Helena Znaniecka Lopata

What happens whene the husband dies depends on the society, on the location of the widow in urban-rural or class terms, and on the widow's own personal resources. In some societies the woman is totally dependent upon a grown son and cannot remarry; in others, such as that in the United States, she is more dependent upon her own resouces and wishes. For some, widowhood results in a great loss of status; for others, it can mean loneliness and social isolation. Yet widowhood can mean greater social freedom for some women, a "blooming of personality. Even grief is experienced in various ways and degrees. Thus there is no such thing as a "widow type," only a great heterogenity in widowhood, as in "wifehood." Volume I analyzes the support systems and life-styles of widows in Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Iran, China, a Pacific island, India, Turkey, and Israel. Volume II : North America examines two communities in Canada, a Florida retirement community, and communities in several other locations, as well as the relative situations of homeowners, blacks, and poor ethnic populations.

A collection of essays from swearing to incest and everything else under the sun, lighthearted but with the underlying seriousness typical of Graves. A valuable insight into social customs between the two World Wars.

The general purpose of this study was to collect data which would describe the social and psychological characteristics of widows and identify the support systems available to them in an urban setting. In 1968, the staff of the National Opinion Research Center interviewed 301 Chicago area widows, selected by means of modified area probability sampling, who had not remarried and who were residing in private dwellings. Approximately one-half of the participants in this study were between 50 and 64 years of age when interviewed; the remaining half were 65 or older. The interview schedule consisted primarily of precoded items and included questions concerning the education and employment history of the respondent (both before and after her husband's death), family and community relationships, background and general demographic characteristics, and the social and emotional adjustment to widowhood. The interview also included several open-ended items dealing with general issues of widowhood, such as the possible advantages of widowhood and the ways in which the respondent had changed since the death of her husband. Computer-accessible data are available at the Murray Center.