7. Single Women in Amish community
I have already pointed out, that the life of an Amish person revolves around family. It is inevitable thought, that there are some people who do not find a mate and are alone for their lives. In most cases, men do not stay lonely except in cases of disabilities or diseases. However, some women do not manage to find a husband. This causes a huge competition among young girls, and puts big pressure on them, too. Single women are in a way handicapped in an Amish society. So what happens to those women, who are left without a husband and have to live their lives alone?
First of all, they have to deal with their life-long struggle of being single. They have to make living on their own, stay in celibacy, face the fact that they were unsuccessful in finding a mate and stay very moderate at all times. They are in a way left out from social gatherings, since talking with married men wouldn’t do any good to their reputation, but married women mostly talk about their families and homes (such as brining up children, etc…) (Petrowsky and Zellner 133).
However, single life has its advantages, even in an Amish community. A mother has a million tasks around the household, leaving her without any time left for herself. A single woman can read books, educate herself, even travel. Sometimes single women organize self-help circles to help fighting loneliness. Single women might also become second wives in case men become widowers.
Single women are often called “leftover blessings”. They have more time to care about their old and sick relatives. They can take care of their nieces and nephews, especially of little children in the family. In most cases, the parents try their best to help their single daughters, in starting their own businesses for example (Petrowsky and Zellner 134).
Generally, single women have a great role in the education of Amish children. Since they have no family and less duty, they have the time to organize and practice education. They can concentrate on their jobs a 100%, making the Amish education a pretty good one.