ABSTRACT
Chapter 6, The diminishing future and sadness, focuses on the third ordeal of later life, namely sadness. It debates the consequences of the shrinking future and analyses the impact of awareness of the brevity of time remaining. We experience sadness when watching as life slips away and when we face with death of closed others. Sadness, unlike suffering which leads to desperate attempts to make sense of pain and understanding what happens, is not so overwhelmingly drastic experience. As it is not seen as arbitrary, sadness is not always opposed or struggle against. Yet, this emotion, which is triggered by the awareness of mortality and experiences of loss, is almost impossible to avoid in later life. Hence, to transform older age into something more than waiting for the end, it is important to search for solace. To find a way out of sadness when living with a full awareness of impending death means – the analysed novels suggest – rejoicing the ultimate value of life, living with a positive sense of purpose for oneself and others.
