Depictions of the Self-Perception of the Elderly

Pickles (2021)

In a zap of humor, Pickles highlights the downside of being associated with the word "old" as well as the upside of embodying it. The elderly woman pictured takes note of everyone's relative age in the restaurant, vocalizing the observation that she and her partner are the oldest present. This is met with denial from her partner, who makes a psychophysiological argument about the connection between perceiving oneself as old and "feeling and acting old". In "They" are old but "I" feel younger: Age-group dissociation as a self-protective strategy in old age, "aging-related declines, losses, as well as the finitude of life seem to threaten older adults' sense of self." In a study they conducted to evaluate the role of age-group identification and self-image, it was concluded that "older adults are more likely to psychologically dissociate themselves from their age group when negative age stereotypes are salient" (Weiss and Lang 153). Additionally, results of the study showed that "weakly identified older adults feel younger than their chronological age and report a more expanded future time perspective relative to their same-age counterparts" (Weiss and Lang 153). In all, by distancing themselves from their age group, many elderly people aim to withdraw from the negative attributes related to that group. This is seen in the behavior of the old man in Pickles: removal of himself from the categorization his partner suggests increases his confidence in his youthful sense of self. Of course, this changes when he is handed their check at the restaurant, at which point he decides to use the external association of them both as "old" to their advantage. He requests a senior discount, indicating his willingness to play into the role for financial benefit, but is rejective of it for any non-positive consequences the term and embodiment carry.

The Better Half (1911)

The Better Half depicts a young man with a full head of hair (labeled "the better half"), and when inverted, the head of an old man with a large beard (labeled "the other half"). The diction, as it applies to what the artist alludes to, suggests a distinct separation of life stages into two: youth and old age. Even though  each occupy set, due times in the overall timeline of a person's life, the idea of youth as a preference over old age is prevalent. It is known that the transition from youth to old age is immutable, specifically irreversible. However, it is much less common to see the acceptance of this fact as a positive one rather than negative. In Self and Identity in Advanced Old Age: Validation of Theory Through Longitudinal Case Analysis, it was concluded through an examination of five cases across each subject's lifetime that "theory on identity as storymaking...suggests that there are different phases to later life" (Coleman et. al. 840). In the earlier stage, storymaking is engaged in by several means: review of poignant episodes in an individual's life, completing a story one had left unfinished before (such as a goal set but not achieved), etc. In the later stage, greater distancing from story is often seen, "first through its acceptance and then eventual transcendence" (Coleman et. al. 840). Analysis of how past and current lives are conceptualized in the context of story and continuity was at the core of the study. While The Better Half suggests a single comparison between two divisions, Coleman suggests a more nuanced approach to characterizing stages of life. Negative views are often associated with aging--hence the youthful side being called "better"--but "other" as a descriptor for old age offers very little. There is no acknowledgement of the multifaceted transition--which is not as quick as the flip-around of a page--into old age, nor is there reflection regarding the embodiment of old age. "Other" is, quite simply, a relegation of a "lower," "hidden," and rejected position. "Old" is silenced, symbolically evinced through a visible mouth depicted for the young man while the old man's beard masks the vocal facial feature.

A La Vieillesse (To Old Age) (1886)

At Eternity's Gate (1882)

Reflection plays a significant role in the development of self-perception and formation of self-image. A La Vieillesse captures a moment of deep contemplation an old man experiences. The print employs shadows of gray to outline his figure, enough only to discern the main feature of his physical presence: his face. The cast of his eyes are down, not viewing any distractions around him and instead in strict focus on introspection. The man's hair and beard are fade out into the perimeter of the print, creating a focal point in the middle of the depiction and an emphasis through simplicity. The fading of the lines as they stray further from the center of the paper may indicate a withering or wisping away of some entity--be it the mind, memory, or perhaps even life itself. 

At Eternity's Gate indeed furthers the aforementioned notion of introspection. However, unlike in A La Vieillesse, the man depicted's face cannot be seen; it is instead burrowed in the palms of his hands. In one hand, he appears to be holding a tissue, and he sits in a distressed position on a standard wooden chair. His feet are planted firmly on the ground as his elbows rest on his thighs, his fists in direct angled outward. The title of the piece suggests an infinite struggle, and with the elements in the print, a sort of mental torment is inferred. Perhaps this character is widowed, perhaps he is remorseful about a choice he made, perhaps he is dissatisfied with what his identity has come to be. The number of possible circumstances accounting for his reaction are vast, but the conclusions that can be drawn from the image and title reach a closely aligned consensus: this old man is experiencing the pain of reflection and is alone as he does so. He is at the gate, the threshold, of an eternal state of such emotion--sorrow or frustration or depression, etc.--with no end in sight.