--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Widows (though not widowers) were…" description: "\"“Widows (though not widowers) were expected to wear mourning for two years, just as, in general, the burdens of refinement fell most heavily on women.”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/mike-wallace-5222_grief_widows-though-not-widowers-were-expected_1517723.png" --- # Widows (though not widowers) were expected to wear… ![“Widows (though not widowers) were expected to wear mourning for two years, just as, in general, the burdens of refinement fell most heavily on women.” quote by Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/mike-wallace-5222_grief_widows-though-not-widowers-were-expected_1517723.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/mike-wallace-5222_grief_widows-though-not-widowers-were-expected_1517723.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e6/mike-wallace-5222_grief_widows-though-not-widowers-were-expected_1517723.png) > ““Widows (though not widowers) were expected to wear mourning for two years, just as, in general, the burdens of refinement fell most heavily on women.”” [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historically, women bore heavier social expectations for mourning, reflecting gendered burdens of refinement. **In simple terms:** Women faced stricter mourning rules than men. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge gendered cultural expectations. Themes gender tradition social norms Mood analytical reflective Type historical sociological When to use this quote - weddings - funerals - rituals - fashion industry Key Concepts feminist theory cultural history Questions to Reflect On - How do current mourning practices differ by gender? - What lingering expectations affect women today? A Different Perspective Modern societies have relaxed many mourning customs, reducing relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Widows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/widows/) ## Related quotes > [“MEDVIEDENKO Why do you always wear mourning? MASHA I dress in black to match my life. 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She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/mrs-jennings-was-a-widow-with-an-ample-jointure-she-had-only-two/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“People will rather pass by the weak, the lame, the beggars, the orphans, the tormented, the widows and take their large offerings to church,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/people-will-rather-pass-by-the-weak-the-lame-the-beggars-the-orphans/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Not only do we have the handsomest voice cast out there, along with the very lovely Black Widow, we also have an incredible voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-loeb/not-only-do-we-have-the-handsomest-voice-cast-out-there-along-with/) [Jeph Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-loeb/) > [Contrary to the macho culture of Mexico, both my grandmothers were very brave young widows. I was always very close to these hard-working, intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/contrary-to-the-macho-culture-of-mexico-both-my-grandmothers-were/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [Martin, at my age, eroticism is reduced to enjoying caramel custard and looking at widows' necks.' - Senor Sempere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/martin-at-my-age-eroticism-is-reduced-to-enjoying-caramel-custard-and/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [The Death of the contemporary forms of social order ought to gladden rather than trouble the soul. 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This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More by Mike Wallace > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. 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But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? 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Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. 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