What is Old?

And why do we care?

The Life and Age of Woman by James Baillie, ca.1848

When I heard about Hilary Mantel’s death at 70, my first reaction (after the obvious sadness at the loss of genius) was, Oh god she’s still young! She’s not old! I thought of her as a near peer. It’s funny how the meaning of “old” keeps changing as we get “older.” Is 70 old? Is it “still young”? Is “still young,” “not old”? It’s subjective, usually dictated by how old or young we are, or feel. Not too long…