The Widows' Might : : Widowhood and Gender in Early British America / / Vivian Bruce Conger.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Conger, Vivian Bruce,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [2009]; ©2009
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

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 as well as prescriptive literature, court appearances, newspaper advertisements, and letters, The Widows’ Might explores how widows were portrayed in early American culture, and how widows themselves responded to their unique role. Using a comparative approach, Vivian Bruce Conger deftly analyzes how widows in colonial Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Maryland navigated their domestic, legal, economic, and community roles in early American society.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- 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 -- 5. “Through Industry and Care Acquired Some Estate of My Own . . . Much Advanced the Same”: Widows in the Economic Community -- Conclusion: “Witnesses to a Will of Madam Toys” -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author