This research aims to
analyse “The Coming of Age” by Simone de Beauvoir, classify the word
associations with the phenomenon of ageing and identify the changes in the
perception of ageing by the population. The scientific methods used in this
research are determined by the objectives and the research questions: methods
of empirical research (survey, observation, semantic analysis, method of free-associative experiment). Text analysis
was performed with the help of Voyant Tools (quantitative confirmation of patterns in the text,
identifying key words and phrases within a large corpus). The semantic
analysis of the text made it possible to distinguish three main connotations
used by Simone de Beauvoir
to describe old age: existential, romantic, pejorative and it was proved that “The Coming of Age”
belongs to “sad” texts using V. Belyanin’s (2000) classification. The results of the associative experiment conducted
with 340 participants showed that 45% of associations with the word ageing
carry an existential connotation; 40% – pejorative; 10% – romantic and 5% of
the associations have a connotation
that cannot be included in the three main categories. The results of the text analysis
showed that the content and the language of “The Coming of Age” by Simone de
Beauvoir directly collate with the author’s personality. Moreover, modern
society demonstrates similar stereotypes, phobias, and discrimination to those
depicted in the literary work more than fifty years ago. The results open the
gate to further research on gerontophobia and authors’ personality.
