Evans and Nash's "solitude"

"I wished to aquire the simplicity, native feelings, and virtues of savage life; to divest myself of the factitios habits, prejudices and inperfections of civilization;... and to find, amidst the solitued and grandeur of the western wilds, more correct views of human nature and of the true interest of man. The season of snows was preferred, that i might experince the pleasure of suffering, and the novelty of danger." (The Alaska Interior, Estwick Evans).



"Wilderness appeled to those bored or disgusted with man and his works. It not only offed an escape from society but also was an ideal stage for the Romantic individual to exercise the cult that he frequently made of his own soul. The solitude and total freedom of the wilderness created a perfect setting for either melancholy or exultation." (Wilderness and the American Mind, Roderick Nash).



In this quote it seems as if nature or the wilderness is some type of paradise that most people want to go to, to escape their problems. Evans uses the word “solitude” in his quote which sounds to me as if it means that there is no influence of man in the wilderness, as if these people can escape from their day to day problems. Also by “solitude” it could mean the lack of technology. These days technology is everywhere and you see it 24.7 nonstop, it can be overwhelming, but in the wilderness there is no technology and there we can take a rest from it. Nash also mentions “solitude” in his quote and it sounds exactly the same how Evans mentions it in his quote. Nash’s usage of “solitude” seems to mean, again, the lack of human influence or signature. A place to get away from it all and put aside our thoughts about our human problems and just relax; where “total freedom” can be found. Freedom from work, thoughts of human regular problems like bills and things of that nature and freedom from being with other human beings.