Hermits around the web – Hermitary
news, sites, and pages of interest about hermits and solitude
Here is a Guardian (UK) interview with author Sara Maitland, who lives alone in a cottage in rural Galloway, Scotland. Her most recent book is How to Be Alone, published in a self-help series. In the interview Maitland responds to questions about involuntary solitude, writing, use of Internet, and family relations.
URL: http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/feb/02/sara-maitland-how-to-be-alone-interview
A curious piece in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Dec. 2012, is titled “Taking refuge from modernity: 21st century hermits.” The article describes some contemporary individuals as fleeing society due to “idiopathic, environmental intolerances, such as ‘multiple chemical sensitivty’ and ‘electrosensitivity'” and searches for possible analogies with historical hermits. The abstract shows the direction of the research and point of view:
Idiopathic environmental intolerances, such as ‘multiple chemical sensitivity’ and ‘electrosensitivity,’ can drastically affect the quality of life of those affected. A proportion of severely affected patients remove themselves from modern society, to live in isolation away from the purported causal agent of their ill health. This is not a new phenomenon; reports of hermits extend back to the 3rd century AD. We conducted a literature review of case reports relating to ancient hermits and modern day reclusion resulting from idiopathic environmental intolerance, in order to explore whether there are similarities between these two groups and whether the symptoms of these ‘illnesses of modernity’ are simply a present-day way of reaching the end-point of reclusion. Whilst there were some differences between the cases, recurring themes in ancient and modern cases included: dissatisfaction with society, a compulsion to flee, reports of a constant struggle and a feeling of fighting against the establishment. The similarities which exist between the modern-day cases and the historical hermits may provide some insight into the extreme behaviours exhibited by this population. The desire to retreat from society in order to escape from harm has existed for many centuries, but in different guises.
The historical hermits studied (and named) are just four: Noah John Rondeau, Roger Crab, St. Simeon Stylites, and St. Anthony. The article concludes controversially that with the diminished influence of religion in the modern world, the motive of those who are deemed intolerant of modern society may include the pretext of idiopathic medical conditions referred to in the article and abstract.
URL: http://jrs.sagepub.com/content/105/12/523.full
From BBC World Service’s “The Why Factor,” a good summary of the subject of solitude in 18 minutes (November 2013); featuring authors Sara Maitland, Eric Klinenberg, Anneli Rufus, and journalist John McCartney.
A BBC “Religion and Ethics” item updates the hermit life of Rachel Denton, first mentioned in this blog in a Guardian article from 2009. Rachel Denton lives in Lincolnshire, UK. “A teacher for 15 years, culminating in a deputy headship in Cambridgeshire, Rachel gave it all up 12 years ago for a life of contemplative silence as a Roman Catholic hermit.” She is a canonical hermit in the diocese of Nottingham. The article highlights her life and interests, including her use of social media.
She has three rules for her life as a hermit.
One is to live simply in solitude and silence, staying and returning there in so far as duties permit.
The second is to earn a sufficient living, trying to maintain that solitude and silence. And the third is to pray every day.
Much of her work and contact with family and friends can be carried out online.
While practical reasons take her out and about, normally at least once a week, she can also go for days without speaking and says solitude gives her energy and happiness.
A December 2012 Daily Mail (UK) article describes the hermit life of Emma Orbach. The title and bylines:
Meet Mrs Bilbo Baggins: Oxford graduate quits society to live a hobbit-style existence in a mud roundhouse in Welsh hills.
- Emma Orbach, 58, has shunned society, living in a mudhut she built herself
- The Oxford graduate named her home Tir Ysbrydol, which means ‘spirit land’ in Welsh, where she has banned technology
- She fetches water from a stream and keeps three goats, seven chickens and two horses
More from the article:
Nestled in the mountains of West Wales, she named her home Tir Ysbrydol, which means ‘spirit land’ in Welsh.
When her children, who are in their 20s and 30s and live in London, Bristol and Brighton, visit, they, like all guests at the roundhouse, are banned from bringing technology such as phones or laptops with them.
It is all a far cry from the conventional trappings of Mrs Orbach’s background. Her father was a violinist and her mother a librarian.
After graduating from Oxford with a degree in Chinese, she married architectural historian Julian Orbach.
The article includes video and photos.