[Enduring loneliness. An interview survey of aged widows]

Interviews with 32 widows have given a clearer picture of the different ways of adaptation to solitude. The following types are distinguished: 1. the tormented (6 cases), who are crushed by loneliness and depression, even though they have the support of friends and relations 2. the isolated (7 cases), who may go for several days without seeing anyone 3. the misanthropes (3 cases): 'The less I see of my friends, the better I feel' 4. those who have found the answer to the problem of solitude in outside activities and contacts (5 cases) 5. those who have found tranquility after a lifetime of struggle (4 cases) 6. those with a naturally harmonious temperament who have overcome solitude and demonstrate the way to face it with courage, good sense and optimism (7 cases). This attempt at typology, which describes six different ways of living with solitude, has made possible a better analysis of the problem, its causes and its effects. Though solitude is often considered a negative aspect of growing old, it can also be a source of happiness, even of fulfillment. The capacity to live alone is something that has to be learned.