Post-Coupledom: Separation/Divorce/Widowhood

Definition

The ending of ties between couples may take different forms, including separation, divorce and death. The ending of the couple relationship may or may not also signify the ending of a family.

Discussion

Post-coupledom can only be understood in relation to the social arrangements by which alliances, personal ties and marriages are formed in the first place, which are often linked to the gender order of a society or culture. Most societies have customs about how coupledom or marriage may be ended, and what social arrangements should result, with religious ideas often being significant. Divorce is the annulment of a legally based marriage, but coupledom can also be ended by separation, abandonment and death.

The ending of a marriage or cohabiting couple relationship may take ...