Hermits around the web – Hermitary
news, sites, and pages of interest about hermits and solitude
An article in New Hampshire Magazine describes the Irish-born “hermit of Goat Island,” James Murdock. Murdock fled Ireland for political reasons, arriving in Boston and taking jobs on schooners up the North Atlantic coast, during which he identified Goat Island in New Hampshire as a potential squatting site. He lived there from 1903 to 1925. The author notes that Murdock’s daughter could not assert ownership. Little today remains of Murdock’s presence there.
Multiple media sources report on a New Hampshire hermit living in a cabin in the woods. He has been forced to leave his dwelling and is jailed for violating zoning regulations. He represents a dilemma of the modern hermit: all nature and land is “owned” and not accessible legally for squatting or living, however isolated or undeveloped. On the day he appeared in court, the cabin burned down mysteriously, which supported the authorities’ goal of leaving David Lidstone without any resources. Initially, hermit Dave Lidstone indicated that he would not return to the hermit life. But subsequently, well-wishers have donated money, clothes, vacant properties, and food to him while he contemplates his future. The owner of the property holds over 800 acres in properties and has been seeking to evic t Lidstone for some years.
Coverage oof this story will continue.
URLs: Associated Press: https://bangordailynews.com/2021/08/04/news/new-england/after-decades-in-woods-new-hampshire-hermit-forced-from-his-cabin/ ; update: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2021/aug/11/river-dave-81-says-he-wont-return-to-hermit-lifestyle-after-cabin-burns-down-video; Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9871885/Hermit-River-Dave-says-hes-happier-billionaires-release-jail.html; https://www.vnews.com/River-Dave-amid-remains-of-cabin-41971151
An oddly-themed feature film about a hermit (Nicholas Cage), once a chef, who has abandoned the city and lives alone in the wilderness, foraging for truffles with a companionable pig. The hermit sells the mushrooms to a swank restauranteur. The restauranteur abducts the pig, leading to the plot of the film, the unraveling of the drama of the search, with elements of crime and conflict. However, a lot of inside jokes and shots of luxury plates suggest irony if not satire, which requires viewing for evaluation. Trailer: https://youtu.be/-4nRpdONaAA
BBC News presents an article, “The US socialite who gave it all up to become a Carmelite nun.” The article recounts the story of Sister Mary Joseph, a Carmelite nun who died recently at age 92. Her story is compelling, “far from traditional.” “Until she dedicated herself to a life of prayer she was known as Ann Russell Miller, a wealthy San Francisco socialite who hosted lavish parties, had season tickets to the opera and was the mother of ten children.”
After her husband’s death, Ann Miller joined the Carmelite order, dropping her hundreds of former friends and her family, her swirling social life and contacts with dozens of philanthropic interests. She lived in cloistered isolation for over thirty years until her recent death. The article details her life, including insights from one of her children.
Stereotypes of hermits are not unusual, even understandable, but a comic created by Basil Wolverton (1909-1978) in the horror genre borders on the ridiculous, though perhaps entertaining for comic book readers of the time, perhaps even today. Appeared in Weird Chills, no. 1 (1952).
URL: https://archive.org/details/aronaamora_yahoo_22