ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I explore widowhood in an Asian context, using Singapore as an example. I discuss how the widowed cope and how space is used in this process. Singapore is an interesting case study. Even though it is a newly industrialised country with a GNP of over US$26,453 per capita (Department of Statistics 1996:2), its social values are still essentially conservative and the widowed are ‘incorporated’ into the household so that the transition phase as suggested by van Gennep (1960) is fairly short. This is a situation which lies in stark contrast to the West. Most of the literature on widowhood in the West portray the experience as a traumatic and burdensome one (see, e.g., Lopata 1973, 1996). In the UK and USA, a high proportion of those who live alone are widowed and rely on friends for companionship and affirmation of self-worth. They are considered a vulnerable group whose level of poverty is likely, although not always, high (Arber and Ginn 1991:171; Malveaux 1993). As a significant rite of passage, these depictions of widows and widowers lead us to the conclusion that associated changes in life circumstances result in new social positions which are not always favourable.
