--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But now respectable elderly women do not…" description: "\"“But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it is quite likely that some still do and per..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg" --- # But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse… ![“But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it is quite likely that some still do and perhaps one may hope that they always will.” quote by Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg) > ““But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it is quite likely that some still do and perhaps one may hope that they always will.”” [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. Older women can enjoy drinks without feeling the need to justify themselves, reflecting shifting social norms. **In simple terms:** Elderly women can drink freely now. Key Takeaway Accept changing norms without guilt. Themes age gender social norms freedom Mood wry observational Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - social gatherings - personal reflection - writing about aging Key Concepts feminist critique cultural shift aging and autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about gender expectations? - How do you view aging and autonomy? A Different Perspective May overlook health concerns for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Brandy Gin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brandy-gin-1110220/) [Buying Brandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying-brandy-1110221/) [Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) [Elderly Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly-women-1110219/) [Respectable Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectable-elderly-1110218/) ## Related quotes > [“There were a few middle-aged and even elderly women in the train, their silver-wiry hair and wrinkled faces, scourged by time and trouble, having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/there-were-a-few-middle-aged-and-even-elderly-women-in-the-train/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The loudest elderly women always had the quietest elderly husbands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-douglas/the-loudest-elderly-women-always-had-the-quietest-elderly-husbands/) [Scott Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-douglas/) > [“In spite of all my aches and pains, and I've got plenty. Inside I go on feeling just a chit like Gina. Perhaps everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/in-spite-of-all-my-aches-and-pains-and-i-ve-got-plenty-inside-i-go-on/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [A change of opinions is almost unknown in an elderly military man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-change-of-opinions-is-almost-unknown-in-an-elderly-military-man/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Elderly men who are popular with young women usually lack wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachman-of-breslov/elderly-men-who-are-popular-with-young-women-usually-lack-wisdom/) [Nachman of Breslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachman-of-breslov/) > [Elderly people are like plants. Whereas some go to seed, or to pot, others blossom in the most wonderful ways. I believe beauty competitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-simpson/elderly-people-are-like-plants-whereas-some-go-to-seed-or-to-pot/) [James Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-simpson/) > [Sure I'm for helping the elderly. I'm going to be old myself someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-gordy-carter/sure-i-m-for-helping-the-elderly-i-m-going-to-be-old-myself-someday/) [Lillian Gordy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-gordy-carter/) > [I am no more young. 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They're our link with history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/the-elderly-have-so-much-to-offer-they-re-our-link-with-history/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The investment in our mining industry has been very positive for Australia but we need to be doing more if we want, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/the-investment-in-our-mining-industry-has-been-very-positive-for/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) ## 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 Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. 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I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it is quite likely that some still do and perhaps one may hope that they always will.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Pym" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not-need-to-excuse-themselves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not-need-to-excuse-themselves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/barbara-pym-7049_aging_but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not_2506120.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it…” — Barbara Pym", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara Pym", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But now respectable elderly women do...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not-need-to-excuse-themselves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not-need-to-excuse-themselves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```