False Widow: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

A woman who falsely claims widowhood. Usually to avoid the [[Stigmatic Pregnancy Euphemism|stigma of having a child with no husband]], or to escape a loveless marriage, or to play on people's pity for widows. Can be depicted as a [[Widow Woman|Wicked Widow or a Wonderful Widow]], depending on the circumstances.

* Fawn at the beginning of ''[[The Sharing Knife]]'' by [[Lois McMaster Bujold]] claims to be a "grass widow" to explain why she is pregnant and alone. Dag delicately inquires if she knows what a grass widow is. Fawn had thought it meant a woman recently widowed; it really meant a woman in her exact situation, never married but claiming to be widowed in order to escape the stigma of unwed pregnancy.

{{quote| It seemed she'd told the truth despite herself.}}