Between Poverty and the Pyre: Movements in the History of Widowhood

Between Poverty and the Pyre examines the history of the experience of widowhood across different cultures. It brings together a collection of essays by historians, anthropologists and philologists. The book shows how difficult it is to define the 'typical' widow, as the experiences of these women have differed so widely, not simply because of their different time periods and locations, but also becuase of their varying legal and religious status and economic conditions. The study is diverse with subjects ranging from: *Hindu wives who followed their husbands to the pyre *widows who were burned as witches *and widows who had to become prostitutes to stay alive. The book also explores Jesus's interest in widows and the experience of some well-known widows, such as Mohammed's first wife. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of illustrations......Page 8 Notes on contributors......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Editors' note......Page 12 WIDOWS' WORLDS Representations and realities Marjo Buitelaar......Page 14 THE PUBLIC IMAGE OF THE WIDOW IN ANCIENT ISRAEL Karel van der Toorn......Page 32 PAUPER OR PATRONESS The widow in the Early Christian Church Jan N.Bremmer......Page 44 WIDOWS IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND Rolf H.Bremmer Jr......Page 71 WIDOWS AND THE LAW The legal position of widows in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Dieneke Hempenius-van Dijk......Page 102 'EUROPEAN' WIDOWS IN THE DUTCH EAST INDIES Their legal and social position Heleen C.Gall......Page 130 WOMEN WITHOUT MEN Widows and spinsters in Britain and France in the eighteenth century Olwen Hufton......Page 149 NOBLE WIDOWS BETWEEN FORTUNE AND FAMILY Yme Kuiper......Page 179 THE ULTIMATE JOURNEYSat and widowhood in India Lourens P. van den Bosch......Page 198 WIDOWS IN ISLAM Willy Jansen......Page 231 WIDOWS HIDDEN FROM VIEW The disappearance of mourning dress among Dutch widows in the twentieth century Geertje van Os......Page 257 WIDOWS IN WESTERN HISTORY A select bibliography Frouke Veenstra and Kirsten van der Ploeg......Page 274 Index......Page 279 Widow's Worlds / Marjo Buitelaar -- Public Image Of The Widow In Ancient Israel / Karel Van Der Toorn -- Pauper Or Patroness : The Widow In The Early Christian Church / Jan N. Bremmer -- Widows In Anglo-saxon England / Rolf H. Bremmer Jr -- Widows And The Law : The Legal Position Of Widows In The Dutch Republic During The Seventeenth And Eighteenth Centuries / Dieneke Hempenius-van Dijk -- 'european Widows' In The Dutch East Indies : Their Legal And Social Position / Heleen C. Gall -- Women Without Men : Widows And Spinsters In Britain And France In The Eighteenth Century / Olwen Hufton -- Noble Widows Between Fortune And Family / Yme Kuiper -- Ultimate Journey : Satī And Widowhood In India / Lourens P. Van Den Bosch -- Widows In Islam / Willy Jansen -- Widows Hidden From View : The Disappearance Of Mourning Dress Among Dutch Widows In The Twentieth Century / Geertje Van Os -- Widows In Western History : A Select Bibliography / Frouke Veenstra And Kirsten Van Der Ploeg Edited By Jan Bremmer And Lourens Van Den Bosch. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 247-251) And Index. "The contemporary challenge of postmodernity draws our attention to the nature of reality and the ways in which experience is constructed... Explores our immediate sensuous experience of the world. Touch, smell, hearing and sight - the four senses chiefly relevant to the placing of the self - both receive and structure information. The process is mediated by historical, cultural and technological factors. Issues of definition are illustrated through a variety of sensuous geographies. Focusing on postmodern concerns with representation, the book brings insights from individual perceptions and cultural observations to an analysis of the senses, challenging us to reconsider the role of the sensuous as not merely the physical basis of understanding but as an integral part of the cultural definition of geographical knowledge." -- Back cover This interdisciplinary collection of studies is the first ever to shed light on a fascinating & much neglected aspect of women's history: widows. The contributors present facets of widows' lives from religious and moral to legal obligations.