Kappus Letter To Solitude Analysis

Such experiences tell us about the horror of being alone in a meaningless world where no one else understands the experiences one has. Solitude is utterly terrifying. However, at the same time, one seems to be attracted towards it. He returns the call by alienating himself from everything around him, and by crossing to the other side where no one can reach him. It gives him another perspective to the world around him. He is able to see everything from the outside, being alienated and being a part of it at the same time. Rilke writes about solitude at length in his letter to Kappus, and how it is necessary for the one who is turning inward:
There is only one solitude, and it is vast and not easy to bear and almost everyone has moments when they would happily exchange it for some form of company, be it ever so banal or trivial, for the illusion of some slight

It is the only thing that can help him with his curiosity about everything. If one is to know oneself and the world as such, he has to accept this as reality. He has to accept that he is condemned to be solitary, condemned to find meanings on his own. He is responsible for himself, and for his freedom to choose. He has to accept it in order to learn. To come across his existence, and to be able to understand it, solitariness is the one and only thing that can help him. He exists in his freedom, his individual freedom to choose for himself. In Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke writes, “Perhaps everything terrifying is deep down a helpless thing that needs our help” (42). We, in order to know ourselves, have to help ourselves in this lone struggle to be. There is no outside help, and it is not even needed to pursue the quest. Even when there is no hope, one has to continue the search because it is only in this search, in this continuation that one makes himself. It is the only way that one can come near his absolute