--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How displaced is the sympathy lavished on…" description: "\"“How displaced is the sympathy lavished on adolescents. There is a yet more difficult age which comes later, when one has less to hope for and less abi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/barbara-pym-7049_ability-to-change_how-displaced-is-the-sympathy-lavished-o_3230972.jpg" --- # How displaced is the sympathy lavished on adolescents… ![“How displaced is the sympathy lavished on adolescents. There is a yet more difficult age which comes later, when one has less to hope for and less ability to change, when one has cast the die and has to settle into a chosen life without the consolations of habit or the wisdom of maturity.” quote by Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/barbara-pym-7049_ability-to-change_how-displaced-is-the-sympathy-lavished-o_3230972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/barbara-pym-7049_ability-to-change_how-displaced-is-the-sympathy-lavished-o_3230972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/barbara-pym-7049_ability-to-change_how-displaced-is-the-sympathy-lavished-o_3230972.jpg) > ““How displaced is the sympathy lavished on adolescents. There is a yet more difficult age which comes later, when one has less to hope for and less ability to change, when one has cast the die and has to settle into a chosen life without the consolations of habit or the wisdom of maturity.”” [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. Middle age brings a loss of hope and agency, forcing acceptance of a life chosen without youthful optimism or mature wisdom. **In simple terms:** Later life can feel stuck without hope or change. Key Takeaway Seek meaning within constraints. Themes aging hope agency choice wisdom Mood somber thoughtful introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career transition - retirement planning - personal reflection - counseling Key Concepts psychology existential social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can restore hope? - How can one cultivate wisdom later in life? A Different Perspective The view may be overly pessimistic, ignoring possibilities for growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability to change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-change/) [Adolescents Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adolescents-difficult-4502517/) [Age Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-comes/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Difficult Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-age-4356357/) [Displaced Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/displaced-sympathy-6111893/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“Youth is a marvelous garment. How misplaced is the sympathy lavished on adolescents. There is a yet more difficult age which comes later, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/youth-is-a-marvelous-garment-how-misplaced-is-the-sympathy-lavished/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“It is a thing forever changing, this of Hero-worship: different in each age, difficult to do well in any age. Indeed, the heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/it-is-a-thing-forever-changing-this-of-hero-worship-different-in-each/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“Guillam was exhausted. Forty is a difficult age at which to stay awake, he decided. At twenty or at sixty the body knows what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/guillam-was-exhausted-forty-is-a-difficult-age-at-which-to-stay-awake/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [It is difficult to age because society won't let you. People expect you to look how you did at the height of your fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koo-stark/it-is-difficult-to-age-because-society-won-t-let-you-people-expect/) [Koo Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koo-stark/) > [It's a very difficult age when the forces of time want to destroy us and take us away. They're just snatching people like devils;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-schneemann/it-s-a-very-difficult-age-when-the-forces-of-time-want-to-destroy-us/) [Carolee Schneemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-schneemann/) > [“When a dark age comes, hold the light inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/when-a-dark-age-comes-hold-the-light-inside/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [“I daresay with age comes the inclination not to care much what others think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/i-daresay-with-age-comes-the-inclination-not-to-care-much-what-others/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [We should not be worried about age when it comes to love and attraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-bellucci/we-should-not-be-worried-about-age-when-it-comes-to-love-and/) [Monica Bellucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-bellucci/) > [Age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/age-doesn-t-always-bring-wisdom-sometimes-age-comes-alone/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [With age comes wisdom and a high sex drive. And the wisdom to enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-valletta/with-age-comes-wisdom-and-a-high-sex-drive-and-the-wisdom-to-enjoy-it/) [Amber Valletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-valletta/) > [It's an irony that with the physical decline of age comes more mental wellbeing. It's life's cruel trick. You've settled down as a person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/it-s-an-irony-that-with-the-physical-decline-of-age-comes-more-mental/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [With age comes wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-sreesanth/with-age-comes-wisdom/) [S. Sreesanth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-sreesanth/) > [“Think, speak, and act. With age comes self-reproach: I might have done more. Therefore now do!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ophile-thor/think-speak-and-act-with-age-comes-self-reproach-i-might-have-done/) [Théophile Thoré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ophile-thor/) > [With age comes wisdom and confidence, and I don't feel like I'm seeking approval as much as I used to from other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-clark/with-age-comes-wisdom-and-confidence-and-i-don-t-feel-like-i-m/) [Terri Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-clark/) > [With age comes common sense and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/with-age-comes-common-sense-and-wisdom/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) ## 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 Ability to change quotes > [“Don't be afraid to go left when the world is going right. The French learned that the people have power to make change, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-r-lemieux/don-t-be-afraid-to-go-left-when-the-world-is-going-right-the-french/) [Martin R. Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-r-lemieux/) > [You have the capability to change your life all with a simple shift in perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/you-have-the-capability-to-change-your-life-all-with-a-simple-shift/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [“Success is the ability to change some one's perception of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeeshan-raza/success-is-the-ability-to-change-some-one-s-perception-of-life/) [Zeeshan Raza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeeshan-raza/) > [We may not have the ability to change all of the world's wrongs, but we can make a difference where we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-burroughs/we-may-not-have-the-ability-to-change-all-of-the-world-s-wrongs-but/) [Dillon Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-burroughs/) > [“Cinderella, until lately, has never been a passive dreamer waiting for rescue. The forerunners of the Ash-girl have all been hardy, active heroines who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/cinderella-until-lately-has-never-been-a-passive-dreamer-waiting-for/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [It always blows me away when I see people freak out because I've changed my mind on something. I'm not an elected official, folks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-quesada/it-always-blows-me-away-when-i-see-people-freak-out-because-i-ve/) [Joe Quesada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-quesada/) > [Victoria's Secret should highlight real women that actually purchase their clothing. I would love for them to start featuring more real bodies and diverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/victoria-s-secret-should-highlight-real-women-that-actually-purchase/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [“In a world of change and decay not even the man of faith can be completely happy. Instinctively he seeks the unchanging and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer-3/in-a-world-of-change-and-decay-not-even-the-man-of-faith-can-be/) [A W Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer-3/) > [The concept of making a movie in which the director dictates is kind of exotic - and absolutely not truthful. Directing means allowing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luca-guadagnino/the-concept-of-making-a-movie-in-which-the-director-dictates-is-kind/) [Luca Guadagnino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luca-guadagnino/) > [Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/our-population-and-our-use-of-the-finite-resources-of-planet-earth/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Wake up everyday with confidence, knowing you have the ability to change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isiahnunn/wake-up-everyday-with-confidence-knowing-you-have-the-ability-to/) [IsiahNunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isiahnunn/) > [“That is what you love a friend for: the ability to change your angle of vision, bring back your best self when you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/that-is-what-you-love-a-friend-for-the-ability-to-change-your-angle/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“God gives us the sun and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. 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