable pomposity. But it isn't needed here. Noted.

As for the isolation within strangers etc, well I could be flippant, and lazy, and say that I just thought it sounded more profound at the time, and hoped no one would question it. But I think what I was driving at was the thought that the presence of unfamiliar people tends to emphasise one's sense of isolation and alienation more than geographical remoteness does. Related to loneliness I suppose, but that makes it sound like something unpleasant, when often it isn't. To be honest, I've used the word isolation, and left it open to interpretation as either loneliness or solitude, which is naughty, as they don't mean the same thing.

Bah, I think it just sounded more profound at the time, and hoped no one would question it.

The original Room 101, in case you wondered, first appeared in Orwell's 1984. It's a room in one of the ministries where you have to confront your worst fears.