ABSTRACT
The topic of Chapter 2, It takes courage, is the second pillar supporting the quality of later life, that is, courage to embrace all challenges and difficulties of older age. Bette Davis, an American actor, who said that ‘Old age ain’t no place for sissies’ famously expressed the appeal for courage in later life. While dictionary definitions of courage still commonly connect it with the ancient idea of heroic behaviour of soldiers who fulfil their obligations to higher ideas, courage in later life refers to mundane, everyday acts of battling the fear, fighting for respect and facing risks of unfamiliar. Chapter 2, after reviewing of the philosophical and psychological ideas about courage, by relying on examples of individuals’ experiences and expressions of courage from several novels, illustrates three dimensions of courage in later life; courage needed to face the fear of losing control, courage required to stand up for respect, and courage called for when on taking on change or facing unfamiliar. It argues that the exceptionality of courageous struggles in later life is connected with the predictability of such battles’ results and their time limit.
