Warning by Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people’s gardens And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
LITERARY ANALYSIS
In 1996, BBC released a poll for the ‘most popular post-war poem’ in United Kingdom in which “Warning” by Jenny Joseph won. The poem itself was first published in 1961 in The Listener and is considered as one of Joseph’s most popular poems. “Warning” is a free-verse poem consisted of four stanzas in which the poet talks about wanting to live carelessly as an old woman but having to hold that back for she is supposed to be a sensible adult. With its witty and satirical lines, Jenny Joseph’s “Warning” is a mockery to ageism and social expectations.
The topic of ageism is touched especially in the first and second stanza where the speaker lists the things that she wants to do when she becomes old. Ageism itself is a form of discrimination and prejudice against people of a certain age, specifically in this poem, ageism towards elderly people. The media often portrays elderly woman as kind, gracious, and wise, but a common prejudice against elderly woman is that they are physically weak. The speaker, however, refuses to conform to this norm as her list are full of reckless and ‘inappropriate’ behaviour, such as wearing mismatching clothes, spending her pension on unnecessary things, spitting, and many others. These desires contrast society’s expectation of how an old woman should be; instead of becoming wise and compassionate, the speaker wants to be careless and free when she gets old.
Another interesting to note is that the speaker’s list is delivered in a way that mock the concept of ageism. A lot of the things that the speaker mentions are generally not harmful, but it is strange in society’s eyes and might be seen as improper for an elderly woman to do. Things like wearing purple shirt and red hat, going out in slippers in the rain, and hoarding pens and pencils are certainly not harmful to anyone, but it is strange in society’s eyes if an old woman do that. There are some things that can be considered inappropriate, things such as spitting or picking flowers in other people’s garden. These are usually done by rebellious teenagers, but the speaker only wants to rebel when she becomes old. With that said, these things are not even remotely dangerous. It shows that expectations towards old people are sometimes illogical and unnecessary.
The speaker’s goal to be a rebellious old lady also proves that she believes in the joy of aging. It is a well-known fact that aging comes with many limitations, mentally, physically, and even socially. It is, however, not very different with adulting as explained in the third stanza where the speaker talks about some rules that adults must do, such as “paying rent” and having to “set a good example for the children.” It makes even more sense that the speaker’s motivation of her goal is to “make up for the sobriety of her youth” (stanza 1) as she contrasts this by wanting a chaotic life when she ages. The speaker wants to show that becoming an old woman means letting go of all the responsibilities that a sensible adults must have. When a lot of people fear becoming old, the speaker thinks that aging is a blessing. Although it may seem too ideal, this kind of mindset is a good thing as a study in 2017 by Department of Psychology, University of California, shows that older adults who have better expectation on aging may experience increase social engagement and well-being.
It is obvious that the speaker is an adult who is trying to live life responsibly. But more than that, it is also implied that the speaker is free-spirited and is trying to suppress the feeling of rebellion. The third stanza clarifies this as the speaker uses the word ‘must’ to explain her obligations of becoming a good adult who fit the social expectations. But deep inside, the speaker fantasizes about wanting to be carefree when she gets old as she sees that it is the only time that she can do that. The speaker even thinks about starting to do all those reckless stuffs now, as seen in stanza four, justifying it as a ‘sneak peek’ to what she’s going to be as she gets old.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
In conclusion, Jenny Joseph’s “Warning” is a poem about going against prejudices of an elderly woman and the pressure of being an adult, presented in a witty and mocking way. Through this poem, Joseph challenges the idea of an elderly woman by setting the speaker to be careless and irresponsible as she ages. The poem also shows that aging does not always come with misery, but instead should be welcome with joy. Moreover, the poem shows that limitations and expectations will always exist, whether you are a responsible adult or a wise elderly. This might also prompt a question: does being an adult limit us more than being an elderly people? It seems that the answer is always up to interpretation.
REFERENCES
Joseph, J. (1997). Warning: When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple (First Thus ed.) [E-book]. Souvenir Press.
Josephine A Menkin, Theodore F Robles, Tara L Gruenewald, Elizabeth K Tanner, Teresa E Seeman, Positive Expectations Regarding Aging Linked to More New Friends in Later Life, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, Volume 72, Issue 5, September 2017, Pages 771-781, https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbv118
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