The Labyrinth of Solitude is poet Octavio Paz' very successful foray into essay. The book is a collection of nine essays thematically linked by the concept of solitude, although most also describe Mexican history. As a poet, Paz brings his existential exploration of what it means to be a living individual into the realm of historical and social criticism. Considering both sides of the Mexico-U.S. border, he identifies a consistent return to self-reliance which pushes the other away, contrary to the basic desire of community.
Paz is concerned with the ethereal and mysterious desires natural to humanity. He takes a stance on the idea of life after death, viewing life as a preparation for something unknowable. Consequently, he recognizes the desire to be known as a sort of rejection, a defiance of death's impending cap. To be known is the primary function which pushes people outside of themselves, demanding they practice vulnerable while acknowledging the risks for harm. Nevertheless Paz remains somewhat resigned in his tone because he believes the cruel irony of existence is that man only desires to be known because, in knowing himself, he observes for the first time that to have a self demands that everything else remain not self.
