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Imaginary widows: Spinsters, marriage, and the "Lost generation" in Britain after the great war

Holden, Katherine

Authors

Katherine Holden



Abstract

This article argues that the status of spinster was associated with widowhood in the decades after the First World War in Britain, an association that is still active in our collective memory. Widely publicized census statistics suggesting that a whole generation of young men perished during the war led to the beliefs that an accompanying generation of women had lost lovers and fiancés, would be unable to marry, and were therefore deprived of the chance of leading "normal," happy lives. Drawing upon a range of sources, including census statistics, fiction, poetry, autobiography, and oral history, the author examines the consequences of these beliefs for unmarried women in the context of a society that privileged marriage and nuclear families with male breadwinners and dependent wives over all other family formations. © 2005 Sage Publications.

Citation

Holden, K. (2005). Imaginary widows: Spinsters, marriage, and the "Lost generation" in Britain after the great war. Journal of Family History, 30(4), 388-409. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363199005275836

Journal Article Type Review
Publication Date Oct 1, 2005
Journal Journal of Family History
Print ISSN 0363-1990
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 30
Issue 4
Pages 388-409
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0363199005275836
Keywords widows, marriage, spinsters, Britain, Great War, single women, World War I, United Kingdom
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1046978
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0363199005275836