--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am afraid of getting older. I am afraid…" 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/4ed/sylvia-plath-149_afraid_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_2868336.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 think, to be omniscient… I think I would like to call myself "The girl who wanted to be God." Yet if I…” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/sylvia-plath-149_afraid_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_2868336.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/sylvia-plath-149_afraid_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_2868336.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ed/sylvia-plath-149_afraid_i-am-afraid-of-getting-older-i-am-afraid_2868336.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 think, to be omniscient… I think I would like to call myself "The girl who wanted to be God." Yet if I were not in this body, where would I be—perhaps I am destined to be classified and qualified. But, oh, I cry out against it. I am I—I am powerful—but to what extent? I am I.”” [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. The speaker fears aging, marriage, routine, yearning for freedom and omniscience, questioning identity and power. **In simple terms:** Fear of aging and routine, desire for freedom and power. Key Takeaway Embrace change and seek authentic self. Themes existential identity freedom fear power Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative writing - career transitions Key Concepts existentialism psychology feminist literature Questions to Reflect On - What does freedom mean to you? - How can you balance ambition with self-care? A Different Perspective The intense self-criticism may hinder self-acceptance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Getting married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-married/) [Getting older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-older/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Omniscient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omniscient/) ## Related quotes > [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…](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 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-2/) [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/) [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/) > [A mind is so closely shaped by the body and destined to serve it that only one mind could possibly arise in it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/a-mind-is-so-closely-shaped-by-the-body-and-destined-to-serve-it-that/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [The younger and healthier a woman is and the more her new and glossy body seems destined for eternal freshness, the less useful is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-younger-and-healthier-a-woman-is-and-the-more-her-new-and-glossy/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Happy people look young. You’re really afraid of getting older, aren’t you? You should only be afraid of getting less happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-smith/happy-people-look-young-you-re-really-afraid-of-getting-older-aren-t/) [Deborah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-smith/) > [A lot of it is maturity and getting older. You know, sort of getting married and realizing you're not out there for yourself anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-fish/a-lot-of-it-is-maturity-and-getting-older-you-know-sort-of-getting/) [Mardy Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-fish/) > [You cannot get an A if you're afraid of getting an F.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/you-cannot-get-an-a-if-you-re-afraid-of-getting-an-f/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [People ask me if I'm afraid of getting typecast, but you can't be afraid of that. It's really not up to you. I'm getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/people-ask-me-if-i-m-afraid-of-getting-typecast-but-you-can-t-be/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [I moved around so much when I was younger that I sort of had to have this type of exterior; you know, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cavallari/i-moved-around-so-much-when-i-was-younger-that-i-sort-of-had-to-have/) [Kristin Cavallari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cavallari/) > [I'm not afraid to love. I'm just afraid of not being loved back. And I'm not afraid to try again. I'm just afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-afraid-to-love-i-m-just-afraid-of-not-being-loved-back-and-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I resolve to venture into the city on my own. I look at maps in the library—subway maps, bus maps, and regular maps—and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-feldman/i-resolve-to-venture-into-the-city-on-my-own-i-look-at-maps-in-the/) [Deborah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-feldman/) > [The reason I push people away is because I'm afraid of getting hurt again. I know how it feels, and I don't want that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-i-push-people-away-is-because-i-m-afraid-of-getting-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. 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