Abstract
This article presents the findings of a study examining the lifelong experiences of older women affected by social deprivation, poverty, and domestic violence. Employing a life course perspective and biographical narrative interviews, the research reveals a constellation of interrelated factors that have shaped and reinforced these women’s marginalization. Key among these are the intergenerational transmission of deprivation, limited access to social and cultural capital, the presence of parental and/or spousal alcoholism, and the pervasive influence of patriarchal norms – both within the family and embedded in dominant institutional culture.
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