| Description |
1 online resource (257 pages) |
| Contents |
Acknowledgments; Introduction: "Lay In A Stock Of Graces Against The Evil Day Of Widowhood"; 1 "Though She Were Yong, Yet She Did Not Affect a Second Marriage": The Cultural Community and Widow Remarriage; 2 "Prosperity & Peace May Alwais Him Attend That to the Widdow Prove Himselfe a Friend": Widows and the Law; 3 "To the Tenderness of a Mother Add the Care and Conduct of a Father": Widows and the Household; 4 "Tho She No More Increase One Family, She May Support Many": Neighborly Widows |
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5 "Through Industry and Care Acquired Some Estate of My Own ... Much Advanced the Same": Widows in the Economic CommunityConclusion: "Witnesses to a Will of Madam Toys"; Notes; Bibliography; Index; A; B; C; D; F; G; H; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; W; About the Author |
| Summary |
In early American society, one's identity was determined in large part by gender. The ways in which men and women engaged with their communities were generally not equal: married women fell under the legal control of their husbands, who handled all negotiations with the outside world, as well as many domestic interactions. The death of a husband enabled women to transcend this strict gender divide. Yet, as a widow, a woman occupied a third, liminal gender in early America, performing an unusual mix of male and female roles in both public and private life. With shrewd analysis of widows' wills |
| Analysis |
American |
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Might |
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culture |
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early |
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explores |
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portrayed |
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responded |
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role |
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their |
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themselves |
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unique |
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were |
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widows |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Widows -- United States -- Economic conditions
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Widows -- United States -- History
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HISTORY -- United States -- Colonial Period (1600-1775)
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Widows
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Widows -- Economic conditions
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United States
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| Genre/Form |
History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9780814772966 |
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081477296X |
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