She was so old, she would have had to be dated by carbon 14.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
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In "The Spectator Bird" by Wallace Stegner, the narrator reflects on the inevitable passage of time and the aging process through a poignant description of a woman. The use of carbon-14 dating as a metaphor highlights her advanced age, suggesting that she has seen and experienced much throughout her long life. This comparison emphasizes the weight of history and memory that accompanies aging, implying that each wrinkle and line tells a story of a life fully lived.

The phrase showcases the narrator's sense of nostalgia, pointing to the impact of age on perception. By likening her to a relic from the past, it raises questions about how society views the elderly and the wisdom they possess. This portrayal invites readers to consider the valuable insights that come with age and the stories that shape our understanding of life and human experience.

In "The Spectator Bird" by Wallace Stegner, the narrator reflects on the inevitable passage of time and the aging process through a poignant description of a woman. The use of carbon-14 dating as a metaphor highlights her advanced age, suggesting that she has seen and experienced much throughout her long life. This comparison emphasizes the weight of history and memory that accompanies aging, implying that each wrinkle and line tells a story of a life fully lived.

The phrase showcases the narrator's sense of nostalgia, pointing to the impact of age on perception. By likening her to a relic from the past, it raises questions about how society views the elderly and the wisdom they possess. This portrayal invites readers to consider the valuable insights that come with age and the stories that shape our understanding of life and human experience.

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The Spectator Bird
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Wallace Stegner
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Other quotes in The Spectator Bird

He says that when asked if he feels like an old man he replies that he does not, he feels like a young man
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
He says that when asked if he feels like an old man he replies that he does not, he feels like a young man
Getting old is like standing in a long, slow line. You wake up out of the shuffle and torpor only at those moments when the line moves you one step closer to the window.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
Getting old is like standing in a long, slow line. You wake up out of the shuffle and torpor only at those moments when the line moves you one step closer to the window.
Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and get self-righteous and censorious. And they {I mustn't.}
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
Ruth tells me at least once a day that old people, or people getting old, tend to disengage, back away, turn inward, listen only to themselves, and get self-righteous and censorious. And they {I mustn't.}
She was so old, she would have had to be dated by carbon 14.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
She was so old, she would have had to be dated by carbon 14.
I can't see that Danish episode as an adventure, or a crisis survived, or a serious quest for anything definable. It was just another happening like today's luncheon, something I got into and got out of. And it reminds me too much of how little life changes: how, without dramatic events or high resolves, without tragedy, without even pathos, a reasonably endowed, reasonably well-intentioned man can walk through the world's great kitchen from end to end and arrive at the back door hungry.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
I can't see that Danish episode as an adventure, or a crisis survived, or a serious quest for anything definable. It was just another happening like today's luncheon, something I got into and got out of. And it reminds me too much of how little life changes: how, without dramatic events or high resolves, without tragedy, without even pathos, a reasonably endowed, reasonably well-intentioned man can walk through the world's great kitchen from end to end and arrive at the back door hungry.
It reminds me too much of how little life changes: how, without dramatic events or high resolves, without tragedy, without even pathos, a reasonably endowed, reasonable well-intentioned man can walk through the world's great kitchen from end to end and arrive at the back door hungry.
Wallace Stegner The Spectator Bird
It reminds me too much of how little life changes: how, without dramatic events or high resolves, without tragedy, without even pathos, a reasonably endowed, reasonable well-intentioned man can walk through the world's great kitchen from end to end and arrive at the back door hungry.
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When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
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When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
Harlan Coben Fool Me Once
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
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I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Philip Yancey What's So Amazing About...
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
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