--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold…" description: "\"“Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made onl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/barbara-pym-7049_ageing_ageing-slightly-mad-and-on-the-threshold_1441019.jpg" --- # Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement… ![“Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made only the most perfunctory remarks. It was difficult to imagine what her retirement would be like—impossibe and rather gruesome to speculate on it.” quote by Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/barbara-pym-7049_ageing_ageing-slightly-mad-and-on-the-threshold_1441019.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/barbara-pym-7049_ageing_ageing-slightly-mad-and-on-the-threshold_1441019.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/barbara-pym-7049_ageing_ageing-slightly-mad-and-on-the-threshold_1441019.jpg) > ““Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made only the most perfunctory remarks. It was difficult to imagine what her retirement would be like—impossibe and rather gruesome to speculate on it.”” [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes the unsettling mix of aging, eccentricity, and impending retirement, causing others to avoid her and making her future seem bleak. **In simple terms:** Aging and retirement can make people feel isolated and feared. Key Takeaway Recognize and support those facing retirement anxieties. Themes aging isolation mental health social stigma Mood empathetic reflective Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - family gatherings - workplace interactions - healthcare planning - community support Key Concepts existential anxiety ageism retirement transition Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster empathy toward aging individuals? - What support structures help ease retirement fears? A Different Perspective Not everyone will react negatively; some may offer genuine companionship. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ageing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) [Remarks Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarks-difficult-5156873/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Retirement Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement-like-986625/) [Retirement Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement-uneasy-5156872/) [Uneasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy/) [Uneasy Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uneasy-combination-5156874/) ## Related quotes > [I never think about retirement or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-cavalera/i-never-think-about-retirement-or-anything-like-that/) [Max Cavalera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-cavalera/) > [Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it to the fullest, but not so fully that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-clements/retirement-is-like-a-long-vacation-in-las-vegas-the-goal-is-to-enjoy/) [Jonathan Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-clements/) > [“Letty allowed her to ramble on while she looked around the wood, remembering its autumn carpet of beech leaves and wondering if it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/letty-allowed-her-to-ramble-on-while-she-looked-around-the-wood/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [ “If the two women feared that the coming of this date \[their retirement\] might give some clue to their ages, it was not an… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/if-the-two-women-feared-that-the-coming-of-this-date-their-retirement/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“So many things seemed to come in plastic bags now that it was difficult to keep track of them. The main thing was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/so-many-things-seemed-to-come-in-plastic-bags-now-that-it-was/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/ageing-is-so-many-different-things-and-cells-being-able-to-self-renew/) [Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I've been 21 for many years now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/i-ve-been-21-for-many-years-now/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [“She has built her whole life on the foundation of beauty: each chiseled plane, each sloping dimple, each soft curve as crucial as keystones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/she-has-built-her-whole-life-on-the-foundation-of-beauty-each/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [“Ageing must be like wearing a heavy, itchy suit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/ageing-must-be-like-wearing-a-heavy-itchy-suit/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [People's opinions don't interfere with me. Ageing gracefully is supposed to mean trying not to hide time passing and just looking a wreck. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/people-s-opinions-don-t-interfere-with-me-ageing-gracefully-is/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## More by Barbara Pym > [“She had been feeling that things were pretty desperate if one found oneself talking about and almost quoting Matthew Arnold to comparative strangers, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/she-had-been-feeling-that-things-were-pretty-desperate-if-one-found/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“He is a brilliant man, said Miss Doggett. She helped him a good deal in his work, I think. Mrs. Bonner says that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/he-is-a-brilliant-man-said-miss-doggett-she-helped-him-a-good-deal-in/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/life-is-cruel-and-we-do-terrible-things-to-each-other/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“One wouldn't believe there could be so many people, and one must love them all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/one-wouldn-t-believe-there-could-be-so-many-people-and-one-must-love/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“-Hoy no pareces tú misma- dijo él en tono censurador-. Espero que no haya sido el Nuits Saint Georges. -Ya sabes que no estoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/hoy-no-pareces-t-misma-dijo-l-en-tono-censurador-espero-que-no-haya/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [I stretched out my hand towards the little bookshelf where I kept cookery and devotional books, the most comfortable bedside reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/i-stretched-out-my-hand-towards-the-little-bookshelf-where-i-kept/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“Jane felt that he would write from the depths of a wretchedness that would not necessarily be insincere because its outward signs were so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/jane-felt-that-he-would-write-from-the-depths-of-a-wretchedness-that/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“You lose your sense of perspective when you get too close, and the charm goes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/you-lose-your-sense-of-perspective-when-you-get-too-close-and-the/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“I hope you don’t mind tea in mugs,’ she said, coming in with a tray. ‘I told you I was a slut.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/i-hope-you-don-t-mind-tea-in-mugs-she-said-coming-in-with-a-tray-i/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“Let me hasten to add that I am not at all like Jane Eyre, who must have given hope to so many plain women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/let-me-hasten-to-add-that-i-am-not-at-all-like-jane-eyre-who-must/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“However romantically ill John might look, it seemed that he had nothing worse than an unromantic cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/however-romantically-ill-john-might-look-it-seemed-that-he-had/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [The burden of keeping three people in toilet paper seemed to me rather a heavy one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/the-burden-of-keeping-three-people-in-toilet-paper-seemed-to-me/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“How could she explain to him what her love was like? That although it was a love stronger than death, it wasn’t the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/how-could-she-explain-to-him-what-her-love-was-like-that-although-it/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“I have often wondered whether it is really a good thing to be honest by nature and upbringing; certainly it is not a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/i-have-often-wondered-whether-it-is-really-a-good-thing-to-be-honest/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“Oh, yes, men are very simple and obvious in some ways, you know. They generally react in the way one would expect and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/oh-yes-men-are-very-simple-and-obvious-in-some-ways-you-know-they/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) [Explore all 95 Barbara Pym quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) ## More Ageing quotes > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [People's opinions don't interfere with me. Ageing gracefully is supposed to mean trying not to hide time passing and just looking a wreck. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/people-s-opinions-don-t-interfere-with-me-ageing-gracefully-is/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [“Ageing must be like wearing a heavy, itchy suit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/ageing-must-be-like-wearing-a-heavy-itchy-suit/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [“She has built her whole life on the foundation of beauty: each chiseled plane, each sloping dimple, each soft curve as crucial as keystones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/she-has-built-her-whole-life-on-the-foundation-of-beauty-each/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“I've been 21 for many years now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/i-ve-been-21-for-many-years-now/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/ageing-is-so-many-different-things-and-cells-being-able-to-self-renew/) [Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [All of my friends are my age and we are all ageing at the same time. We talk about it and moan, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-schiffer/all-of-my-friends-are-my-age-and-we-are-all-ageing-at-the-same-time/) [Claudia Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-schiffer/) > [You've got to get your head right about ageing. Taking care of diet and exercise and facing your fears about growing older will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/you-ve-got-to-get-your-head-right-about-ageing-taking-care-of-diet/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [Ageing is very rare. We only see it in humans and laboratory animals and in zoo animals and in our pets. Basically, organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/ageing-is-very-rare-we-only-see-it-in-humans-and-laboratory-animals/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Growing age can kill the beauty, not the style.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/growing-age-can-kill-the-beauty-not-the-style/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 311 Ageing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ageing, slightly mad and on the threshold of retirement, it was an uneasy combination and it was no wonder that people shied away from her or made only the most perfunctory remarks. 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