Dinesen held that the only dignified way for a woman to age is to become a skeleton. She, however, was naturally rather dumpy and had to battle a hearty appetite, and she didn't achieve her ideal weight (about eighty pounds) until middle age, and then only with the help of syphilis, anorexia, chain-smoking, and amphetamines. (Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 09-22)