Older widows get a bad press - the word widow itself often conjures up an image of someone, who is lonely, dependent, depressed (Martin Matthews, 1999), an anomaly in a 'couple-companionate' world (Jerrome, 1993). In a study of widows in the developing world Owen (1996: 153) argued that this negative image of the older widow is both universal and longstanding: 'In fairy tales, legends and myths and nursery tales, the old widow portrayed as a hag, harridan, witch or sorceress is a familiar character'. She demonstrated that stories from all over the world depict widowed mothers harassing their daughters in law whilst possessively adoring their sons. Older widows, often the butt of 'mother-in-law jokes', are rarely described in positive terms or deemed to be worthy of respect. Such stereotypes affect both individual and collective attitudes and contribute to the experience of becoming and being an older widow.