--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were a few middle-aged and even…" description: "\"“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 almo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/thomas-hardy-410_aged_there-were-a-few-middle-aged-and-even-el_2966845.jpg" --- # There were a few middle-aged and even elderly women in the… ![“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 almost a grotesque, certainly a pathetic, appearance in such a jaunty situation. In a true view, perhaps, there was more to be gathered and told of each…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/thomas-hardy-410_aged_there-were-a-few-middle-aged-and-even-el_2966845.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/thomas-hardy-410_aged_there-were-a-few-middle-aged-and-even-el_2966845.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/thomas-hardy-410_aged_there-were-a-few-middle-aged-and-even-el_2966845.jpg) > ““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 almost a grotesque, certainly a pathetic, appearance in such a jaunty situation. In a true view, perhaps, there was more to be gathered and told of each anxious and experienced one, to whom the years were drawing nigh when she should say, 'I have no pleasure in them', than of her juvenile comrades. But let the elder be passed over here for those under whose bodices the life throbbed quick and warm.”” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts the weary, aging women with younger ones, suggesting deeper stories lie with the elders despite their frail appearance. **In simple terms:** Elderly women have hidden depth despite outward decline. Key Takeaway Listen to older voices for richer insight. Themes age appearance wisdom generational contrast Mood melancholic reflective Type literary observational When to use this quote - train observation - literary analysis - social commentary Key Concepts existential reflection human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What stories do we miss by ignoring the elderly? - How does appearance affect our perception of value? A Different Perspective Older individuals may be overlooked in favor of youth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged/) [Aged Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged-elderly-4547431/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Classics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classics/) [Elderly Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly-women-1110219/) [Faces Scourged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces-scourged-4547430/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Almost all my middle-aged and elderly acquaintances, including me, feel about 25, unless we haven't had our coffee, in which case we feel 107.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/almost-all-my-middle-aged-and-elderly-acquaintances-including-me-feel/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“But now respectable elderly women do not need to excuse themselves for buying brandy or even gin, though it is quite likely that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/but-now-respectable-elderly-women-do-not-need-to-excuse-themselves/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [“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/) > [“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/) > [I'm officially middle-aged. I don't need drugs anymore, thank God. I can get the same effect just by standing up real fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-katz/i-m-officially-middle-aged-i-don-t-need-drugs-anymore-thank-god-i-can/) [Jonathan Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-katz/) > [I'm not always in that good with middle-aged heterosexual men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/i-m-not-always-in-that-good-with-middle-aged-heterosexual-men/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [It's hard to feel middle-aged, because how can you tell how long you are going to live?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/it-s-hard-to-feel-middle-aged-because-how-can-you-tell-how-long-you/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“He got out in a middle-aged kind of way, locked the car, and ambled along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-b-cooney/he-got-out-in-a-middle-aged-kind-of-way-locked-the-car-and-ambled/) [Caroline B. Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-b-cooney/) > [You can't ask someone to act middle-aged. Someone has to bring their own fatigue to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/you-can-t-ask-someone-to-act-middle-aged-someone-has-to-bring-their/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [“The further points, that he is middle-aged, that his hair is grizzled,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/the-further-points-that-he-is-middle-aged-that-his-hair-is-grizzled/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“I was young but I hated like a middle-aged man at the end of his prime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nnedi-okorafor/i-was-young-but-i-hated-like-a-middle-aged-man-at-the-end-of-his-prime/) [Nnedi Okorafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nnedi-okorafor/) > [Being middle-aged is about realising that you've lived most of your life. You don't have as much time in front of you as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/being-middle-aged-is-about-realising-that-you-ve-lived-most-of-your/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When we're young, everyone over the age of thirty looks middle-aged, everyone over fifty antique. And time, as it goes by, confirms that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/when-we-re-young-everyone-over-the-age-of-thirty-looks-middle-aged/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Youth is the period in which a man can be hopeless. The end of every episode is the end of the world. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/youth-is-the-period-in-which-a-man-can-be-hopeless-the-end-of-every/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. Secondarily, he made close acquaintance with phenomena which he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/he-grew-away-from-old-associations-and-saw-something-new-in-life-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“She was in a sound sleep, Jude, dying of anxiety lest she should have caught a chill which might permanently injure her, was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/she-was-in-a-sound-sleep-jude-dying-of-anxiety-lest-she-should-have/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You ride well, but you don't kiss nicely at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-ride-well-but-you-don-t-kiss-nicely-at-all/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [You could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks, or her ninth sparkling from her eyes; and even her fifth would flit over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/you-could-sometimes-see-her-twelfth-year-in-her-cheeks-or-her-ninth/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It was mid-May time, bringing with it weather not, perhaps, quite so blooming as that assumed to be natural to the month by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-was-mid-may-time-bringing-with-it-weather-not-perhaps-quite-so/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [If Galileo had said in verse that the world moved, the inquisition might have let him alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/if-galileo-had-said-in-verse-that-the-world-moved-the-inquisition/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Some folk want their luck buttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/some-folk-want-their-luck-buttered/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [Measurement of life should be proportioned rather to the intensity of the experience than to its actual length.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/measurement-of-life-should-be-proportioned-rather-to-the-intensity-of/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I was court-martialed in my absence, and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/i-was-court-martialed-in-my-absence-and-sentenced-to-death-in-my/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“It being the first time in his life that he had touched female fingers under water, Dick duly registered the sensation as rather a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/it-being-the-first-time-in-his-life-that-he-had-touched-female/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“As soon as she could discern the outline of the house, it had all its old effect upon Tess's imagination. Part of her body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/as-soon-as-she-could-discern-the-outline-of-the-house-it-had-all-its/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [ The perfect woman, you see \[is\] a working-woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who \[uses\] her hands and her head… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-perfect-woman-you-see-is-a-working-woman-not-an-idler-not-a-fine/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“The Sinister Spirit sneered: 'It had to be!' And again the Spirit of Pity whispered, 'Why?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/the-sinister-spirit-sneered-it-had-to-be-and-again-the-spirit-of-pity/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“Justice” was done, and the President of the Immortals (in Aeschylean phrase) had ended his sport with Tess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/justice-was-done-and-the-president-of-the-immortals-in-aeschylean/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Explore all 561 Thomas Hardy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More Aged quotes > [Relish love in your old age! Aged love is like aged wine; it becomes more satisfying, more refreshing, more valuable, more appreciated and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/relish-love-in-your-old-age-aged-love-is-like-aged-wine-it-becomes/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [I’m 59 and people call me middle aged. How many 118 year old men do you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-cryer/i-m-59-and-people-call-me-middle-aged-how-many-118-year-old-men-do/) [Barry Cryer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-cryer/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If we didn't live venturously, plucking the wild goat by the beard, and trembling over precipices, we should never be depressed, I've no doubt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-didn-t-live-venturously-plucking-the-wild-goat-by-the-beard-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I said 'No, I've aged, but grown up? No'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lloyd/i-said-no-i-ve-aged-but-grown-up-no/) [Jake Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lloyd/) > [“I am a very old man. How old I do not know. It is possible I am a hundred, maybe more. I cannot tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/i-am-a-very-old-man-how-old-i-do-not-know-it-is-possible-i-am-a/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I'm not someone who had to worry about aging on camera. I was already aged when I got there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/i-m-not-someone-who-had-to-worry-about-aging-on-camera-i-was-already/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [I first picked up a violin aged five - I just assumed everyone played.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-rieu/i-first-picked-up-a-violin-aged-five-i-just-assumed-everyone-played/) [Andre Rieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-rieu/) > [I'm partial to a nice Parmesan that has aged well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-part/i-m-partial-to-a-nice-parmesan-that-has-aged-well/) [John Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-part/) > [I've been cycling ever since I was a kid. I remember taking my cycling proficiency test aged seven - I got to school at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/i-ve-been-cycling-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-i-remember-taking-my-cycling/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [I do feel like I've gotten younger as I've aged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/i-do-feel-like-i-ve-gotten-younger-as-i-ve-aged/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [When we're young, everyone over the age of thirty looks middle-aged, everyone over fifty antique. And time, as it goes by, confirms that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/when-we-re-young-everyone-over-the-age-of-thirty-looks-middle-aged/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I've aged. 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She sliced like a knife through everything, at the same time was outside, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-felt-very-young-at-the-same-time-unspeakably-aged-she-sliced-like/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Browse all 137 Aged quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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 almost a grotesque, certainly a pathetic, appearance in such a jaunty situation. In a true view, perhaps, there was more to be gathered and told of each anxious and experienced one, to whom the years were drawing nigh when she should say, 'I have no pleasure in them', than of her juvenile comrades. 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