--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am afraid of getting older … I am…" description: "\"I am afraid of getting older … I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day—spare me from the relentless cage of routine and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sylvia-plath-149_cages_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_1217683.jpg" --- # I am afraid of getting older … I am afraid of getting… ![“I am afraid of getting older … I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day—spare me from the relentless cage of routine and rote. I want to be free…. I want, I want to think, to be omniscient…. I think I would like to call myself ‘The girl who wanted to be God.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sylvia-plath-149_cages_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_1217683.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sylvia-plath-149_cages_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_1217683.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/58f/sylvia-plath-149_cages_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_1217683.jpg) > “I am afraid of getting older … I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day—spare me from the relentless cage of routine and rote. I want to be free…. I want, I want to think, to be omniscient…. I think I would like to call myself ‘The girl who wanted to be God.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She expresses fear of aging and routine, yearning for ultimate knowledge and freedom. **In simple terms:** She fears aging, marriage, routine, and wants omniscience. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond routine and embrace growth. Themes existential dread freedom knowledge identity Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical poetic When to use this quote - midlife crisis - artistic creation - personal introspection - spiritual seeking Key Concepts mortality self‑actualization creative longing Questions to Reflect On - What does freedom mean to you? - How can you find purpose without omniscience? A Different Perspective The desire for omniscience may be unattainable and isolating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Getting married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-married/) [Getting older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-older/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Omniscient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscient/) [Relentless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relentless/) [Routine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/routine/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I am afraid of getting older...I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day — spare me from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid-of-getting-married-spare-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I am afraid of getting older. I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day, spare me from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid-of-getting-married-spare-me-3/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I want, I think, to be omniscient. I think I would like to call myself "the girl who wanted to be God." Yet if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-want-i-think-to-be-omniscient-i-think-i-would-like-to-call-myself/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I am afraid of getting older. I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a day—spare me from the relentless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid-of-getting-married-spare-me-4/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I am afraid of getting married. Spare me from cooking three meals a dayspare me from the relentless cage of routine and rote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-am-afraid-of-getting-married-spare-me-from-cooking-three-meals-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [As you get older, you're not afraid of doubt. Doubt isn't running the show. You take out all the self-agonizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/as-you-get-older-you-re-not-afraid-of-doubt-doubt-isn-t-running-the/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [The older we get the less afraid we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/the-older-we-get-the-less-afraid-we-are/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [I think my songwriting has developed over the years. As I get older, I have become less afraid to share real experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayvon-owen/i-think-my-songwriting-has-developed-over-the-years-as-i-get-older-i/) [Rayvon Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rayvon-owen/) > [Some of these little girls are afraid to admit they are getting older. I am not afraid. You can't put your finger in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-jurado/some-of-these-little-girls-are-afraid-to-admit-they-are-getting-older/) [Katy Jurado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-jurado/) > [You know, many actors when they get older are afraid to be around young people, but I welcome their views.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-moorehead/you-know-many-actors-when-they-get-older-are-afraid-to-be-around/) [Agnes Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-moorehead/) > [When I returned to wrestling, I went back a changed man. I had adopted a new way of thinking. All I wanted was for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-michaels/when-i-returned-to-wrestling-i-went-back-a-changed-man-i-had-adopted/) [Shawn Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-michaels/) > [I wanted it to be you. God damn, I really did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-derrah/i-wanted-it-to-be-you-god-damn-i-really-did/) Larissa Derrah > [“seemed like the flaw in life, that God had given men the freedom to do good or evil. And yet that freedom, a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-henderson/seemed-like-the-flaw-in-life-that-god-had-given-men-the-freedom-to-do/) [Dee Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-henderson/) > [\* God created the person he wished I was, I'm living in the memory of how he wanted me to. God don't create his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-wilson/god-created-the-person-he-wished-i-was-i-m-living-in-the-memory-of/) [Megan Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-wilson/) > [“Bean was tired of talking about this. She looked so happy when she talked about God, but he hadn't figured it out yet, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/bean-was-tired-of-talking-about-this-she-looked-so-happy-when-she/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am afraid of getting older … I am afraid of getting married. 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