Ese’s Weekly Shoot & Quote Challenge – Loneliness

“I want to be alone, I just want to be alone.” 

This is one of the most memorable movie quotes of all time and was spoken by the Swedish actress, Greta Garbo in the film, ‘Grand Hotel’. The word “alone” features in many of her films, beginning with the caption cards in her silent movies. In 1927, “I like to be alone” appeared in her film ‘Love’, and in the 1929 movie ‘The Single Standard’, her character says, “I’m walking alone because I want to be alone.” She was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, but wasn’t renowned for being sociable at all. She had an innate need for solitude, and was often reclusive, maintaining her elusive mystique right to the end, when she died in 1990 at the age of 84.

Jean Paul Sartre once said, “If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.”  I leave it up to you to decide whether the subjects in my photos are lonely, or whether they are merely choosing solitude.

A juvenile heron strutting around the lake outside my house here in Florida.

A rather cross looking seagull on the road in the seaside town of Polperro, Cornwall.

A lone paraglider high above the beach in Perranporth, Cornwall.

A statue of a  deer stands alone, atop the towering cliffs at Hirschsprung ‘Deer’s Jump’ in the Black Forest, Germany.

A poor little captive Kinkajou in San Pedro, Belize. His owner was trying to get money out of tourists for having their photos taken with him. He really needed to be back with his mates in the rain forest. 😦

Lastly, but by no means least, here is a pic that my sister in South Africa sent me, with the caption, “Greta Garbo got nothing on Mom!” 🙂

I hope you’ve enjoyed my quotes and pics for Ese’s challenge. To join in, or to see what other entries there are, just click here.