Dor sofrimento, dor encantamento: retratos de vidas: ser viÃva em camadas mÃdias pernambucanas

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2003

RESUMO

Widowhood: a word that carries absence in it. A phenomenon which touches someone s life unexpectedly, thus bringing so many unpredictable changes. In a lifetime, the events related to the deaths of close people are perhaps the most traumatic ones, leaving deep scars in their aftermath. When widowhood is mentioned in academic investigations, it is mostly in an incidental way, in works about old age or women, usually from biomedic or mental health perspectives. Likewise, research on widowhood in Brazil approaches more the female gender, at centers of studies focused on old age at universities. Studies and papers about widowhood as a problem faced also by men are extremely scarce in all fields of scientific knowledge. This thesis is inserted here: a study on widowerhood in urban midclass. To achieve its purpose, the investigation centered on the procedures for the reorganisation of the lives of men who live in the metropolitan area of Recife, in Brazil s North-East. The objectives of this research are to discover these men s early and late reactions to the loss of their wife/partner, eventual changes in their ways of life and social relations, economic, services, social and emotional support used, the existence (or lack) of social prescriptions connected to widowerhood, and the representation which drive that universe. The instrument used for the compilation of data was a narrative interview applied in meetings which took place at the widowers place of work or at home. The size of the research s sample group was of 20 men, ages varying from 36 to 82, and widowerhood time ranging from 6 months to 34 years. The disease or death of the wife was almost always accompanied thoroughly by the husband. Some of the widowers got married again; some preferred not to. Some of them went through personal changes. Most of them overtook the complete management of their homes. Child raising, work and religion are the strongest resources for an adequate adaptation to the new situation. The main means of support comes from social networks, in which a maid or a close friend have an important role. Going against cultural stereotypes and the common sense that exists when it comes to men, all of the narrated stories show a high level of emotion. We conclude that men cry indeed: during the interviews, the voices of most of them break, and some actually cry to the point of not being able to speak. Emotions related to the memories of the past and to the void which exists in the present are quite frequent. Finally, this thesis is about pain, suffering, and death, but it is also about life, happiness, and love. Essentially, however, it attempts to contribute to widen and legitimize the field of anthropology of emotions in Brazil, using a local experience as a starting point

ASSUNTO(S)

psychologies aspects death antropologia camadas mÃdias pernambuco widowhood viÃva emotions anthropology relationships

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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