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The wedding: Intimacy vs. Isolation
At the age of 20, Madeline decided to marry and join her life with her true love. This displays Erikson's 6th stage of Intimacy versus Isolation. In this stage, people decide to either form loving relationships with others (like marriage) or choose to be alone. -
Starting a New Path: Generativity vs. Stagnation
At the age of 46, Madeline has always been a house wife and never had a career, but she decided to go to nursing school to get her college degree as a Registered Nurse. In Erikson's 7th stage, Generativity versus Stagnation, middle-aged adults are "making their mark" by contributing to other people or the next generation or have failed to find a way to contribute and focus solely on themselves (stagnation). -
A Peaceful Goodbye: Integrity vs. Despair
Madeline had lived a long and happy life raising a family (her 4 children and 8 great-grandchildren) and serving others as a nurse. She has no regrets about her life when looking back. She passed peacefully at home in her own bed, surrounded by her loved ones on her last day. In Erikson's 8th stage, Integrity vs. Despair, is when someone looks back on their life and is at peace with how their life has played out or has despair and regrets of things they did not get to do before it was too late.