Solitude as a means of survival
Solitude as a means of survival

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I argue against perspectives that view solitude in a negative light. I aver that it is essential for the development of the self and for its further balanced preservation. “The right to solitude,” defined by Giorgio Del Vecchio, serves as the starting point for my review of the “three-part construct of the self” proposed by Gardner and Brewer. In the first part of this study, I offer arguments to substantiate the claim that at each level of the Gardner-Brewer construct solitude can serve as a catalyst for the development and preservation of the self. In the second part, in order to show the interpretative potential of the reviewed model, I analyze the protagonist of Robert Graves‟s Claudius novels as a case of the solitude-driven self.

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