This book examines the theme of widowhood, over the last 150 years, in Indian novels, written in eight Indian languages. The author shows how these novels reveal attitudes, often contradictory, towards widows in upper-caste Hindu society. They have been variously perceived as ascetics, victims, romantic or tragic heroines, sirens, rebels, individuals in search of a social identity, and even as mother-figures embodying the values of the entire community or nation.