My reference is....(somewhat long)
Posted by CathyW on June 25, 1998 at 20:00:51:
In response to Periods of mourning, written by Ann on June 25, 1998 at 18:29:15
...the book "What Jane Austen Ate & Charles Dickens Knew".
"The departed were always to be mourned for specifically prescribed periods of time, which, in practice, affected mostly the clothes the survivors were permitted to wear and whether they could have fun or not. Men had it easy; they needed only to wear black armbands, a custom adopted from the military in the early years of the century. Women, however, were supposed to dress all in black. This meant an all-black wardrobe (the so-called widow's weeds), frequently of bombazine, a material especially favored because it did not gleam in light, and no jewelery or ornaments except for beads made of jet, a kind of coal. A widow was expected to mourn her husband for two years, but she could moderate her funeral clothing a bit after a while to "half-mourning," which consisted of pinstripe black. Parents and children were to be mourned for a year, a brother, sister or grandparent for six months, an uncle or aunt for three months, and a first cousin got six weeks. (In-laws were mourned too, but for lesser periods of time.) Some women remained in their mourning garb for the rest of their lives."
IMO, since Col. Fitzwilliam was her guardian, she probably would mourn for a year.
Hope this helps.
Cathy:)
- What JA Ate & CD Knew Laura W 01:18:31 6/28/98
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