For one of my classes this semester we read Henry James’ “Portrait of a Lady.”  It was one of my favorite books of the class; James is Jane Austen with balls, a better sense of humor, and less technicolored endings.  Like Oscar Wilde, he is so clever and quotable you find yourself wanting to highlight every other line.

One line in particular has stuck in my head, and I find myself thinking of it in regard to today’s comic.  It takes place when Isabel Archer, the novel’s heroine, goes to see her cousin Ralph on his deathbed.  Ralph is the novel’s best character, endlessly witty and insightful.  Too bad he has tuberculosis.  When Isabel goes to see him, her marriage is in shambles, her husband a proven jackass, and she is quite upset.

Ralph, endlessly helpful, says, “It passes, after all; it’s passing now.  But love remains.  I don’t know why we should suffer so much.  Perhaps I shall find out.  There are many things in life.  You’re very young.”
Isabel has the gall to reply to a dying man, “I feel very old.”
Ralph says: “You’ll grow young again.  That’s how I see you.  I don’t believe—I don’t believe—”
(And then he is dramatically too weak to go on.)

The idea of “growing young again,” at least as far as one’s attitude toward life, is something in which I would very much like to believe.  To age is to become increasingly aware of death and time, but perhaps it’s not as gloomy as all that.  I think it takes a little adjusting to get used to each new phase of life, but once you do, you can have that sense of being young again.  The phase I am embracing now is that of the “20-something.”  As I adjust to this new label, casting off that of “teenager,” I look at life in terms of what lies ahead of me, instead of what’s behind.

Though not quite as popular as the teenager, the 20-something is still a strong favorite of marketers, and thus I know there are a whole slew of television shows and specialty products waiting for me.  As long as you’re a marketable demographic, there’s a place for you in society!