WIDOWS - A GLOBAL HISTORY Paperback

In "Widows - A Global History," Mineke Schipper meticulously uncovers the multifaceted and often harsh realities faced by widows across diverse cultures and throughout history, revealing how these women, who have consistently outnumbered widowers due to factors like war and travel, have been historically portrayed and treated as either vulnerable and exploitable or as dangerous and cunning. Traversing continents and centuries, Schipper analyzes a wealth of stories, myths, and societal practices from Ancient Egypt and Greece to modern-day Europe, Africa, and the Americas, exposing a global legacy of cruelty, shame, and control imposed upon widows through loss of status, brutal mourning rituals, and restrictions on their autonomy, while also highlighting instances of their resilience and defiance in the face of adversity.