| Abstract: | This paper explores the interaction between the circumstances of old age and the demands of adjusting to widowhood. Most widowed individuals, especially women, have much of their life still before them. Three themes are developed: The implications of widowhood for successful aging, the utility of viewing the rest of one's life as a "career" to be planfully and actively pursued, and the increasing amount of heterogeneity among the elderly. These themes are related to issues of personal control and continued independence in old age. |
