"Il s'en va afin que je sois seul."

Translation: He leaves so that I may be alone.

[cannonballmartin]

What purpose does "s'en" serve in this sentence?

[mttedwards]

I think the "en" in this case means "from", i.e. "he goes from" wherever they are, as in "leaves", as opposed to just going somewhere. I'm not sure why the "se" is necessary, but I guess it sort of means "he himself leaves".