Seeing Life Quote by Margaret Drabble
““She cannot help but see a lifespan as a journey, indeed as a pilgrimage. This isn’t fashionable these days, but it’s her way of seeing. A life has a destination, an ending, a last saying. She is perplexed and exercised by the way that now, in the twenty-first century, we seem to be inventing innumerable ways of postponing the sense of arrival, the sense of arriving at a proper ending. Her inspections of evolving models of residential care and care homes for the elderly have made her aware of the infinitely clever and complex and inhumane delays and devices we create to avoid and deny death, to avoid fulfilling our destiny and arriving at our destination. And the result, in so many cases, has been that we arrive there not in good spirits, as we say our last farewells and greet the afterlife, but senseless, incontinent, demented, medicated into amnesia, aphasia, indignity.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble, 1978
The quote reflects on modern society’s tendency to delay death and the natural end of life through medical and institutional means, leading to a loss of dignity and meaningful closure.
In simple terms: We postpone death, losing dignity at life’s end.
Key Takeaway
Respect natural endings; avoid unnecessary prolongation.
Themes
mortality
dignity
aging
medical ethics
societal trends
Mood
reflective
somber
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
critical
observational
When to use this quote
- elder care policy
- personal end‑of‑life planning
- family discussions about death
- healthcare decision making
Key Concepts
Existentialism
bioethics
gerontology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do we balance life‑extending care with preserving dignity?
- What societal changes could restore respectful endings?
A Different Perspective
Prolonging life can cause suffering and strip away personal agency.
