0
0
In her 2024 novel All Fours, Miranda July dives headfirst into the murky waters of midlife, offering a refreshingly offbeat take on this often-dreaded phase of existence. Inspired by conversations about “physical and emotional midlife changes” with women close to her, July crafts a narrative that transforms the existential anxieties of middle age into a poignant journey of self-discovery.
The novel’s protagonist—a middle-aged mother—sets out on a quest for reinvention, only to abandon her cross-country trip minutes after it begins. Holing up in a drab motel room (Room 321), she begins a process of physical and spiritual renewal, trading external exploration for inward transformation. Through this lens, All Fours reimagines midlife as a period of profound yet awkward awakening, where clichés about aging are defied, one carefully observed breath at a time.
But how did midlife come to be associated with crisis in the first place? As July’s narrator reframes middle age, the cultural history of this life stage reveals its evolution from a time of vigor and purpose to a metaphor for decline and despair.
Midlife in Classical and Medieval Literature
Historically, middle age was depicted as the prime of life. Heroes of classical epics—Odysseus, Achilles, and Beowulf—embodied the height of skill and purpose, showing no sign of existential turmoil. In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the middle-aged “justice” exudes wisdom and satisfaction, untroubled by doubts about his achievements. Anxiety about aging was reserved for the later stages of life, marked by Shakespeare’s “second childishness.”
The Birth of the Midlife Crisis
The notion of a “midlife crisis” emerged with the rise of the bourgeoisie during the Industrial Revolution. The newfound leisure of middle-class life prompted reflection on personal accomplishments and the passage of time. Romantic poets like John Keats mourned fleeting youth, planting seeds of anxiety about aging that would grow throughout the 19th century. By the mid-20th century, Canadian psychoanalyst Elliot Jacques coined the term “midlife crisis,” cementing it as a cultural phenomenon.
Victorian literature, such as Charles Dickens’s Little Dorrit and Theodore Dreiser’s Sister Carrie, explored male protagonists grappling with midlife disillusionment. Figures like Arthur Clennam and George Hurstwood question their life choices and seek solace—often in relationships with younger women—while confronting the specter of mortality.
The Silencing of Women in Midlife
For much of history, women’s experiences of middle age went unacknowledged. Legal and societal constraints denied them full adulthood, reducing their lives to narrow domestic roles. Not until the feminist movement of the 20th century did authors like Doris Lessing begin to give voice to middle-aged women, challenging the narrative that midlife marked the end of vibrancy and growth.
Reimagining Midlife Today
Despite its enduring association with crisis, middle age is increasingly seen as a gateway to renewal. Works like All Fours explore the complexities of this phase with humor, honesty, and creativity. July’s protagonist, refusing to label her struggles as a “crisis,” instead finds empowerment in imperfection and self-acceptance.
By the novel’s conclusion, the narrator’s experience in Room 321 transcends personal growth, radiating outward to encompass the universe itself. This depiction suggests that midlife need not be a period of decline, but a time for metamorphosis—a chance to embrace life’s contradictions and find strength in vulnerability.
In reshaping the narrative around middle age, Miranda July and other contemporary storytellers remind us that midlife is not a crisis to be feared, but a journey to be embraced. For those navigating this transitional period, All Fours offers an inspiring message: everything you need might already be in your pockets, waiting to be discovered.
