Reply #47: Recluse or hermit? What's the difference? [View All]

[Pathwalker]

The way I see it, a hermit lives entirely alone, usually in small cramped quarters, while a recluse allows more creature comforts and more people into their space. I've often joked that I'm a "failed recluse", because it accurately describes my life. I always said I just wanted to be alone, but then
why did I marry such a social extrovert? I guess I'm just not as commited to solitude as I think I am.
Also, maybe the difference can also be that while the hermit has entirely rejected society, the recluse simply withdraws, but doesn't cut off all contact, in order to persue inner needs. Less anti-social, more spiritual.
The hermits I've known were very anti-social types, angry and bitter, including my husband's uncle. He lived in a hovel for 35 years, but left his half-million dollar fortune to the American Cancer Society,
which no one except his banker ever knew existed. He lived and died alone, angry and bitter. That's a hermit, not a recluse - as I see it.
What differences, if any, do you all see between the definitions of hermits and recluses?