1943-1945: (Jeanne Unmarried at Thirty-Seven — Other People May Not Have Noted the Frequency of Marriage or Framed It in Terms of Impending Crisis but Jeanne…

1943-1945: (Jeanne Unmarried at Thirty-Seven — Other People May Not Have Noted the Frequency of Marriage or Framed It in Terms of Impending Crisis but Jeanne Was Thirty-Seven Years Old and Unmarried, to Some in Her Social Class Being Unmarried Was a Crisis, Each Time an Invitation Came to the Sylvain Home or She Attended a Wedding Jeanne Was Questioned About Her Marital Status — According to Her Sister Yvonne Who Was Also Unmarried at Thirty-Six Jeanne’s Marriage Status Was a Choice Since She Had Many People Interested in Courting Her): Other people may not have noted the frequency of marriage or framed it in terms of impending crisis, but Jeanne was thirty-seven years old and unmarried. To some in her social class, being unmarried was a crisis, and ameliorating this necessitated the urgent attention and care ascribed to an epidemic. Each time an invitation came to the Sylvain home or she attended a wedding, Jeanne was questioned about her marital status. According to her sister Yvonne, who was also unmarried at thirty-six years old, Jeanne’s marriage status was a choice, since she had many people interested in courting her — the Sylvain sisters’ spinsterhood was not failure but refusal, their unmarried status a form of sovereignty that their class position made possible but did not make socially comfortable.