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The thesis argues that never-married gentlewomen dissociated themselves from negative and ubiquitous stereotypes of the old maid by focussing on their gentility rather than their marital status. By demonstrably fulfilling the familial and social roles which belonged to their sex and rank, and by representing themselves in terms of approved genteel feminine virtues and conduct, they located themselves in networks of social reciprocity which extended from household and family into the wider social sphere. In doing so they confounded popular caricatures of mature unmarried women as selfish parasites whose failure to marry and procreate drained the resources of their natal families and undermined the nation’s strength. The thesis focuses on a number of case studies drawn from the extensive collections of family papers in the National Records of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. Several of these never-married women were kin by birth or marriage, and their correspondence illustrates the reach of their relationship networks, their status, and influence. Their personal and, in some cases, published writing shows how they used ideals of gentility and associated language to support the familial and social positions they claimed. The thesis chapters examine the relationships they forged, and the resulting influence they were able to exercise, by considering them variously as members of households headed by male kin, as heads of their own households, and as familial patrons. While never-married women are increasingly the subjects of research, the lives of never-married gentlewomen remain under-examined. Yet gentlewomen, habituated to writing as an essential social skill, have left a wide range of sources by which their management of social status and singlehood can be assessed. This thesis shows some of the perspectives opened up by study of these sources.

O processo de envelhecimento vem ganhando destaque em pesquisas de diferentes áreas do conhecimento. A cronologização da vida é uma realidade em todas as sociedades, mas não necessariamente representa a ideia subjetiva que o indivíduo tem sobre o próprio envelhecimento. O aumento da expectativa de vida tem resultado em fenômenos como maior número de mulheres que vivem a fase da velhice e que têm dado um novo significado a essa experiência. As mulheres da pesquisa, que hoje são idosas, vivenciaram uma época em que o matrimônio e maternidade eram tidos como sinônimo de felicidade. Contudo, pouco se fala a respeito de mulheres que não seguiram tais padrões. Assim, foram realizadas entrevistas com quatro mulheres idosas solteiras e sem filhos, de idades entre 72 e 91 anos, a fim de verificar suas percepções de envelhecimento. A partir do relato das histórias de vida, verificou-se que, em relação a elas, o imaginário de uma velhice solitária e sem apoio não é válido. A família e a comunidade exercem uma rede de suporte informal que fornece atenção e suporte. O casamento não foi desejado e muitas vezes foi tratado como algo negativo. O trabalho revelou ser um marcador importante e garantia de subsídios na vida adulta e, após a aposentadoria, na velhice. Do ponto de vista simbólico, a Psicologia Analítica contribuiu para o entendimento subjetivo da experiência de envelhecimento. Imagens arquetípicas das deusas gregas auxiliaram na compreensão das diferentes formas de ser mulher em todas as etapas da vida / The aging process has been gaining prominence in research from several different fields of knowledge. The chronologization of life is a reality in all societies, but it does not necessarily represent the subjective idea that the individual has regarding his own aging. The increase in life expectancy has resulted in phenomena such as a higher number of elderly women, who have given new meaning to this experience. They lived through a time when marriage and maternity were synonymous to happiness. However, little is said about those women who did not follow these patterns. Therefore, interviews were conducted with four women, aged 72 to 91, in order to verify which is the perception of aging for these never-married, childless elders. From their life story accounts, one can perceive the notion of a solitary and forsaken old age does not apply to them. Marriage was not desired and was many times seen as something negative. Instead, work was an important livelihood marker both in adult life and in old age, after retirement. From a symbolic standpoint, analytical psychology contributed to the subjective understanding of the aging experience. Archetypical images of Greek goddesses helped comprehend the different ways of being a woman in all stages of life

O processo de envelhecimento vem ganhando destaque em pesquisas de diferentes áreas do conhecimento. A cronologização da vida é uma realidade em todas as sociedades, mas não necessariamente representa a ideia subjetiva que o indivíduo tem sobre o próprio envelhecimento. O aumento da expectativa de vida tem resultado em fenômenos como maior número de mulheres que vivem a fase da velhice e que têm dado um novo significado a essa experiência. As mulheres da pesquisa, que hoje são idosas, vivenciaram uma época em que o matrimônio e maternidade eram tidos como sinônimo de felicidade. Contudo, pouco se fala a respeito de mulheres que não seguiram tais padrões. Assim, foram realizadas entrevistas com quatro mulheres idosas solteiras e sem filhos, de idades entre 72 e 91 anos, a fim de verificar suas percepções de envelhecimento. A partir do relato das histórias de vida, verificou-se que, em relação a elas, o imaginário de uma velhice solitária e sem apoio não é válido. A família e a comunidade exercem uma rede de suporte informal que fornece atenção e suporte. O casamento não foi desejado e muitas vezes foi tratado como algo negativo. O trabalho revelou ser um marcador importante e garantia de subsídios na vida adulta e, após a aposentadoria, na velhice. Do ponto de vista simbólico, a Psicologia Analítica contribuiu para o entendimento subjetivo da experiência de envelhecimento. Imagens arquetípicas das deusas gregas auxiliaram na compreensão das diferentes formas de ser mulher em todas as etapas da vida / The aging process has been gaining prominence in research from several different fields of knowledge. The chronologization of life is a reality in all societies, but it does not necessarily represent the subjective idea that the individual has regarding his own aging. The increase in life expectancy has resulted in phenomena such as a higher number of elderly women, who have given new meaning to this experience. They lived through a time when marriage and maternity were synonymous to happiness. However, little is said about those women who did not follow these patterns. Therefore, interviews were conducted with four women, aged 72 to 91, in order to verify which is the perception of aging for these never-married, childless elders. From their life story accounts, one can perceive the notion of a solitary and forsaken old age does not apply to them. Marriage was not desired and was many times seen as something negative. Instead, work was an important livelihood marker both in adult life and in old age, after retirement. From a symbolic standpoint, analytical psychology contributed to the subjective understanding of the aging experience. Archetypical images of Greek goddesses helped comprehend the different ways of being a woman in all stages of life

The purpose of this exploratory study was to compare various attributes of never-married single men and women to married men and women. The Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B) Scale, and the Personal Skills Map were completed by 138 never-married singles and 139 married volunteers, both male and female. Volunteers were predominantly Caucasian, Protestant, active in their churches, and college educated. Ages ranged from 30 to 39 years. Married volunteers were married only once for five years or more. A step-wise discriminant analysis was run on each of the three instruments to determine which variables were significant across groupings. Summary conclusions were made showing that never-married men and women were more socially energetic but less expressive and responsive than were married men and women. Single men, as compared to married men, were also more passive and saw themselves in a less favorable light. Single women, when compared to married women, were also more dominant. Single women, when compared to single men, were more relaxed and more assertive, but more critical and punitive. An implication for counselors is that never-married single people may need help with relating at a deeper level of vulnerability and personableness. Single men may need help in interpersonal assertiveness as well as in personal openness and transparency. Single women may need help in resolving some of their hostilities. Further research is needed to explore the possible factors contributing to the guardedness of singles, the passivity of men, and the hostility of women. More work needs to be done in the area of causality.

本研究採取質性研究方法針對成年未婚媽媽之婚姻與生育決策進行探討，了解成年未婚媽媽從未婚懷孕初始至生育之經驗與感受、分析決定未婚生育之因素，以及彙整未婚生育歷程之需求。透過本研究期待可瞭解：一、探討成年未婚媽媽未婚生育之經驗與感受；二、分析成年未婚媽媽婚姻與生育抉擇之因素；三、整理成年未婚媽媽未婚生育之需求，以利社會工作實務相關參考。本研究使用立意取樣與滾雪球抽樣策略，與台北市大孜婦女中心、台北市文山婦女中心合作，選取符合本研究設定之研究對象參與研究，並以滾雪球策略以研究者自身之網絡邀請受訪者，歸納研究結果提出建議，提供社會工作實務參考。 依據研究問題與目的，研究者邀請北部地區十二位成年未婚媽媽進行一對一的深度訪談，研究結果茲分述如下： 一、成年未婚媽媽決定生育之因素包含「避免殘害生命」、「生理因素」，以及「情感因素」。（一）生理因素：擔憂超過生育年齡、擔憂孩子健康狀況不佳、擔憂墮胎對本身健康不佳。（二）情感因素：欲生下喜歡之人的孩子與希冀生育可綁住兩人的關係。 二、決定留養之因素則包含下列五項：對孩子難以割捨的情感、孩子是感情的寄託、渴望為人父母、認為自行撫養對孩子較佳，以及養育是負責任的行為。 三、成年未婚媽媽婚姻決定之因素主要包括兩大部份：「考量婚姻之成本」與「考量婚姻之效益」，前者包含個人因素中的渴望自由、避免無法融入對方家庭、對婚姻形式不認同、對婚姻角色不認同、對婚姻沒有信心以及避免與不適任之男友結婚；後者則包含不需害怕他人眼光、獲得家人諒解，以及可以給孩子一個完整的家。 四、成年未婚媽媽於未婚生育之時，主要的需求可分為以下四點：害怕他人眼光、徬徫無助之心態、財務困難與親職無法負荷。 五、研究發現成年未婚媽媽在婚姻與生育之決定上，含有社會交換的觀點，並且受到婦女成年早期發展任務之影響；其次，在面對困難時，亦符合生活模式所提出會先對壓力源進行評估，並尋找環境之資源以利交流調適。