Life begins at 40: the biological and cultural roots of the midlife crisis | The Royal Society

Summary

The speaker reflects on the concept of the midlife crisis, exploring its psychological origins and social implications. Drawing on examples like the character Reginald Perrin, the talk delves into the standardized life course and the pressures of meeting societal milestones. It discusses the influence of the phrase 'life begins at 40' and how the midlife crisis is a product of historical, cultural, and economic contexts, rather than an inevitable biological event.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker expresses gratitude to the Royal Society and acknowledges the support of institutions like the Wellcome Trust and the University of Exeter in their research career.
• 🤝 The speaker emphasizes the importance of community and thanks their family for their enduring support throughout their personal and professional journey.
• 🔬 The lecture discusses the concept of the 'midlife crisis' in the context of the Royal Society, drawing connections to historical figures like John Wilkins, John Desmond Bernal, and Peter Medawar.
• 🎭 The script references the character Reginald Perrin from a 1970s BBC sitcom to illustrate the quintessential midlife crisis, highlighting the character's dissatisfaction and identity struggles.
• 🧐 The term 'midlife crisis' is traced back to its introduction by Canadian psychoanalyst Elliot Jaques, who described it as a depressive identity crisis occurring around the age of 40.
• 📉 The speaker explores the psychological and biological underpinnings of the midlife crisis, including the fear of aging and the physical manifestations of decline.
• 👫 The script discusses societal expectations and the standardized life course, suggesting that these social constructs can exacerbate the feelings of crisis during middle age.
• 🏠 The concept of the 'empty nest' is mentioned as a potential stressor for individuals in middle age, contributing to the reevaluation of life choices and relationships.
• 💡 The phrase 'life begins at 40' is examined, showing how it was initially a message of hope and self-fulfillment, especially during times of economic depression.
• 🛍️ The script contrasts the original optimistic interpretations of 'life begins at 40' with the eventual focus on materialism and consumption as a means of finding happiness in midlife.
• 🌐 The speaker concludes by emphasizing that the midlife crisis is not just a biological inevitability but is deeply influenced by historical, cultural, and social-economic factors.

Q & A

What is the significance of the Royal Society in the context of this speech?

The Royal Society is significant as it is renowned for its world-leading scientific research and is the institution where the speaker is honored to be giving the lecture, despite the lecture's subject matter being atypically focused on the midlife crisis.

What role did the Wellcome Trust play in the speaker's career?

The Wellcome Trust has been instrumental in the speaker's research career, providing funding from the early stages and supporting the creation of the Welcome Center for Cultures and Environments of Health, which was a fulfillment of a dream for the speaker.

Why is the speaker grateful to the University of Exeter?

The speaker is grateful to the University of Exeter for being a place where they could grow academically, develop new ideas, and have their more grandiose ideas supported and encouraged by the senior management.

What is the historical context of the term 'midlife crisis'?

The term 'midlife crisis' was first introduced by Canadian social scientist and psychoanalyst Elliot Jaques in the 1960s, who described it as a depressive identity crisis occurring around the age of 40, when individuals become disillusioned with life and work.

How did the speaker describe the character Reggie Perrin's situation?

Reggie Perrin, a character from a 1970s BBC sitcom, was depicted as experiencing a midlife crisis, feeling depressed and disillusioned with his life, work, and marriage, leading him to behave erratically and consider drastic changes to his life.

What are the two principal explanations for the midlife crisis mentioned in the script?

The two principal explanations for the midlife crisis are psychological, involving an identity crisis similar to the adolescent crisis, and biological, related to the awareness of physical decline and the fear of death.

What was the impact of the standardized life course on midlife experiences?

The standardized life course, with its socially prescribed timetable for major life events, led to increased age anxiety and a heightened awareness of whether individuals were meeting societal expectations, which could contribute to the experience of a midlife crisis.

How did the concept of 'life begins at 40' emerge and what was its significance?

The concept of 'life begins at 40' emerged in the early 20th century as a message of optimism and self-fulfillment, suggesting that midlife could be a period of new beginnings and personal growth, rather than just a decline towards old age.

What role did the phrase 'life begins at 40' play in the cultural context of the mid-20th century?

The phrase 'life begins at 40' played a significant role in the cultural context by offering a counter-narrative to the despair and depression of midlife, promoting the idea that individuals could look forward to a fulfilling and optimistic future despite the challenges of aging.

How did the script connect the midlife crisis to broader socio-economic and cultural conditions?

The script connected the midlife crisis to broader socio-economic and cultural conditions by discussing the impact of the standardized life course, the rise of materialism, and the changing expectations and pressures faced by individuals as they aged within a specific historical context.

What was the speaker's final conclusion about the nature of the midlife crisis?

The speaker concluded that the midlife crisis is not merely a biological or natural phenomenon but is fundamentally a social and cultural one, shaped by historical changes, cultural contexts, and socio-economic conditions.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ Opening Remarks and Acknowledgements

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude to John for the introduction and the audience for attending the event at the Royal Society. They acknowledge the collective nature of knowledge production, thanking three institutions for their support: the Wellcome Trust for funding their research, the University of Exeter for fostering academic growth, and their family for personal support. The speaker also pays homage to the lecture's namesakes, highlighting their contributions to science and the concept of senescence in aging. The introduction sets a stage for a discussion on the midlife crisis, referencing a 1970s sitcom to draw parallels with the topic.

05:02

👤 The Midlife Crisis of Reginald Perrin

This section delves into the character of Reginald Perrin from a 1970s BBC sitcom, illustrating the quintessential midlife crisis. At 46, Perrin is dissatisfied with his life, work, and marriage, leading to erratic behavior and a fabricated suicide to escape his old life. The speaker uses Perrin's story to introduce the concept of the midlife crisis, a term first used by Canadian psychoanalyst Elliot Jaques in 1965, describing it as a depressive identity crisis occurring around the age of 35 to 45. Jaques' analysis and the societal perception of the midlife crisis as a period of restlessness and rebellion are explored.

10:03

🧬 Psychological and Biological Perspectives on Midlife Crisis

The speaker discusses the psychological and biological explanations for the midlife crisis. Psychologically, it's viewed as an identity crisis similar to adolescence, with figures like Carl Jung and Eric Erickson contributing to the understanding of life stages and conflicts. Biologically, the crisis is linked to the awareness of physical decline and the fear of death, as researched by Peter Medawar. The speaker also touches on the gendered aspect, mentioning the biological clock and its impact on women's experiences of midlife.

15:05

🔍 Socio-Cultural Factors Shaping the Midlife Crisis

Expanding the perspective, the speaker examines the socio-cultural conditions that contribute to the midlife crisis. They discuss the standardized life course that emerged in the mid-20th century, with its milestones and expectations creating stress during middle age. The speaker highlights the concept of 'keeping up with the Joneses' and the 'sandwich generation' phenomenon, where middle-aged individuals are caught between caring for their aging parents and adolescent children. Financial pressures and the concept of the 'empty nest' are also identified as contributing factors to the midlife crisis.

20:07

📉 The Impact of Standardized Life Course on Midlife Anxiety

This section explores how the standardized life course has led to increased age consciousness and anxiety. The speaker points out that with clear societal expectations for life milestones, individuals are more likely to feel dissatisfied if they do not meet these expectations. The rise in divorce rates post-World War II and the associated social concerns about marriage stability are also discussed, with the midlife crisis being linked to potential threats to marital harmony.

25:09

💡 The Promise of Renewal: 'Life Begins at 40'

The speaker introduces the phrase 'life begins at 40' as a cultural response to midlife challenges, offering a narrative of optimism and renewal. They trace the origin of the phrase to Matilda Parsons and its popularization by Walter Pitkin, who wrote a self-help book encouraging middle-aged individuals to find happiness through self-fulfillment, leisure, and the art of living. The phrase represented a shift in perspective, from viewing midlife as a decline to an opportunity for a fresh start.

30:09

🌐 The Cultural Impact of 'Life Begins at 40'

The idea that life could begin at middle age was not just a personal mantra but also a message with societal implications. The speaker explains how the concept was adopted as a strategy for personal renewal and as a message of hope during economic recession. It was believed that if the middle-aged and elderly worked less and enjoyed life more, it would create job opportunities and boost the economy. The American Dream and the aspirations of the era are discussed, showing how the phrase resonated with the collective optimism of the time.

35:09

💔 The Shattering of Dreams and the Pursuit of Selfish Happiness

The speaker reflects on how the optimism of the mid-20th century was eventually dashed by global conflicts and the ensuing disillusionment. The American Dream, initially envisioned as a social order of equal opportunities, was reduced to material plenty and consumption. The speaker cites the work of Edmund Bergler, who described the midlife crisis as a period of narcissistic self-fulfillment, where individuals, like Reggie Perrin, sought happiness and material satisfaction as a quick fix for their disappointments and anxieties.

40:10

🌉 Conclusion: The Midlife Crisis as a Cultural and Historical Phenomenon

In conclusion, the speaker emphasizes that the midlife crisis is not merely a biological or psychological inevitability but is deeply rooted in historical and cultural contexts. They argue that individuals are shaped by the values, norms, and practices inherited from the past, and the midlife crisis is a reflection of these socio-cultural conditions. The speaker calls for a broader understanding of the midlife crisis, considering the wider social and historical factors that contribute to this complex experience.

Keywords

💡Royal Society

The Royal Society is a prestigious scientific institution based in the United Kingdom, known for its world-leading research and contributions to the scientific community. In the video, the speaker expresses honor in being invited to speak at the Royal Society, indicating the significance of the event and the audience.

💡Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is a research-funding organization that supports biomedical and health research. In the script, the speaker acknowledges the Wellcome Trust for funding a large part of their research career, highlighting the importance of such institutions in facilitating scientific progress and personal career development.

💡Midlife Crisis

A midlife crisis is a psychological and emotional state of dissatisfaction and restlessness that some individuals experience in middle age. The video discusses the concept extensively, exploring its psychological, biological, and social dimensions, and how it is depicted in culture and society.

💡Eliot Jaques

Eliot Jaques was a Canadian social scientist and psychoanalyst who is credited with introducing the term 'midlife crisis' into the mainstream. In the video, Jaques' work is mentioned to explain the psychological perspective on why individuals may experience a crisis at midlife.

💡Peter Medawar

Peter Medawar was a British zoologist known for his work on immunological tolerance, for which he received the Nobel Prize. The speaker references Medawar's interest in aging and his use of the term 'senescence,' illustrating the scientific community's engagement with the concept of aging and its social implications.

💡Standardized Life Course

The concept of a standardized life course refers to the socially prescribed timeline of major life events, such as marrying, having children, and retiring. The video discusses how this standardization can create pressures and expectations that contribute to the experience of a midlife crisis.

💡Life Begins at 40

This phrase, first used by Matilda Parsons in 1917, suggests that the best part of life starts in middle age. The video explores the evolution of this phrase and its impact on cultural perceptions of aging, self-fulfillment, and the potential for personal renewal in midlife.

💡Sandwich Generation

The term 'sandwich generation' refers to individuals who are caring for both their aging parents and their own children. In the script, it is used to describe the pressures faced by middle-aged individuals who are caught between the needs of different family generations.

💡Economic Recession

Economic recession is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced. The video mentions the impact of economic recession on individuals' aspirations and the broader cultural context that shapes the experience of a midlife crisis.

💡American Dream

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States that suggests freedom, opportunity, and the possibility of achieving success through hard work. The video discusses how the concept has evolved and how it relates to the aspirations and disillusionment experienced during a midlife crisis.

💡Narcissistic Self-Fulfillment

Narcissistic self-fulfillment refers to the pursuit of personal happiness and satisfaction often at the expense of others. The speaker in the video uses this term to describe a shift in societal values towards materialism and self-interest, particularly in the context of post-war disillusionment.

Highlights

The speaker expresses gratitude for the opportunity to speak at the Royal Society and acknowledges the importance of standing on the shoulders of giants in knowledge production.

The Wellcome Trust is thanked for its significant funding and support throughout the speaker's research career, including the establishment of the Welcome Center for cultures and environments of Health.

The University of Exeter is acknowledged for being a nurturing environment for the speaker's academic growth and for supporting innovative ideas.

The speaker's family is recognized for their crucial support throughout his life, emphasizing the personal importance of family in achieving success.

The concept of midlife crisis is introduced, with historical references to John Wilkins, John Desmond Bernal, and Peter Medawar, highlighting their contributions to science and society.

The term 'midlife crisis' is traced back to its introduction by Canadian social scientist and psychoanalyst Elliot Jaques, who described it as a depressive identity crisis.

The speaker discusses the psychological and biological explanations for the midlife crisis, including the impact of aging and societal expectations on individual behavior.

The role of standardized life courses and the social prescription of life milestones are examined as factors contributing to the emergence of the midlife crisis.

The 'Sandwich Generation' concept is introduced, describing the pressures of caring for both children and aging parents simultaneously during middle age.

The phrase 'life begins at 40' is explored in its historical context, showing how it was initially directed at middle-aged women to encourage physical and mental fitness.

The evolution of the 'life begins at 40' concept into a broader societal message of optimism and personal renewal is discussed.

The speaker argues that the midlife crisis is not just a biological phenomenon but is also a social and cultural one, shaped by historical changes and current conditions.

The impact of the midlife crisis on marriage and the rise in divorce rates post-World War II is linked to societal concerns about family stability.

The American Dream's evolution and its influence on the perception of midlife, suggesting that the pursuit of materialism can lead to a narcissistic form of self-fulfillment.

The speaker concludes by emphasizing that the midlife crisis is a result of historical, cultural, and social-economic conditions, and not just an individual experience.

Transcripts

thank you John for those very kind words

it's an absolute pleasure to be here

tonight it's an honor to be speaking at

the Royal Society so thank you very much

for inviting me I have to say that I had

not expected so many people to be here

so thank you very much for coming as

well we know particularly at the Royal

Society that in terms of knowledge

production we always stand on the

shoulders of giants there are always

people who have gone before us but there

are people who walk beside us on whom we

depend as well and before I start I want

to thank three institutions the first is

the Wellcome Trust the Wellcome Trust

has funded a large proportion of my

research and my research career from the

very early stages converting from a

doctor into a an early career researcher

throughout various larger program grant

strategic awards and more recently the

trust has supported the creation of the

Welcome Center for cultures and

environments of Health in many ways for

me this was the fulfillment of a dream

although at times the responsibilities

and demands seemed more like a nightmare

but it's a fantastic opportunity and I'm

deeply grateful for the trust for the

funding and it's nice that Simon Chaplin

is here as well so thank you for coming

I'm also a deeply fortunate that I have

worked at the University of Exeter for

over 20 years we know from the tag line

the Dexter is probably the best

university in the world

and for me it has been fantastic a place

to grow as an academic a place to

develop to try out new ideas the senior

management at the University Steve Smith

the vice chancellor Janice Kay the

Provost Nick told that before he left

and now Neil gal that senior group

leading the University have been

fantastic they have supported and

encouraged me and been prepared to take

a risk or two to support one or two of

my more grandiose ideas I also want to

thank Andrew Thorp who is the Dean of

the College of Humanities has been

fantastic a scholar and friend for many

many years

the final institution but I want to

thank is the institution that is my

family I didn't get where I am today

without my wife Siobhan

wonderfully loyal faithful tolerant of

my own crises throughout our marriage

our three children Kiera rhythm and

Connell the best children these together

are the why and the how of my life so

thank you it may seem strange to be

standing in the Royal Society giving a

lecture about a subject like the midlife

crisis this is an institution renowned

for its world leading scientific

research but I hope that what I have to

say will do justice to the three figures

after whom this lecture is named John

Wilkins of course a natural philosopher

a polymath one of the founders of the

society

John Desmond Bernal an Irish scientist

renowned for his work in x-ray

crystallographer crystallography in

molecular biology but also a very

committed and prolific historian of

science interested in the relationship

between science and society Peter

Medawar really most famous for his work

on immunological tolerance for which he

received the Nobel Prize in 1960 what is

less well known about Medawar work he

was also interested in aging aging as an

unsolved biological problem as he put it

in his inaugural lecture in 1951 and one

of the terms that Medawar used

to describe the aging process was

senescence and that concept of

senescence had been popularized by an

American psychologist Grandville Stanley

Hall in the early 20th century and it

came to be one of the key ways in which

midlife and middle-age was defined

during the early 20th century middle-age

came to represent the period between

adolescence and senescence and that's

why many people refer to it as middle

essence middle-aged as middle essence so

although it's a strange subject to be

talking about at the Royal Society I

hope that it will do justice to these

three figures here after whom the

lecture is named let me take you back

and some of you will remember this let

me take you back to the late 1970s so an

iconic sitcom television series on BBC

the fallen rise of Reginald Perrin

starring Leonard Rossiter and the

television series was based on a novel

by the English comic writer David nobs

Reggie Perrin Reginald Isle Anthony

Perrin our IP was 46 years old married

to his wife Elizabeth living in a near

Georgian house in the Surrey suburbs

they had two children both growing up

leaving their parents living in a house

that was perhaps not quite well no

longer a home Reggie commuted every

weekday up to Waterloo station walked

across the bridge went to work at

sunshine deserts as a middle manager as

a bureaucrat and at the start of the

novel Reggie is depressed

he's disillusioned and distressed

disaffected disillusioned with his life

disillusioned with his wife

disillusioned with his work and he

begins to behave rather randomly he

starts sending off aggressive memos to

his colleagues he tries to have an

affair with his secretary he begins to

get more irascible and one day while his

his wife is out he decides that he's

going to collect all his childhood

mementos the memories of his youth and

burn them

as if he's trying to eradicate his past

eradicate his identity

Reggie decides that he can no longer

live like this he decides there's only

two ways he can either disappear in some

way or he can kill himself so he drives

a van down to a Dorset Beach takes off

his clothes leaves them on the beach and

walks out into the sea naked he doesn't

drown himself he walks back up puts

another set of clothes on so that he

leaves his old clothes on the beach so

people think that he's drowned himself

puts on a new set of clothes puts on a

week and takes on a new identity and he

becomes eventually Martin well born now

I don't want to tell you for those of

you I mean some of you will remember the

television series the book is fantastic

in many many ways it takes place only

over a week or two I don't want to give

away the ending what I want to say is

that what Reggie Peron was suffering

from at the age of forty something was

what we would now call and was indeed

called then a midlife crisis a man

usually a man not exclusively and in

this period largely understood to be a

male problem a man between the age of

about 35 and 45 in that deadline decade

realizing that his life was going

nowhere disaffected and disillusioned

would go off the rails the midlife

crisis now the term had been first

introduced about a decade earlier by a

Canadian social scientists and

psychoanalyst Elliot Jax Jax had come

over from Toronto in the second world

war had stayed he was one of the

founding members of the Tavistock

Institute for human relations he was

social scientists but also psychoanalyst

he'd been analyzed himself by Melanie

Klein and had a practice as a

psychoanalyst and what she described was

pretty much what Reggie parind

experienced and his point in death in

the midlife crisis a short article

published in 1965 he pointed out that

the paradox is that of entering the

prime of life the stage of fulfillment

but at the same time the prime and

fulfillment are dated death lies beyond

so the picture that Jack's created was

off this

this man usually at the peak of a

binomial curve of life and when you get

to that peak all you can see is the

downward curve to death and that's the

moment when anxiety a depressive crisis

was triggered he then went on to explain

what happened to middle-aged men or what

kind of behavior they began to exhibit

and what he said was that in order to

cover up this crisis they developed a

set of manic behaviors to try and

convince themselves that they were still

young so the compulsive attempts to

remain young the hypochondriacal concern

over health and appearance the emergence

of sexual promiscuity in order to prove

youth and potency the hollowness lack of

genuine enjoyment of life these he said

are familiar patterns and they are all

attempts at a race against time

so the midlife man the man in the

deadline decade sees death accelerating

towards him and he tries to deny that or

cover it up by claiming or pretending

that he's younger than he is leading to

these kinds of behaviors at the time

both in the 60s and when Reggie Peron

was having his crisis in the 70s there

were two principal explanations for the

midlife crisis

the first was psychological the kind of

analysis an explanation that Eliot

Jack's put forward and that is that the

midlife crisis was an identity crisis a

crisis a depressive identity crisis very

similar to the adolescent crisis the

adolescent crisis he thought was a

schizoid crisis the midlife crisis a

depressive crisis hey axe was not the

only person or certainly not the first

person to think about the stages the

critical phases of life in this way Carl

Jung in the 1930s had written about his

own crisis at the age of 37 and

particularly Eric Erickson an American

developmental psychologist had talked

about life particularly in terms of the

ages or the stages of

he described life in terms of eight

stages each of which had its own

particular conflict the stage that

correlated with the period that Jax was

talking about he thought was focused on

a conflict between creativity on the one

hand and stagnation on the other and it

was that that created the crisis so

there were others as well thinking

largely from a psycho analytical point

of view about how we understood

middle-age and midlife one of the

important points to make about this kind

of approach to middle age and midlife

was that it was not just theoretical

this wasn't just a theory of how we

developed eating it was also

incorporated into practice and

psychoanalytical models of Aging became

absolutely key to the work of marriage

guidance counselors for example working

for the national marriage guidance

council or couples therapist working at

the Tavistock clinic for example most of

that was built on an understanding of

individual development across the life

course through the stages through middle

age and through the various crisis

points that they could produce so the

first explanation for regi parents

crisis is that he was suffering from

some identity crisis around the age of

forty forty-five but there were another

set of explanations and these were

biological the first biological

explanation really revolved around some

of the work that Peter Medawar was

interested in old age natural death from

the unsolved problem of biology he was

interested particularly in the

evolutionary and biological dimensions

of Aging and in in that sense the

downward curve of life was not

necessarily only an awareness of

approaching death it was something else

it was an awareness that as we get older

we get grayer or Balder all we develop

middle-age spread or our muscle mass

declines our vigor our vitality

deteriorates and it was that sense of

deteriorating vigor that fueled the cry

in some kind of waste now it's not

unrelated to the fear of death that Jax

described but very much linked to that

declining biological vitality that

people wanted there was of course

another way and there has been another

way in which midlife crises have been

linked to biology and that is

particularly in women in relation to

reproductive life and here the argument

was and most of the literature certainly

in this period was on men but there was

some literature on women in these cases

women were understood to go through a

crisis act through during after

menopause as their reproductive

functions supposedly disappeared or in

some ways through the emptiness process

so the a woman's midlife crisis which

had tied very very clearly to her

reproductive capacity the term

biological clock or the talkee the clock

is ticking in fact was used by an

American journalist Richard Cohen in

1978 but the notion that in women their

transitions and their crises might be

governed by their biology or reduced to

their biology was very commonplace the

bats weren't surprised you to know that

some men blamed their own midlife crises

on the menopause their wife's menopause

as well so let me go back to Reginald

Perrin and reflect for a moment

Reggie parry in the late 70s having a

crisis trying to change his life in key

ways recognizing that he perhaps hadn't

achieved what he wanted and that he was

disaffected and disillusioned we can see

that pairing we could explain that in

terms of his own psychological angst

he's got to a stage an age in his life

where everything looks as if it's going

downhill and only death awaits we can

also get a sense from his book that

physically he's declining physically he

no he no longer feels to be himself to

be the man that he was so we could see

it very much as an individual story of a

man with psychological and biological

problems what I want to suggest for the

rest of the talk

is that this is not the only way in

which we can understand the midlife

crisis in fact I want to zoom out to

take it away from the individual and

think about the social and cultural

conditions that make the midlife crisis

possible not only as a concept in the

60s 70s and 80s but also as a set of

experience what happened to enable the

midlife crisis to emerge not in an

individual case but much more widely in

terms of the socio-economic and the

cultural conditions and I want to do

that in two ways in the first instance I

want to think about the standardized

life course that emerged in the middle

decades of the 20th century that created

particular stresses on people at

middle-age secondly I want to reflect on

the meaning and the history of the

phrase life begins at 40 and at the end

I want to argue that it's those two

components that k2 played a key role in

the emergence of the midlife crisis not

just Reggie parens but ours as well so

let me start reflecting for a moment on

the standardized life course there's no

doubt of course that our life cycles

individually and collectively are

governed by our biology but Bernice no

Garson was a very prominent psychologist

in America who wrote extensively on

middle-aged and midlife and the

transitions between very life stages are

various life stages and she pointed out

of course that the timetable the

milestones of life were not merely

biological they were also also socially

prescribed so there was a socially

prescribed timetable she said for the

ordering of major life events a time in

the life span when men and women are

expected to marry a time to raise

children a time to retire so the rhythm

of our life the stages of a laugh the

ages of our life the transitions of our

life was socially prescribed not just

biological and of course if they're

socially prescribed it means that they

can change our understandings and

experience can change our expectations

can change our expectations of the life

course the life course the life cycle

did change dramatically across the early

decades of the twenty

century by the 1950s and 1960s couples

were living longer if you were born at

the end of 19th century early 20th

century in this country we might expect

to live until we were 14 50 60 by the

1950s 40s 50s we might expect to live

until well into our 70s or perhaps

eighties so life expectancy had

increased giving us that longer life

cycle and in principle also a longer

period of adulthood or middle age at the

same time we were marrying earlier by 19

in 1911 only about 24% of women were

married by the age of 24 by the early

50s that had risen to 52% and in fact if

you look at some of the surveys of men

and women's attitudes about marriage

during this period most women would say

that the ideal age to marry is between

20 and 24 men ideal age slightly later

but not that much different at the same

time during the early decades of the

20th century it became more commonplace

to have fewer children and to cluster

them together earlier in the marriage so

let's say a couple were married at the

age of 20 or 21 by 24 or 25 they would

have had their two or three children and

they would be then bringing up those

children the children would leave home

so there was a much longer period of

life after the childbearing period in a

sense in this period still that was more

important for women who tended to be in

the workplace less by and large and

looking after the children more men's

rhythm the rhythm of men's life was

slightly different dictated not so much

by the rhythms of the family but by the

rhythms of occupational patterns by the

1950s and 60s men tended to work for a

fixed number of years often in the same

job until retirement so you can see the

male life course in some ways also

socially prescribed

from the moment of starting work to the

moment of retirement set by the

government by the state or by private

industries one of the consequences of

this this teasing out of the life course

the the clustering of major life events

in very similar ways across populations

meant that people began to experience

much more clearly defined stages and

transitions in the life course so you

could begin to identify a period of

middle age between 30 and 50 40 and 60

and we could begin to identify those

critical stages of transition between

those life phases now the point I want

to make from this is that there are a

number of consequences that emerged from

this modern standardized homogenized

life course and they linked directly to

the emergence of the midlife crisis the

first impact was the growth of age

anxiety or age consciousness if there

were standard life courses standard

milestones against which we could

measure ourselves we became much more

conscious or anxious about whether we

succeeding or failing against those

milestones so a much greater sense of

where we should be at certain points in

our life and of course that expectation

that we would leave home get married

have children get a job retire our

expectations were raised but at the same

time if we didn't match up to those

expectations if we didn't meet those

milestones follow that timetable we

could be dissatisfied with our

achievements and this led the notion the

phrase keeping up with the Joneses

started in a comic strip in America

about 1913 but it became in those early

decades of the 20th century through the

30s and 40s a key way of us measuring

ourselves against others a driver in

some ways of envy and jealousy a driver

of emulation a driver to increase our

consumption to keep up with the journey

the Joneses we were much more aware of

our place in the world and particularly

where we were failing while we were

becoming more aware we were also

becoming subject in this period two very

different stresses this is the

generation in the fifties and sixties

70s

Reggie parents generation that could

perhaps describe themselves as the first

Sandwich Generation if we think about

the patterns of marriage and child

rearing and aging if you imagine that we

have that couple ideally marrying at

twenty have their children by twenty

five by the time they're 40 45 Reggie

parents age their children will be going

through the troubled years of

adolescence their parents would be aging

through retirement needing more care and

you find in this period the middle aged

between the age of 30 and 50 40 and 60

becoming sandwiched between the troubles

of their adolescent children and the

troubles of their parents so you hit the

midlife crisis exactly when your

children are going through an adolescent

crisis middle age was also challenged

for many people by financial pressures

at this time and again this was a

feature of the changing life cycle in

1891 we could expect to inherit at the

age of about 37 now I have to say that

this is a middle-class Western story

this is not true of everybody

although the longer history of the

midlife crisis suggests that the crisis

has been democratized in many ways but

if you were lucky enough to inherit in

the late 19th century you could expect

to inherit at the age of 37 by the 1940s

you would expect to inherit not until

you were 56 that meant that you

inherited it's always nice to get money

don't get me wrong but if you inherited

you inherited after you'd had children

after their children have grown up and

after they left home at times when you

might not need it as much as you had

when you were middle-aged bringing up

children that created us

set of financial pressures on couples

trying to bring up children the final

point I want to make in terms of midlife

pressures and it applies you know the

empty nest is is as it was first

introduced the empty nest in in about

1913 it was applied largely to women in

a rather derogatory way that their only

function in society was to have children

and once those children had left they

were of no value but in some ways it

describes a very key feature of the

extended life course that by the 1950s

given the fact that women and men are

marrying earlier having their children

earlier a woman could live for a further

52 years after the birth of their last

child and many years after menopause one

of the things that created in people's

minds was the question is this all there

is do I really want to live like this

with this person for the next 40 or 50

years and a number of the psychologists

in this period pointed out that the

extended life course that continued

pressures of middle age through middle

age meant that many people when they got

to the age of 40 45 began what Robert

Lee and Marjorie Kassabian

referred to in the in the spouse Kappa

don't if you can see weathering the

marriage crisis during middle essence is

the subtitle of the book what they

pointed out that the multiple stresses

during middle age that sense of

recognizing that you were not achieving

what you should have according to the

standardized timetable of the life

course meant that people began to

reappraise their lives to reckon the

achievements against the goals the

satisfactions versus values the kind of

evaluation of his life that Reggie Peron

went through and they began to realize

of course that they hadn't achieved that

they were disappointed and as a result

hit crisis point and Margaret Mead I've

quoted here as an anthropologist in a

very interesting book male and female in

1949

published in 1949 pointed out that in a

world in which people may

reorient their whole lives at 40 or 50

that's a world in which marriage for

life becomes much more difficult

Margaret Mead solution and the solution

of some science fiction writers was that

we should introduce the possibility of

multiple serial marriages she suggested

- but many writers at the time suggested

possibly three one for youthful passion

one for Parenthood and one for

companionship in later life that there

were very different demands across that

extended life course at different stages

of your life there was no reason why it

shouldn't be the same person who

fulfilled those sequentially but there

was no reason why it should is what

Margaret Mead was saying Margaret Mead

also appeared in a lot of BBC television

programs on marriage and divorce in this

period now one of the consequences one

of the reasons why this was important

socially and culturally was because

people were concerned in this period

about the levels of divorce and they

linked marriage midlife crisis to a

marriage crisis claiming that partly it

was the behavior of middle-aged men that

was threatening marriages leading to

family breakdown separation and divorce

and this was regarded as problematic for

social stability in the post-war period

before the Second World War fewer than

7,000 couples were divorced there was a

big boost after the Second World War

during the late forties to 50 linked

largely to well explained in terms of

hasty marriages during the war the

difficulties that soldiers had

readjusting to civilian life the fact

that during separation both husbands and

wives for example had had affairs those

challenges led to a high level of

breakdown after the Second World War

there was a little bit of a plateau and

then arise through the late 60s 70s and

80s now I don't to say that the midlife

crisis the challenges that people faced

in middle age were the only reasons for

that one of the reasons for the big rise

after 1970 there's a change in the

divorce law the divorce reform act of

her was introduced in 1969 removed the

marital offence and replaced it with the

notion of irretrievable breakdown

making it much easier for some people

to get a divorce but debates about the

midlife crisis in this period and still

I think link it very closely to concerns

about the stability of marriage which

was regarded by many as essential for

social stability let me pause for a

moment then and think again about Reggie

yes

distraught yes going through a period of

psychological angst yes fading

biologically but also in some ways a

victim of very striking demographic

changes across the twentieth century or

very different expectations of the

milestones of life the expectations

about when people would get married have

children get a job retire and so forth

created a set of pressures on Reggie

Peron and his wife and his children that

proved for him too much in some ways

what I've sketched out is what Reggie

Peron was escaping from the stick that

pushed him to behave in these ways was

the social pressures created by the

extended standardized life course but

what did he hope to achieve by it if

that was what he wanted to escape from

where was he expecting to go what were

the benefits of changing his life in

this kind of way and I want to reflect

on that not just the push out of the

mess that he felt he was in but the pull

towards a better life I want to explore

that just by thinking about the phrase

life begins at 40 and where that came

from

and how that played in to the

expectations and the aspirations not

just of Reggie Peron but also many of us

as well

the phrase life begins at 40 was first

used well as far as we know in 1917 by

mrs. Theodore Parsons Matilda Parsons

who was the widow of an army officer but

had already had her career as well

teaching particularly young

women and girls and young women and

older women how to keep fit scientific

bodybuilding is what she referred to it

as and partly it was keeping physically

fit in order to keep the mind fit and

this phrase I loved she was interviewed

in 1917 for the newspaper it was four

days after America entered the First

World War and in the interview she said

very similar set of ideas to what Eliot

Jack's introduced much later in the

sixties it's a paradox of life she said

that we do not begin to live until we

begin to die death begins at 30 that is

deterioration of the muscle cells set in

most old age is premature and attention

to diet and exercise would enable men

and women to live a great deal longer

than they do today

the best part of a woman's life begins

at 40

that was her phrase now there's a

particular context to what mrs. Parsons

was saying and again this is as part of

your argument unless we understand the

social and cultural context we don't

fully recognize the meaning of that kind

of term Theodore parson mrs. Parsons

directed her comments at what she

referred to as the adipose woman of 40

she was addressing middle-aged women who

she felt had let themselves go and the

reason why this was important to mrs.

Parsons was because of the war effort

men were away fighting women were needed

to bring up children to do the work to

support the communities economically

while their men were away so it became

crucial to her that women retain their

fitness physically and mentally as they

aged that notion it's really interesting

that as the notion life begins at 40

became popular the the the first part of

that sentence the best part of a woman's

life begins at 40 got lost in some kind

of translation

it became simply life begins at 40 and

it was popularized in a whole variety of

ways during the 1920s and 1930s the most

common way

or the most popular book was Walter

Pickens book entitled life begins at 40

Pitkin was an American journalist

working at Columbia University in the

taken miss notion that life begins at 40

to write a self-help book and you can

see from the cover of the book through

this book's inspiring and helpful advice

thousands of men and women fearful of

middle age have lost their anxieties and

found new ways to make life richer

happier and more worth living this was

the the the blurb on the book to try and

sell it and the notion both Pickens book

and that phrase life begins at 40 were

used in other areas life begins at 40

was a film in 1935 starring Will Rogers

that was based on the book and there

were some skits there were some satires

as well of this great film in the late

1930s entitled life begins at 8:30 so

the idea that life could begin rather

than end at midlife at middle age became

a key part of self-help literature and

advice to middle-aged couples during the

30s 40s and 50s so what did Pitkin

advise people in order to find these new

ways of being happy in fact it was

pretty bland and mundane he pointed out

that happiness comes most easily after

40 firstly by realizing that a great

many years lie between 40 and 70 now

that quite you know that might seem

fairly banal and I think it probably is

but it's it's a it's a twisting on its

head of the concerns of midlife midlife

Reggie parens looking back and saying I

haven't achieved anything I've got

nothing left to look forward to what

Pitkin is saying is yes you have even at

the age of 40 you're going to have 20 30

40 years of your life still make the

most of it and the way you made the most

of it according to Pitkin was that you

pursue self fulfillment through material

improvement leisure and what he called

the art of living much less work more

leisure more play

this process of self-fulfillment would

make those last 30 or 40 years

worthwhile no longer the downward curve

no longer the acceleration towards death

but in fact a fulfilling middle-aged and

older age and this notion became widely

adopted in two particular ways one is

that it was taken as a strategy for

personal renewal this is a way in which

we could refresh and renew ourselves

when we were getting jaded and faded in

middle age begin to realize that there

were things to look forward to that it

was possible to reshape to Ramola life

in more positive ways but the key part

of this and again thinking about this in

social and cultural historical terms the

key part of this it's this this story

that Pitkin was telling was not just

about individuals of discovering

themselves it was also a lesson a

message for populations certainly in

America and Britain during a period of

economic depression during a period of

recession increasingly concerned about

the specter of a second world war during

a period of doom and gloom that if we

reinvigorated ourselves there was hope

for optimism and pickins argument was

that if people as they got older the

middle-aged and the elderly work less

and had more leisure there would be more

job opportunities for younger people

which would boost the economy equally if

people in middle age and older age spent

their money buying things enjoying

themselves purchasing leisure for

example and pleasure that would also

boost the economy so part of the appeal

of pickins work was that it struck a

chord in individuals like Reggie Peron

who were struggling with their own

problems but it also meant something to

a Western world struggling with the

effects of economic recession because it

promised a way out of them and in some

ways a pick in writing in the 30s the

1930s were a strangely paradoxical

period a period of

morbid gloom in some kind of ways

because of the recession and because of

the fear of another global war but it

was also a period of incredible optimism

it was the period when the American

Dream was conceived and the American

Dream first appeared in the work of

James Truslow Adams in 1931 the year

before Pitkin published life begins at

40 and it's in the epilogue to this

fantastic overview the epic of America

and in that epilogue he tries to sketch

out the future to move away from some of

the doom and gloom of the interwar

period to say life globally as well as

individually doesn't have to go down

towards death and destruction it can go

the other way and for Adams the American

Dream was not a dream simply of

motorcars and high wages so it's not

just a material dream but a dream of a

social order in which each man and woman

shall be able to attain to the fullest

statue of which they're innately capable

and be recognized by others for what

they are regardless of the fortuitous

circumstances of birth or position so

this was Adams dream and it was a dream

in a sense that resonated very clearly

with what Pitkin was saying we didn't

have to be depressed at midlife and the

middle of the 20th century either we

could look forward with some hope for

this to happen

Adams argued we needed to develop a new

scale and basis for values for Adams

looking forward to the to achieving the

American dream

that meant collectivity trust love

working together to make a better world

so here was this period of economic

recession Pitkin saying yes life can

begin at 40 Adams saying in fact there

is an American dream that we should work

towards in some ways of course what

happened was the opposite those hopes

and those dreams were dashed

they were dashed by the second

World War they were dashed by the

catastrophe of global conflict and they

were dashed in many ways by what

happened afterwards in terms of the Cold

War that sense of optimism that could

create security or the sense of security

that could create optimism they were

dashed during the Second World War and

afterwards what was left of pickins

mantra and Adams dream was simply a

dream of material Plenty the values the

scale the basis of values that dream of

social order that was democratic and

egalitarian Equal Opportunities

occupationally and educationally that

was shattered by experiences in the

second world what was left was the dream

of motorcars and high wages people were

left feeling that they could not achieve

those other

grandiose aspirations that Pitkin and

Adams had set out instead what they

tended to do was search for happiness

and a hurry this is a wonderful book by

Edmund burglar the revolt of the

middle-aged man

published in in 1958 that Edmund burglar

was an American psychoanalyst who had a

very extensive clinic and he drew on his

clinical experience to write about a

whole variety of challenges relating to

marriage middle age and midlife in

particular in relation to men he has a

lovely book published in 1948 saying

divorce won't help if anybody is

interested and his argument in fact in

that book and in this book is that

before a couple run to the divorce

lawyer they should go and see a

psychiatrist that this is about the

challenges within themselves and their

relationships so what he says is that is

that during the 40s and 50s the collapse

of the American Dream in many ways and

you can trace it through American

post-war literature as well in

particular the collapse of the dream

left people struggling and they

translated those struggles or those

aspirations into a dream of material

Plenty into consumption seduced by the

pleasure of consuming material goods but

also the pleasure the anticipation of

consuming our

the people this was the emergence if you

like of a form of narcissistic self

fulfillment that drove some of the

behavior that you see in in Reggie Peron

so burglar four burglar people were

looking for happiness in a hurry and he

has this beautiful passage which

describes very very clearly the thought

processes that he attributes to people

like Reggie Perry in this mindset

stressed by life circumstances feeling

that they had failed feeling that

although they were looking down to death

everybody was telling them that life

begins at fourteen things should be

getting better at that moment they were

anxious and backed more depressed than

they would have been otherwise and this

is the this is the mindset if you like

of a Reggie Peron

I want happiness love approval

admiration sex youth all this is denied

me in this stale marriage to an elderly

sickly complaining nagging wife let's

get rid of her start Life all over again

with another woman sure I'll provide for

my first wife and children sure I'm

sorry the first marriage didn't work out

but self defense comes first I just have

to save myself so what is left of those

aspirations in the midst of midlife

middle-age stress the argument that life

should be getting better not worse that

optimism that we could achieve the

American dreams that was dashed what was

left was a sense of selfish narcissistic

belief that we would do something some

happiness ourselves and this burglar

suggested was why people like Reggie

Peron had crises pushed from their

marriages pushed from their

relationships disappointed in their

lives but seduced by a dream that was no

longer achievable except through the

selfish pursuit of pleasure

let me reflect then to finish on where

we've been

Reggie Peron in some ways spoke for a

generation

he was an everyman if you like and his

wife and children every day victims of

the kinds of pressures that people and

families were under in the 50s 60s and

70s we can certainly understand his

behavior that random impulsive

destructive behavior as the product of

psychological despair I've hit my peak

I've reached my prime but it no longer

means anything because all I look

forward to is the downward curve of life

and death as that sense of an identity

crisis that is captured very very neatly

by David knobs but also you can see it

in other literary and cinematic forms as

well in the fifties sixties and

seventies all we can read it in

biological terms we can say that pairing

is aging he's losing his virility he's

losing his hair he's losing muscle mass

and energy and that leads him into a

crisis of despair as well linked to

death but not entirely the same we can

see this in individual terms this is a

man behaving strangely

what I want to suggest though is that we

cannot understand Reggie unless we cast

our lens wider than that unless we zoom

out to see the social and the cultural

conditions in which Reggie Peron was

living and in which we continue to live

in some ways so there are perhaps two

conclusions that I want to make the

first is that we are aged Reggie us we

are aged not just by our minds and

bodies but we are also aged by history

by the cultural values the attitudes

that beliefs the norms the practices

that we have inherited from the past

some ways Reggie Perry in the late

seventies

went off the rails because of what had

happened in the 1950s and 60s

both in terms of the life course end in

terms of the seduction of materialism

the second point is this that in that

context when we are saying that we're

aged by history and culture within that

context the midlife crisis is no longer

the biological the natural phenomenon

the inevitable phenomenon of aging it is

immediately a social and a cultural

phenomenon the midlife crisis that

Reggie suffered from that we perhaps

continue to suffer from is a set of

experiences that is generated by

historical change shaped by cultural

contexts and social economic conditions

and determined also by political

contingencies thank you

[Applause]