Write your abstract here. Widows, in the patriarchal society especially in the third world countries, as per
various life-styles
they are compelled to lead, can broadly be classified into ten different categories as detailed hereinafter.
1. TRUE WIDOW / LEGAL WIDOW / PERFECT WIDOW
A true widow is a woman who has lost her
husband by death and not
married again.
She may again be called a legal or perfect widow.
2. ILLEGAL WIDOW / DESERTED WIDOW
An unmarried girl, before marriage, may give birth to a child. Then her lover may die
or leave her. Thus she becomes an illegal or a deserted widow.
3. MARRIED WIDOW
A married widow is not a widow who has married again. Rather inspite of her
widowhood, she likes to lead the life of a married woman.
4. IMAGINARY WIDOW / BACHELOR WIDOW / SPINSTER WIDOW /
UNMARRIED WIDOW
Parents, generally, do not allow their daughter to marry a stranger whom she loves.
Simultaneously, the daughter shows audacity to negate parents’ choice. Now if her lover
dies or betrays then the sentimental girl marries never and lives like a widow nurturing
the sweet memory of her unrecognized husband. Such a devotee may be crowned as an
imaginary widow or a bachelor widow or a spinster widow or an unmarried widow.
5. HALF WIDOW
A divorcee may be called a half widow. Because she has lost her husband who is still
alive. But if that divorced husband dies then the half widow who did not marry further,
unofficially, may be called a full widow instead of perfect widow. Also a married woman
becomes a half widow if she lives with another man in addition of her legal husband.
6. UNOFFICIAL WIDOW
Sometimes a married woman if, without taking legal divorce from her husband, lives for
full time with another man may be called an unofficial widow.
7. UNRECOGNISED WIDOW
A married woman whose husband has been missing since long is an unrecognized
widow. However, for acquiring widowhood she at first obeys legal procedure. Then she
observes ceremony thus to show adequate respect to the departed soul. We may
consider this as an advance respect to that very soul yet to leave the human body.
Perhaps, our society is interested more with the life beyond death than the life of
mundane existence.
8. HAPPY WIDOW
A happy widow considers her husband as a living luggage and becomes happy at his
death. Also the same face of husband bores her. She likes to face new faces regularly.
So she either departs or murders him to enjoy a happier life. Further if the husband is a
drunkard or tyrant or insane or an impotent or suffering from an incurable disease then
she may welcome premature death of her husband.
9. MUTUAL WIDOW
Sometimes discontentment inspires a couple to exchange their life-partner with another
willing couple mutually. But they cannot be blamed as divorcee. Thus the two married women become mutual widow to regain their marital status further.
10. WOULD-BE WIDOW
A woman is so lunatic that she always apprehends her husband’s death without any reason. She suffers from such a phobia of being a would-be widow.