Journal article
Withdrawal or second childhood: the challenge of old age in the temple town of Bhubaneswar
Journal of cross-cultural gerontology, v 27(1), pp 29-49
Mar 2012
PMID: 22350647
Abstract
The essay examines variations in the meanings attached to old age by upper-caste Hindu women of all ages in the temple town of Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India. Based on ethnographic data, it suggests that there are two competing cultural constructions of old age: one as withdrawal from the struggles of the mundane world and the other as a second childhood. Through the narratives of two old women, it demonstrates the ways in which these constructions shape and influence their experience of this phase of life. It analyses the satisfaction that Oriya Hindu women derive during mature adulthood in terms of three indigenously derived measures: centrality, dominance and coherence. Finally, it examines the two constructions of old age in light of these three measures of satisfaction in order to see the degree to which they provide or do not provide old women with meaning and purpose during this, their final phase of life.
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Details
- Title
- Withdrawal or second childhood: the challenge of old age in the temple town of Bhubaneswar
- Creators
- Usha Menon - Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. menonu@drexel.edu
- Publication Details
- Journal of cross-cultural gerontology, v 27(1), pp 29-49
- Publisher
- Springer Nature; Netherlands
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Global Studies and Modern Languages
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000436656600003
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84857917256
- Other Identifier
- 991014877653104721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Gerontology