ABSTRACT
The widow was more likely than the single girl to possess or have the use of property. Children often reported the incontinence of their widowed mother to the authorities. What was surprising was the number of widows with considerable maintenance who, in their hurry to remarry, allowed their wealth to be dissipated by greedy suitors. Many widows consented to sexual intercourse in a vague hope of marriage. On the five criteria of willingness, frequency of intercourse, permanency of the situation, range of men involved and financial return, it was possible to distinguish the reluctant recipient, the fleeting partner, the regular lover, the de facto wife, the promiscuous wanton and the prostitute. The work of Natalie Davis on sexual inversion and its role in pre-industrial society has isolated the ‘unruly woman’ as a significant feature. The switch in sex roles has traditionally been limited to literature, art and festivities.
