Two miniature cane chairs: one beneath a glass dome and the other surrounded by small wooden figures.

Original artwork, not a still

Gertrude Stein

When they are alone they want to be with others, and when they are with others they want to be alone. After all, human beings are like that.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

A fond, wry observation about restless human nature: alone, people crave company, and in company, they crave solitude. The quote treats this back-and-forth as simply what people are like, not a flaw to fix, and ends on a shrug.

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