In the years since you’ve been widowed, it seems like men have let chivalry fall by the wayside. Or is that just the void left by your dear husband’s passing? Are all the good men gone, or just the man you married?
Does no one open doors for women anymore, or do you go through life alone?
During your marriage, you basically forgot how doors worked. Going out to the movies, getting into the car, even wandering through the colonial the two of you shared, he was always there to hold that door for you. If no one is opening doors for you anymore, that might mean that chivalry is dead. But if no one has had the opportunity to open a door for you because your husband was your only companion and now you wander throught this world alone, he’s just dead.
Do men no longer pay for dinner, or are they all too overwhelmed by your sadness?
You’ve tried your hand at dating, and men aren’t bending over backwards to pay for you the way your hubby always did during your early courtship. If you’ve managed to disguise your grief with enthusiasm for this pathetic shadow of the man you married, he’s not paying because many men no longer consider chivalry a virtue. However, if took him to the restaurant you and your late husband ate at the very same place exactly a year ago, chivalry’s not dead; just your man.
Does no one believe in standing when a woman gets up, or are you bedridden with grief?
Your husband used to stand up every time you entered the room. Men these days don’t do that, but that might just be because you haven’t had the will to leave the bed you used to share with your husband. In that case, chivalry hasn’t left this world; only your spouse.
Is it no longer the norm to leave a woman romantic gifts hidden around the house, or was that just something your husband did?
You’re not sure if this is something all men are expected to do, or just something your husband did. If you can confirm that other women don’t receive thoughtful gifts from their husbands anymore, chivalry might just be dead. However, if they look at you with intense pity in their eyes, fully understanding the depth of your deceased husband’s love for you, then chivalry’s not dead! Just your generous life partner of eight years.
Now that you have a sense of whether or not chivalry’s alive, you can enter the modern dating world equipped with the right expectations for the men who will never replace your husband.
