Weekly Photo Challenge: On The Way

Location: Nazaré, Portugal
 
It was early morning in the fishing village of Nazaré. I snapped this picture of a widow on her way to the beach presumably to look for local fishermen bringing in the catch of the day.

I know she is a widow because of the way she is dressed. It is customary for a Portuguese widow to dress in black for the rest of her life.

What happens then if and when the widow remarries? Will she keep wearing black mourning clothes?

Perhaps it is question that doesn’t need an answer.

In their book, Culture and Customs of Portugal, Carlos A. Cunha and Rhonda Cunha explained that both the culture and the church dissuades a widow from remarrying because she is considered to be married to her husband for life, even after his death.

The authors continued that “Traditional, social stereotypes cast the widow as an undesirable choice, especially for single man, illustrated in the proverb, O amor de uma viúva é caldo a referver; nunca nenhum é tão bom como o outro marido. (The love of a widow is like reheated broth, never as good as for the first husband.”

But of course, I want to believe that it was said all in jest. Older and wiser when it comes, love has the potential of being better the second time around.

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