Nate, Tess, Leo, and Ian are all in their 80's. Nate arrives at this stage of life feelingwhole, complete, and satisfied with hi
s achievements. Tess regrets several major decisions in her life, but generally feels that her life turned out positively. Leo remains bitter and angry over some lost movie deals that he feels would have made his retirement worry-free, and expresses a great deal of anger and contempt for those in the movie business. Ian does not generally remember what happens from one week to the next, and depends heavily on his friendships with Nate, Tess, and Leo. According to Erikson's theory, who has arrived at a sense of ego despair?
According to Erikson's theory, there is a stage of human development called "Integrity versus Despair." This stage happens to the elderly and is described as the conflict between the integrity and the despair of the ego, the former being a sense of satisfaction when reflecting on a productively lived life, and enabling the elderly to accept their own life, allowing acceptance of death and thus developing the virtue of wisdom. The following refers to the sense that life was of little value, with despair and disgust at the inability to revive it.
Accordingly we can say that Leo is in the ego's despairing stage, because he is very embittered and angry at his past choices and even at what he lives in the present.
