ABSTRACT
After living for nearly 17 years at the retirement home in Blönduós, Bíbí moved out into the village, into her own space, but under the supervision of a friend, who worked at Hælið. Thus a whole new reality opened up to Bíbí, and her life gained a new dimension – she became in a sense a full member of society, though the community was not entirely prepared to recognize her as such. This chapter deals with the idea of “emotional community,” drawn from the history of emotion; this concept is used to analyze the differences between the three communities to which Bíbí had belonged until that time: her childhood home, the retirement home, and finally her independent life in the village in her later years.
