At what age does Balzac's age begin? Balzac age

Female age has always been a sensitive topic, and due to unwritten rules, it is customary to talk about it using hints or allegories. True, sometimes such allegories are frankly perplexing. For example, if it is said that such and such a lady is a woman of Balzac’s age, then what years are we talking about? This is what we will try to understand in our article.

Independence is the main criterion of Balzac's age

In 1842, the French prose writer Honore de Balzac, who was gaining increasing popularity both in his country and in Russia, published the novel “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman.” The main character of this work was the independent, intelligent and sensual Marquise Julie d'Aiglemont, who strives for freedom in the expression of feelings and has her own established opinions about the world.

The vivid image of a mature (in the minds of her contemporaries) lady was so convincing that her main features, so attractively described by the famous Frenchman, were transferred to all women who had reached thirty years of age, and the phrase “a woman of Balzac’s age” has since become their main characteristic.

Modern ladies of Balzac's age have become older

As often happens, the catchphrase somewhat changes its meaning over time. The concept of Balzac's age was no exception.

Due to the fact that modern women at thirty still do not reach maturity, the hidden meaning of the described expression has also changed somewhat. Indeed, in the 21st century, a woman first gets an education, then gets a job, makes her first career advancements - and going through all these life stages somewhat delays her emotional maturation until well after thirty, closer to forty years.

That is why modern American, European, and Russian women of Balzac’s age are ladies who are already over forty. Only they in our time can be considered mature and have achieved that same independence in judgment and life wisdom that the great Frenchman wrote so impressively about.

If a woman is “Balzac’s” age, how old is that?

Our contemporaries no longer have the need, like their peers in the 19th century, to spend their beauty and youth only on family and children. They are no longer locked in the narrow world of their home and the interests of their (often unloved) husband - the whole palette of life is open to them. This led to an amazing metamorphosis: outwardly, our forty-year-old ladies will give a head start to the early fading and aging young ladies of the century before last.

Nowadays, beautiful women of Balzac's age are not irony, but truth. There are so many of them - self-confident, brave, independent, well-groomed and very attractive. You can call them “mature”, but you can’t call them old!

Entering Balzac's age, a woman does not age

Now, we hope you understand that Balzac’s age is not the age of the famous French writer, but a rather blurry idea in the modern world of a mature, accomplished lady from 35 to... (here everything depends only on herself and her attitude towards herself).

Of course, if a woman constantly complains about life, declaring that youth has long passed and nothing interesting awaits ahead, then soon she is in danger of turning gloomily into a grumbling old woman, not arousing sympathy and living only with her memories.

And in the expression “a woman of Balzac’s age,” the main word is “woman.” That is, before us is not an old woman, which means she is still a beautiful creature, because ugly women do not exist! The beauty of the age described lies in the amazing harmony of spiritual and physical condition, in wisdom and self-sufficiency. Such a lady no longer needs to prove anything to the world - she lives and enjoys life and the fact that she is able to rejoice. And in this wonderfully outlined circle of existence there is always room for something new, because a wise woman loves novelty and willingly experiments.

As a woman gets older, she becomes freer

For women of Balzac's age, as well as for girls, it is important to be attractive. And the most effective method for this, of course, is a healthy lifestyle and the right habits. But, according to psychologists, no less, and sometimes even more important, is psychological comfort, which can only be achieved by realizing that a woman of Balzac’s age is a lady who can already live for herself. After all, children, as a rule, are already adults, and career aspirations fade into the background.

Her life interests become clearer, and her husband’s bad behavior ceases to be a disaster, as in his youth. For a woman over forty, as a rule, it is much easier to break off an irrational, outdated relationship. By the way, her conflicts with others are becoming increasingly rare, since life’s wisdom helps her resolve them in a timely manner or avoid them altogether.

Poems will be written about such a lady

Yes, there is nothing more stupid than approaching old age, but you shouldn’t forget about the rapid passing of years, which means that everything that remains should be lived with maximum comfort for yourself.

Take care of your health. Spend more time on your appearance (but don't beat yourself up about new wrinkles!) Find a job or hobby that gives you true pleasure. Don't be afraid to love and be loved! We are also talking about people close to you - children, grandchildren, friends, and about the only one who, perhaps, will appear in your life right now.

And then poems written by an admiring man about a woman of Balzac’s age will compete with poems about young beauties. After all, here not only beauty, but also wisdom will weigh on the scales, and it often decides everything.

The following age periods of a person are distinguished:

1. Childhood- from birth to the beginning of the period (12-13 years).

2. Adolescence(puberty) - from 12-13 to 16 years for girls and from 13-14 to 17-18 years for boys. This age is characterized by a sharp increase in body length with an annual increase of 5-6 cm. By the age of 15 (compared to a newborn), it triples and reaches an average of 158 cm in boys and 156 cm in girls. Body weight is 48 and 49 kg, respectively. By the age of 14-15, all permanent teeth appear, except wisdom teeth. During this period, one of the most important age-related crises occurs - puberty, which is based on a change in the function of the body's endocrine system, which leads to the appearance of secondary ones, the onset of menstruation in girls and the appearance of menstruation in boys. The general metabolism in the body becomes intense, but unstable and labile. The mental life of a teenager is very complex and unstable and requires great tact and restraint from teachers, doctors and parents.

3. Adolescence- from 16 to 25 years for women and from 17 to 26 years for men. Characterized by slow growth, the average annual gain is 0.5 cm. At this age, wisdom teeth usually appear.

4. Adulthood- from 25 to 40 years for women and from 26 to 45 years for men. A period of relative stabilization of morphological and metabolic processes.

5. Mature age- from 40 to 55 years for women and from 45 to 60 years for men. During this period, the second most important age crisis begins - which is especially pronounced in women. Menopause is associated with the extinction of the functions of the gonads and the restructuring of a number of hormonal systems of the body. The mental sphere and metabolism are characterized by significant lability.

6. Elderly age- from 55 to 75 years for women and from 60 to 75 years for men.

7. Senile age- over 75 years for women and men. The general involution of the body begins to develop.

Sometimes it is proposed to allocate a special age of centenarians for people 90 years and older.

Accurate determination of age is important in clinical and forensic practice. Age can be judged based on data on height, body weight, number of teeth, and skin condition. With age, wrinkles appear on a person's face. By the age of 20 - frontal and nasolabial, by 25 years at the outer edges behind the ears, by 30 years - infraorbital, by 40 years - cervical, by 55 years - on the earlobes, hands, chin. However, all these criteria are very relative.

A more accurate method of determining age is to determine (radiologically) the so-called. Its definition is based on patterns in ossification associated with age periods. For example, ossification points in the distal epiphysis of the radius appear at 12-14 months. in girls and at 16-18 months. in boys. in the distal epiphysis of the ulna at 19 and 20 years old, respectively. As a rule, to determine bone age, an image of the hand and distal bones is used. Knowing the time of appearance of ossification points and synostoses, it is possible to determine a person’s age with a high degree of accuracy.

Age periods in children. The period of childhood is characterized by constant development and growth of the child’s body. There is no strict line between the individual stages of development.

Childhood is preceded by a period in which a distinction is made between the stage of embryonic development (the first 3 months) and the stage of placental development (from the 3rd to the 9th month).

The extrauterine period of development is divided into several periods: 1) newborns, lasting up to 4 weeks of life; 2) infancy, lasting from 4 weeks to 1 year; 3) pre-preschool, or nursery, - from 1 year to 3 years; 4) preschool (kindergarten period) - from 3 to 7 years; 5) junior school - from 7 to 12 years; 6) senior school (adolescence, or puberty) - from 12 to 18 years (see above).

The neonatal period is characterized by incomplete development of all organs and systems. During this period, the child’s body adapts to environmental conditions. Insufficient functional capacity of various organs is the cause of the development of a number of disorders in which it is difficult to draw the line between physiological and pathological conditions (physiological and physiological weight loss and others). A newborn is extremely susceptible to coccal infection, which requires maximum care for a child of this age (see).

Infancy. The period of infancy is characterized by the intensity of growth and development of the child’s body, which determines a relatively greater need for high-calorie food and requires proper nutrition. If the quality and quantity of food is violated, eating disorders and... Due to the relative functional weakness of the digestive organs, the child eats mainly dairy foods. During this period, the child is also helpless and requires special care.

In an infant, the first signaling system is formed. Children begin to recognize objects and faces in their environment.

Rapid exhaustion of the central nervous system. requires a large number of hours of sleep and proper alternation of sleep and wakefulness.

The weakness of immunobiological defense mechanisms makes children in the first months of life more susceptible to septic processes. At 2-5 months. the child is most defenseless to infections due to a decrease in passive and insufficient production of active acquired immunity. In infancy, the manifestation of constitutional abnormalities is characteristic, most often exudative-catarrhal diathesis (see).

Pre-school age in its biological characteristics it has common features with infancy and preschool age. By the end of the first year, especially after two years, it develops intensively. At this age, appropriate organizational measures are required to ensure the correct regime, education, sufficient rest and further development of the child. In preschool age, acute infections become more frequent mainly due to insufficient development of active immunity. This requires timely treatment of the child, as well as measures to protect the child from infection.

Preschool age characterized by the child’s great mobility and activity. Children are much more involved in sports activities.

In this period of childhood, it is especially important to properly organize outdoor games, manual labor, etc. When developing a daily routine, especially organizing walks, one must remember that the child gets tired very quickly when walking slowly and non-stop. In preschool age, household and street injuries become more frequent; The incidence of acute infections increases significantly.

Junior school age characterized by increased muscle development, but the child’s growth slows down somewhat. The child develops in the school community and lives by its interests. Physical education classes should be organized so that they do not tire the child, but help improve metabolic processes and the functions of all body systems.

With a significant school load, improper organization of sleep and rest, the development of neurotic reactions is possible. Primary school age is characterized by a high incidence of acute infections, and diseases that are rare in pre-preschool age appear (functional cardiovascular disorders and others).

Senior school age. Physiologically, it is characterized by the maturation of the gonads. gonads dramatically change the course of all life processes and affect the functional state of the nervous system. In adolescents, a number of changes occur (pulse instability, etc.).

Uneven mood, increased irritability, and fatigue are also noted. During adolescence, the morphological and physiological features that distinguish a child from an adult gradually smooth out and disappear. The course of the disease acquires clinical features characteristic of adults. See also .

"Woman Balzac age“- this catchphrase came into use after the publication of the novel by the French writer Honore de Balzac “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman.” The character of the novel is a self-sufficient woman striving for freedom and independence.

She had worldly wisdom and a well-developed character. The French concluded that this is what the ideal of a mature lady looks like, so in their inexhaustible wit they assigned this title to all women over thirty.

Balzac age is how old

In Balzac's time, beauties got married very young, barely reaching their sixteenth birthday. It was a golden age, they shone in society, became mothers. And then a period of decline began, and after twenty the beauties were no longer called young, but at thirty or forty they were older ladies, wise with experience.

And life expectancy was significantly shorter. In Rus' there was even an expression: “a woman’s age is short-lived.” It was believed that after thirty a woman has no right to love. Over time, the approach to age has changed and experts, speaking about Balzac's age, lean more towards forty-five years.

And now there is a tendency to increase to fifty to fifty-five years. New expressions have appeared on this occasion: “Forty-five is a woman’s berry again.” Developmental psychologists believe that between the ages of thirty and forty, people experience a midlife crisis. This happens differently for everyone and at different ages. Women rethink their lives and experience a reassessment of values ​​precisely at Balzac’s age.

If in Balzac's novel the age of thirty was for a woman an opportunity to experience a second youth, today, Balzac age- this is a time of crisis, when the desired and the actual are compared, and the second youth comes after forty, closer to fifty. Therefore, in the modern world, the deadlines have been postponed by twenty years. After forty-five, life for modern women enters a new direction. The children have grown up, their careers have been built, and free flight lies ahead. Live and enjoy what life has in store for you.

Women of Balzac's age

Today, from a social point of view, Balzac's age means for a woman a time when she can devote herself to her favorite activities and devote more time to herself. Age makes ladies wiser; they already understand a lot in life, having experience behind them. What puzzled me in my youth now seems as simple as two and two.

A woman at this age understands people well, avoids conflicts, and if they do occur, she wisely approaches their resolution. A lot changes in family life. She looks at her husband’s infidelities differently and is less bothered by her husband’s bad behavior.

According to statistics, at this age men abuse alcohol heavily and begin to go “on the side.” What previously seemed like a disaster is now perceived differently: with worldly wisdom. A woman knows exactly what she wants, she is able to enjoy life.

Psychologists, studying this age, came to an amazing conclusion: women feel freer and more carefree, set new goals in life, are open to everything unfamiliar, unknown, and are ready to experiment. There is nothing more stupid than, with the onset of Balzac's age, to register oneself as an old woman. A person is as old as he feels. This is a wonderful age, you just need to love yourself, and everyone can make these years enjoyable.

Our contemporaries, especially young people, read, alas, infrequently and a little. Many classics are known by hearsay. In conversation, some quotes are sometimes mentioned, often distorting their meaning. An example is the phrase “beauty will save the world,” attributed to F. M. Dostoevsky. This is what one of his characters actually says, but not asserting, but doubting: “So, what do you think, beauty will save the world?” And here is another catchphrase - “Balzac age”. How much is this? Fourty? Fifty? Thirty five? Let's figure it out.

History of the expression

Honore de Balzac was a great expert in psychology, especially women's psychology. Such an important quality for a writer can only stem from a great love for people, in particular for the fair sex. To know, you need to love. Therefore, when some man labels one of his acquaintances as “a lady of Balzac’s age,” and even with a disdainful intonation, then, as a rule, this is a sign that he has not read the great French classic, does not know his thoughts, and even he is obviously not strong in amorous affairs.

Balzac and Chekhov

In A.P. Chekhov’s story “The Jumper” the expression “Balzac age” is found. How old is the heroine? Twenty? And the lady, who was already over forty, recognized herself in her. Ironically, he counts his wife and notary, a character in another Chekhov story “For Nothing to Do,” in the same group. How old she is is not specified, but from the narrative it is clear that she is not very young. But the notary’s sarcasm refers not to his years, but to his wife’s behavior.

How old are Balzac's heroines?

The characters in O. Balzac’s “Etudes on Morals” are by no means at the age that we call pre-retirement. They're thirty or so. It's in its prime, and it's still far from fading. No matter what they say about the difficult life of French women, suppressed and disenfranchised, I somehow cannot believe that it is much easier for our contemporaries. I mean, I can't believe it at all. And who can say that they look bad, that a thirty- or even forty-year-old Russian woman, or, for example, a Ukrainian woman, is an old woman? It varies, of course, but mostly...

How many years fit into Balzac's age?

And yet... Balzac's age is how many years? The answer seems obvious; it is even contained in the title of one of the works of the French classic - “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman.” This is taken literally. But it’s not a matter of years, but of that penchant for adventure, the desire to be happy, regardless of the circumstances, the desire to feel like a woman, loved and beautiful, that is, the qualities inherent in the heroines of the novels of the French writer. And if an adult man inquires, asking: “Balzac’s age, how much is that?” - and wants to hear a specific number, then one can only sympathize with him, he doesn’t know anything about women. Because it can be at thirty, and forty, and fifty, and sixty, until the woman despairs in her search for love and is disappointed in life.

How would Balzac himself react? Bold guess

Balzac, by his own admission and with his characteristic frankness, said that all his life he dreamed of at least once feeling like a woman. Nowadays, he would get punished for such a phrase. They would immediately classify him as some kind of minority, although only a real man and a great artist could say so. Probably Balzac himself would have been surprised at the expression “Balzac’s age.” "How much is this? - he would ask, - and even the age was named after me? This is glory!

Balzac age

Balzac age
The expression became commonly used after the appearance of the novel “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman” (1831) by the French writer Honore de Balzac
(1799-1850). The heroine of this novel, Viscountess de Bosseant, was distinguished by her independence, independence of judgment and freedom in expressing her feelings.
Sometimes there is another translation of the title - “Woman at Thirty.”
In the first years after the novel's publication, this expression was used ironically in relation to women who were like or aspired to be like the heroine of Balzac's novel.
Later, the original meaning of this expression was forgotten, and it began to be used in a different, narrower sense - it began to denote the age of a woman.

Allegorically: a woman between 30 and 40 years old (jokingly ironic). Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”

Balzac age

. Vadim Serov. 2003.

The expression arose after the publication of the novel by the French writer Honore Balzac (1799-1850) “A Woman of Thirty” (1831); used as a humorous description of women aged 30-40 years. In the same meaning, the expressions “Balzac's woman”, “Balzac's heroine” arose from here. Dictionary of catch words

. Plutex. 2004.

See what “Balzac age” is in other dictionaries:

Balzac age Balzac's age The expression became commonly used after the appearance of the novel “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman” (French) Russian. French writer Honore de Balzac. The heroine of this novel, Viscountess de Bosseant, was distinguished by her independence, ... ... Wikipedia - The woman’s age is from thirty to forty years. “Am I really entering Balzac’s age?” thought Anna Ivanovna, recalling those thirty-year-old ladies who fell into sad disappointment (Mother’s Sibiryak. Near the gentlemen). Everyone knows the “epidemics” of love... ...

Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language Noun, number of synonyms: 1 age from 30 to 40 years (1) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013…

Synonym dictionary The woman's age is approx. 30 years. The term was established after the publication of O. Balzac’s story The Thirty-Year-Old Woman (1842), which describes marital relations in a bourgeois family. (Source: Dictionary of Sexual Terms) ...

Sexological encyclopedia Razg. Joking. About the woman's age from 30 to 40 years. BMS 1998, 93; F 1, 71; BTS, 57; ShZF 2001.16. Named after the French writer O. de Balzac (1799–1850) after the publication of his novel “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman” (1831) ...

Balzac age Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Balzac age- about the woman’s age from 30 to 40 years. The expression arose under the influence of the works of O. Balzac, the heroines of which are women of that age. The phrase came into active use after the appearance of the writer’s novel The Thirty-Year-Old Woman (1842) ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

Balzac age- about the woman’s age from 30 to 40 years. The expression arose under the influence of the works of O. Balzac, the heroines of which are women of that age. The phrase came into active use after the appearance of the writer’s novel “A Thirty-Year-Old Woman” (1842) ... Phraseology Guide

Balzac age- About the woman’s age from 30 to 40 years. Named after the French writer O. de Balzac (1799 1850) after the publication of his novel A Woman of Thirty (1831) ... Dictionary of many expressions

Balzac's age, or All men are their own ... Wikipedia

Books

• White Moor, Stishov Maxim. Maxim Stishov is a famous screenwriter and producer, author of the blockbuster “Balzac's Age, or All Men Are Theirs...”, writes prose solely for his own pleasure. He rarely composes, but...