First Sentence

"Whereas recent studies of early modern widowhood by social, economic and cultural historians have called attention to the often ambiguous, yet also often empowering, experience and position of widows within society, Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe is the first book to consider the distinct and important relationship between ritual as it pertains to widowhood (namely, the culturally dictated and managed set of social roles and responsibilities of widows during and after mourning ceremonial) and representation."