Introduction
The plight of the divorced mother appears to be well known in America. Articles are written about it in national magazines, and it is rare to find an adult who cannot tell a story about a once chaste woman who, following the breakup of her marriage, degenerated into a life of promiscuity and adultery. In fact, it seems to be generally assumed that a divorced woman, regardless of her previous character and conduct, will inevitably degenerate into a life of cheap affairs and illicit couplings. That this assumption is often groundless is unimportant; what is important is that those divorced women who yield to these temptations are treated with tolerance and even sympathy by their friends. After all, it is reasoned, if she could not even control the outcome of her marriage, how can she be expected to control herself now?
Unfortunately this sympathy and understanding, however misguided, does not extend to the mother who has been widowed. A divorced woman has already proved herself unrestrainable by the very fact of her separation; a widow, on the other hand, is the very material that fairy tale books are made of. It is said by more than a few that widows are worshipped in America. Her husband's death has automatically elevated her to sainthood. Suddenly she is expected to see no evil, hear no evil, and above all feel no evil, particularly the "evil" of sexual desire. If she fulfills these outlandish expectations the widow's sainthood is confirmed still further. If she fails, however, she will meet with only abuse and scorn. She was not divorced; she was widowed; she was supposed to be perfect.
In this novel David Harper attempts to analyze this conflict in American attitudes. On one hand Sharon Phillips, our heroine, does possess all the verities of the ideal widowed mother; she is by nature chaste, considerate, modest and an ideal example for her young daughter Julie. On the other hand she is still an exceptionally attractive woman, and in full possession of all the sexual needs and desires that an attractive woman should have. Eventually these desires prove to be her undoing, and it is at this point that the author hopes we shall analyze our own attitudes. Perhaps, Harper reasons, if we sympathize with the fictional character of Sharon, we will sympathize equally with those real life widows who follow a similar path to promiscuity in every city and town in the nation.
The Publishers