http://hdl.handle.net/2451/28144 papers in progress 2026-04-24T15:16:03Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/31535 Title: Sweet Old Things and Dirty Old Men: The Vices and Virtues of Old Age in Muriel Spark's Memento Mori Authors: England, Suzanne; Rust, Martha Abstract: Through the lens of Muriel Spark’s dark comedic novel, Memento Mori, this paper explores questions of morality, mortality, and the moral choices and performances in old age and in the systems and places of care. Spark’s elderly characters are complex moral actors—some virtuous and some decidedly not—who have been receiving mysterious phone calls telling them simply, “Remember you must die.” We, the co-authors, are from two different disciplines, namely Renaissance and medieval literature, and social work and critical gerontology. Among the questions that interest us is the paradox of a master narrative that on the one hand exempts the old from moral criticism yet holds them to a higher moral standard—essentially positioning them as moral nonentities, and relieving the old, their caretakers, and society of moral responsibility. Another is the question of whether moral agency in old age has distinctive aspects, and whether consciousness of one’s impending mortality effects moral reasoning and performance. In this paper we offer our individual readings of the ways the novel opens up conceptual space in aging theory, and conclude with our thoughts about what our collaboration suggests for continuing cross-disciplinary dialogue. Description: Paper submitted to The Journal of Aging Studies March 27, 2012 2012-04-04T14:36:35Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/31346 Title: Sweet Old things and Dirty Old Men: The Vices and Virtues of Old Age in Muriel Spark's Memnto Mori Authors: England, Suzanne; Rust, Martha Abstract: Inspired by William F. May’s writings on the vices and virtues of the elderly we offer our reflections on his ideas as they are revealed by Muriel Spark’s novel, Memento Mori.. May argues that exempting the old from moral criticism positions them as “moral nonentities” and relieves the old, their caretakers, and society of moral responsibility. We, the coauthors of this paper, are from two different disciplines, namely Renaissance and medieval literature (Martha Rust), and social work and critical gerontology (Suzanne England). We offer our individual readings of the ways the novel illustrates May’s ideas, and conclude with our thoughts about how our collaboration opened up space in our own thinking and for continuing cross-disciplinary dialogue. Description: Paper presented at Theorizing Age, Maastricht, ND, Oct. 4, 2011 2011-12-10T23:50:35Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/28145 Title: Driving Miss Dasy: A Narrative Turn Authors: England, Suzanne; Tosone, Carol 2009-08-07T20:29:39Z