The Coming of Age (1972)
The Coming of Age
Thompson Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Library,
HV1451 .B41 1972 A
"Society cares about the individual in so far as he is profitable. The young know this. Their anxiety as they enter in upon social life matches the anguish of the old as they are excluded from it."
This 572-page proof copy The Coming of Age by Simone de Beauvoir is an analysis of "society's secret shame": the mistreatment of the elderly. The proof corrections marked in pencil are minimal, including question marks next to prices and checkmarks in the margins. The book is an in-depth examination of old age through biological, cultural, philosophical, historical, and contemporary lenses. She explores how society and culture views the elderly, and then features interviews and personal experiences of older individuals. De Beauvoir, who wrote the book at age 66, concludes that elderly people are marginalized and dehumanized in modern capitalist societies, and their mistreatment reflects society's misplaced values and priorities.