Coming of Late-Middle-Age

Coming of late-middle-age is a dominant theme in the novel Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen. Coming of age includes the spiritual, emotional, moral, and character growth. Usually grounded in real-world experiences and events, it is the evolution and maturation of one or more individuals. In this case, the coming of age has to do with later-middle age. It primarily revolves around the character of Rebecca Winters.

When the novel begins, Rebecca Winters is sixty years old. She believes that she has reached the end of her life professionally and personally. Her career as a photographer is seemingly over, as most of her best work has been done decades before. She has since faded in name and popularity, and she feels that any new work she does is a cheap replication of something she has already done. Likewise, she has no personal...