I have a huge, active imagination, and I think I’m really scared of being alone because if I’m left to my own devices, I’ll just turn into a madwoman.

Danes frames solitude not as peaceful self-sufficiency but as a psychologically risky space where an overactive imagination can spiral into anxiety and self-alienation. The humor of “turn into a madwoman” works as self-deprecation, yet it also points to a real fear: that without external structure—work, relationships, routine—inner narratives can become consuming. The quote captures a modern tension between valuing independence and recognizing the mind’s tendency to catastrophize when unmoored. It also suggests that creativity and vulnerability are intertwined: the same imaginative power that fuels artistic work can, in isolation, amplify dread.