Re-discovering Ageing ― Narratives of Mentorship

Since Mentor, Telemachus’s advisor in Homer’s Odyssey, gave name to the figure of the “wise teacher,” fictional representations of mentoring have permeated different classic and contemporary cultural texts of different literary genres such as fiction, poetry, and life writing. The contributions of this volume analyze this narrative of mentorship that offers a mirror and also a narrative practice through which ageist views of later life (and also of youth) may be undermined, while it at the same time enables a study of questions relevant to wisdom in old age.

Nuria Casado-Gual teaches English theater and literature at the University of Lleida in Catalonia. As a member of the Department of English and Linguistics and as project leader of the research group Dedal-Lit, she leads two research projects on ageing, creativity, and the quality of life. Besides her research in literary gerontology, she develops pedagogical and creative projects within the field of theater studies, which she also explores as a playwright and actress.

Emma Dominguez-Rue teaches in the Department of English at the University of Lleida in Catalonia. She has worked not only on ageing studies but also within the American studies and on narratives of disease, contemporary detective fiction, and Victorian and Gothic fiction from a feminist perspective.

Maricel Oro-Piqueras is a member of the research group Dedal-Lit and teaches literature, culture, and English language at the University of Lleida in Catalonia. Her research focuses on British contemporary writers such as Julian Barnes, Deborah Moggach, and Kazuo Ishiguro.