"Hell is other people."

Jean-Paul Sartre once wrote, "Hell is other people." The quote seems to be very misanthropic on the surface, and it is so. However, there's a deeper connotation: If hell is other people, then one's self is not included. Therefore, Sartre seems to imply that one's self isn't hell, but all other human connections are hell. So, while the quote may seem misanthropic, I believe Sartre's original idea is this: Heaven is one's self. This may even serve as a prelude to the quote mentioned earlier. Oscar Wilde once wrote, "I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly." Wilde's quote implies the same notion in many of his other writings. For example, he also wrote that "The only possible society is oneself." While not necessarily misanthropic, this quote points out that Wilde's nature is more of asocial (or antisocial). He didn't say he hated all humans (including himself), but that he prefers the company of himself over that of others. He can be alone without being lonely.

God bless.

(: