2。 Solitude as a Way of Life 6

2。1 May Sarton’s Solitude 6

2。2 Solitude and Loneliness in Sarton’s Fourth Age 7

3。 Aging in Solitude 9

3。1 The Aging Theory 9

3。2 Sarton’s Third Age Solitude 10

3。3 Sarton’s Fourth Age Solitude 11

4。 The Approaches to Overcome Loneliness 13

4。1 Spending Time with Friends and the Cat 13

4。2 Reading and Writing 14

5。 Conclusion 16

References 17

1。 Introduction

At Eighty-Two, May Sarton’s final book, was published posthumously in 1995, covering the year from July, 1993 to August, 1994。 Sarton writes many works such as poems, novels, journals and so on。 However, it is the journals she writes in her old ages that gain great popularity。来自优Y尔L论W文Q网wWw.YouERw.com 加QQ7520~18766 Her journals bring familiarity to readers who also experience the day-by-day routines of the author’s life-making beds and meals, filling bird feeders and receiving wanted and unwanted guests, exulting in love and despairing in love lost。 Those things are all very usual and close to human especially to a female, which make readers see themselves according to Sarton’s recording。 

1。1 Relevant Introduction of May Sarton’s Background

May Sarton, whose real name is Eleanore Marie Sarton (May 3, 1912–July 16, 1995), is a prolific American author who is long considered by her readers to be a gifted and sensitive writer of poetry, novels and journals。 She is the only child of George Sarton and Mabel Elwes Sarton。 From her father, a historian of science, Sarton learns about discipline and a fierce dedication to work and from her mother, an artist and designer, she learns about dedication and creativity, whether applied to gardening or to life。 In 1916, the Sartons arrived in the United States after fleeing Belgium and the advancing Germans, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts where Sarton obtained her early education。 After her parents’ death, Sarton sold the house and moved to Nelson。 And in Nelson, she wrote a large number of works。 In 1990, because of a serious stroke, Sarton reduced her work。 On July 16, 1995, Sarton died of breast cancer and was buried in Nelson。论文网

As a very productive writer, Sarton writes over fifty books: nineteen novels, seventeen books of poetry and fifteen nonfiction works including journals, children’s books and plays。 However, she is welcomed by readers normally for her journals and memories。 Sarton is a chronicler of her own life that she spends over 20 years in journal writings。 She writes a series of journals that begin with the Journal of a Solitude (1973) and continue with Recovering: A Journal (1980), At Seventy: A Journal (1984), Endgame: A Journal of the Seventy-Ninth Year (1992), Encore: A Journal of the Eightieth Year (1993) and At Eighty-Two (1996)。 In these real recordings of her solitary life, Sarton deals with such issues as aging, isolation, solitude, friendship, love, lesbianism, self-doubt, success and failure, envy, gratitude for life’s simple pleasures, love of nature, spirituality and the constant struggles of a creative life。 Sarton’s journals find a wide audience。 As Sue Halpern remarks in a review of Endgame: A Journal of the Seventy-ninth Year for the New York Times Book Review, Sarton becomes “perhaps best known for the journals that have chronicled her life of solitude on the coast and in the interior of New England, her passionate love of other women and her wrestle with the demons of creativity”。