Aging and Regret

Where it surfaces

• IV

  Jane contemplates her own aging and the bittersweet nature of watching her daughter grow up.

• I

  The dismantling of Mrs. Furness's room and the memories associated with her clothes evoke loss and the passage of time.

• Chapter III

  Jane reflects on the four years of waiting and the changes in both herself and André.

• II

  Jane reflects on turning thirty-six, the loss of excitement, and Stephen's visible aging and weariness.

• Chapter III

  Jane's internal monologue about turning thirty-six, feeling middle-aged, and wistfully recalling her youth and romance with André.

• V

  Jane feels a slight envy of Agnes's life still being an adventure, contrasting with her own settled existence.

• Chapter VII

  Jane notices the contrast between Stephen's middle-aged appearance and Jimmy's casual youth, feeling a 'curious little pang of pity' for Stephen.

• III

  Jane contemplates the passage of time and the sacrifices she made for her family, feeling a sense of loss for her own ambitions.

• II

  Jane expresses fear of growing old without having experienced adventure, reflecting on the passage of time and potential regret.

• III

  Jane feels old compared to Cicily and reflects on her youth and past relationships.

• Mrs. Lester's Seventy-Fifth Birthday

  Mrs. Lester's seventy-fifth birthday highlights physical decline and the passage of time, while Jane and Jimmy navigate regret over past actions.

• IV

  Jane's reflections on her own life choices and the passage of time.

• III

  Jane reflects on the passage of time, the changing city, and the bittersweet end of a cherished winter.

• I

  Jane's desolate thoughts of Jimmy and her reflection on her choices highlight regret and the passage of time.

• II

  Agnes reflects on what might have been if Jimmy had returned, and the changes his death has wrought.

• I

  Jane reflects on Jimmy's death at 35 and her own middle age, pondering unresolved lives and the pain of loss.

• VI

  Jane reflects on her past decisions, the passage of time, and the barren victory of her choices.

• II

  Mr. Ward's illness at age 73 and Jane's reflections on past tragedies underscore themes of aging and the fragility of life.

• Chapter III

  Jane reflects on her past love for Jimmy and her regret for not heeding her father's warnings, while also acknowledging the loneliness of death and the passage of time.

• IV

  Jane reflects on the rapid passage of time and her father's death, feeling the weight of aging.

• V

  Flora reflects on lost opportunities and her brief happiness with Inigo Fellowes, contrasting with Jane's contentment in her family life.

• I

  Jane contemplates turning fifty, her grey hair, and the durable satisfactions of her life, while wistfully imagining a moment of 'divine extravagance.'

• I

  Jane reflects on the passage of time, the vanished beach where André proposed, and the aging Carvers.

• I

  Jane reflects on Silly's wasted life and Mrs. Carver's stoic endurance after sixty-three years of marriage.

• I

  Jane reflects on her age and the passage of time, feeling young in spirit but seeing a 'sedate, grey-haired, much more than middle-aged lady' in the mirror. She also contemplates her past love for André and the choices she made.

• II

  Jane's thoughts about Jimmy and the past, along with the contrast between Agnes's success and Jimmy's unfulfilled potential, evoke themes of aging and regret.

• V

  Jane contemplates the passage of time, her unchanged self, and the what-ifs regarding André.

• VI

  Jane's reflection on her youthful appearance and the passage of time, contrasted with the preserved image of Eve.

• VII

  Isabel describes their mother's decline, her preoccupation with disposing of property, and the family's struggle with change.

• VIII

  Seeing André Duroy, Jane is instantly transported back to her childhood in Chicago, and the shock of recognition makes her acutely aware that she is fifty-one years old.

• IX

  Jane at fifty-one reflects on the disillusion of life, her sacrifices, and the paths not taken.

• Chapter X

  Jane at fifty-one contemplates the passage of time, her children's growth, and her own past distractions.