When life gets in the way: Generativity and the development of non-idealized virtues in women’s life stories

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe road to a virtuous life is typically met with roadblocks and detours. Life stories reveal the courses people chart around those roadblocks in their attempts to cultivate virtuous lives in non-idealized circumstances. Life stories feature difficult choices (e.g., between love and work, between pursuing personal interests and caring for others in need) that challenge individuals’ attempts to live out the virtues they most value. In this article we focus on the life stories of two women for whom the virtues of generativity and caring for others serve as deeply personal motives that came at a personal cost, notably in the pursuit of other paths of eudaimonic growth. However, these women’s virtuous actions were also a source of meaningful redemption when times got tough. Their life stories also reflect how their lives have been shaped by both personal choices and cultural master narratives of gendered ideals for a good life. Overall these women’s stories illustrate how non-idealized life circumstances can both facilitate and thwart the development of virtue.