Ageing, Creativity, and Memory: The Evolution of Erica Jong’s Literary Career

Abstract

ABSTRACTTaking a life-course perspective, this article considers the intersections of creativity, memory, and ageing in Erica Jong’s middle and later works, and explores underlying changes in the author’s self-perception as a writer. It demonstrates the substitution of Jong’s initial “fear of writing” by increased self-knowledge, courage to speak her mind, and gradual capacity to ignore negative criticism in later years. Although her later life works and her most recent personal accounts reveal that ageing does not render the creative process easier, in Jong’s case the act of life writing becomes fearless with age. An examination of the relationship between memory processes and the narrative construction of a sense of self through the act of writing demonstrates how the writer becomes more self-assured, grounded, and mature over time, which challenges the pervasive narrative of decline and helps to better understand the complex realities of ageing and the artistic achievements of older adults.