Posted by John Wilson on February 15, 2022 at 03:00:23 user hugo.
In Reply to: Re: The Great Aunt early responsibility in childhood? posted by Catherine Joan Lamont on February 12, 2022 at 22:59:32:
The Great-Aunt was a Turner like Jim and also Molly (Mary) before she married Bob Blackett, but was not an older sibling of Molly and Jim. In the testimonial letter at the end of PM (PM30) she ends "Your affectionate Aunt, Maria Turner", (and refers to "your daughters, my great nieces". Though here and elsewhere Great-Aunt is abbreviated to Aunt (as she does in the letter to Ruth (Nancy) with the unwelcome news that she is coming to look after them)
Mother explains to Roger about great-aunts; "because she's aunt to Mrs Blackett and to your Captain Flint. And so she’s great-aunt to your allies ...." (SD20).
I certainly agree about women particularly single daughters being expected to look after abandoned or widowed mothers, having seen several examples. My mother was widowed, but told a sister-in-law (not us) that she did not want to impose on us four sons; she had looked after Dad’s parents until they went into a rest home.
And I read a story about one of the Bletchley girls (young women!) who finally got a medal for working at Bletchley Park the WWII codebreaking estblishment that her relatives thought that her work could not have been important, and expected her to resign and look after her widowed mother.
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