My favorite painting ever is "The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich. This speaks directly to my heart. I love it. I am also a huge fan of Edward Hopper. "Automat" is one of my favorites from him: Most people talk about sadness and being alone, when they see this picture. For me, I see it very differently. This was a time when women rarely went out, our could go out alone. Also, this is an Automat - an early type of cafeteria - so she is not having to make dinner. So what I see is a single, independent woman, enjoying her freedom to go out on her own, and purchase a meal she didn't have to make. I see independence, rather than solitude.
This is one of my favourite Hoppers as well. Interesting that you interpret it as independence. The painting makes me remember a moment I had alone in a cafe in Barcelona at the age of 18 or so. I've never felt as independent as I did then, or as alone. Perhaps independence and loneliness go hand in hand.
Or maybe Independence is where you wind up after passing through Loneliness? That kinda resonates with me... I know I have felt lonely at specific times in specific locations, and not lonely in the exact same locations at other times, while still being alone. Are Independence and Loneliness just different states of mind, rather than different places? I like that idea... Perhaps independence and loneliness go hand in hand.