近代早期英国寡妇的社会交往初探

The Widow's Social Interaction in Early Modern England

在近代早期的英国社会中,寡妇绝非我们所想象的那般孤苦无依。虽然她丧失了重要的社会关系——与配偶的关系,但是较已婚男人来说,她们建构起了一个更为广阔的社会关系网络。她们不仅与其子女、孙子女、父母保持着密切关系,也与兄弟姐妹、侄儿侄女、公婆姑嫂等非直系亲属维持着重要联系。此外,虚拟血亲和邻里关系也是寡妇社会关系网络中的活跃部分。在这些对象中,她们又倾向于以女性,尤其是那些处于单身状态的女性为中心来构建自己的社交圈子。

In early modern England,widows were not as alone as we thought.Although they lost their husbands,who were their most important social relation,they built a broader social network than married men.They not only maintained close relationships with their children,grandchildren and parents,but also maintained important links with non-immediate family members,such as brothers and sisters,nieces and nephews and in-laws.In addition,virtual consanguinity and neighbourhood relations were also active parts in the network of widows Social relations.Widows took women,especially single women as a center to build their own social circle.