What's wrong with living past 80?

I can't understand why Maude is so against living past 80. She says that the man at the funeral who died at 85 had lived too long.

Then, she, who claims to love life so much, ends it.

There is nothing wrong with living past 80, it just wasn't what Maude wanted. Maude was quirky and had her own ideas about how to live and, apparently, when to die. For whatever reason, she liked "80" and considered it to be a good age to go. I've given some thought to perfect ages as well. 80 has a lot to recommend for it. It's considered a "ripe" age and, for someone like Maude, it would be before dementia or other infirmities set in. Again, this had a lot to do with how she chose to live her life.

There is nothing wrong with living past eighty now. But this is forty years after the film's release. People live longer, stay healthier longer.

I think that at the time of the actual story 1971, being eighty seemed ancient. Now in 2014, there are so many healthy people in their nineties, suicides at 80 seem ridiculous. I suppose if Maude knew she was getting Parkinson's or some other debilitating disease, she would be justified in committing suicide at 80, but the film does not indicate this.

I have always loved the film but think it has not aged well. I just have to accept it as a story of time and place and pretend Maude is 90 or 100.

LyndaLexi
I was young when this movie came out. My sister, who is 8 yrs older than I, loved this movie. I remember her making me watch it, and I liked it because of Harold's fake suicide attempts and the idea (never saw it) that he and Maude had sex... kinda crazy.... The Sundance channel played it recently and I DVR'd it. I and my 18 yr old son watched it today - I loved it so much more while he was confused. I had to explain many things. But, I admit that I didn't remember the tatooed numbers on her arm, which meant that she was a holocaust survivor, hence her comments about cages and being caged.That was an awakening for me as to why she behaved the way she did. I also remembered a completely different ending - I remembered her as being ill with cancer, and Harold found her dead- wrong!! As to why she committed suicide herself when she had shown how much she embraced life, I agree with other posters that she chose to 'go out' while she was still healthy, still coherent, still free. At the time the movie was set and filmed, 80 was really old - compared to 90 or 100 by today's standards. At one time, she had been in a concentration camp, had no control over anything in regards to herself, was able to escape, appreciate her freedom and life, but also had control as to when she could be done. Considering she had been in a concentration camp and survived is monument in itself. 'They' didn't end her life, she chose when that would be. Unfortunately Harold came into her life too late.

My take on Maude's suicide is that she probably sensed she was getting sick with something. And she's alone in the world so who was going to take care of her when she was dying? A nursing home? Personally I hope I won't die in a nursing home as they're horrible places and Maude didn't seem like she would want to die in a nursing home either.

I think the reference in the book had to do with a scene that gave a reason why Maude's photo frames were empty. It's in the trivia section here on IMDb, if I'm remembering correctly. The scene got cut from the final, but in it, she explains to Harold that she took the photos out of the frames because they "mocked" her in a way that indicated she was starting to lose her memories of who they were, thereby suggesting the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's.

And honestly, having watched my own father succumb to Alzheimer's, I've already told my husband and adult son that if I ever get Alzheimer's myself, while I still have the presence of mind to do it, I'm going to commit suicide. It's a horrible, horrible, horrible illness, incredibly painful for the family who must watch their loved one succumb to it. Even in a vegetative state, a person can continue to live for several years. I won't put my family through that. If it means I shorten my life by a few years, so be it. I found Maude's actions completely credible.

Well, first off, the film and the novel are fiction, with a broad comedic viewpoint so there are deep points made but there can be too much meaning attached to 80 as the age Maude decided to end her life. Certainly that she had been a Holocaust survivor is an important factor. However this is one of those movies that the viewer brings his or her own values to and takes their own unique set of interpretations away from the viewing. What I take out of this film at 67 is quite different than when I first saw it at 24.

As far as dementia or other disability impacting on the thoughts of suicide, that is really a very personal decision. I find I cannot quarrel with anybody's decision arrived at rationally to take their own life. If they are suffering from depression that could be mitigated with mood elevating drugs then that would be a shame but still their decision to make.

What was illustrative to me was watching a very vibrant older women, in love with life, detect the early stages of dementia. She was distressed as it progressed as she was aware of the loss of capability. Eventually, however, she reached the stage of a 3 year old and was no longer distressed. She no longer knew my name but she recognized me as someone who was a friend and was happy to see. She was quite happy cutting out colorful pictures out of magazines. Her daughter and other relatives were quite distressed but she was happy. Should she have committed suicide to save her children the distress of seeing her suffering from dementia? I don't think so as that was their issue, not hers. What I realized was that she loved life no matter what diminished capabilities she experienced. That living, even if it meant being happy cutting out pretty pictures, was preferable to the alternative of snuffing out her candle forever.

So it really is up to each of us to make our own decision. I can't possibly know what my thoughts might be if I begin to suffer dementia. I can only opine on that should it happen. I may be very happy living a life cutting out pretty pictures, sitting on a green lawn, hearing the rustling of leaves, feeling the warm breeze, experience the sun on my face. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking seems to be quite happy, keeping his sense of humor even though he has lost virtually all motor control. All I can conclude is that a spark of life, however diminished, may be sufficiently precious given the alternative and I cannot make such a decision for myself until faced with the possibility and certainly it would wildly presumptuous for me to offer my opinion as to what somebody else should do. The discussion is of value, consequently should continue.

I think most people look to get into their eighties now. As long there is a reasonable quality of life. And Maude's quality life seemed excellent. I think she should have left it till she really had become tired of life.