I was going through this Washington Post roundup--of how Obama's success in the Democratic primary has generated excitement around the world, when I came across what I thought was a very strange use of the word "widow." The article refers to a female interviewee, Sunila Patel, 62, as "a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi." From "Democratic Primary Boosts U.S. Image Around the World":
The article was written by Kevin Sullivan of the Washington Post Foreign Service, with reporting by Rama Lakshmi in New Delhi (and other reporters in other parts of the world). Why call Patel a widow, rather than simply a woman? I went through the rest of the article, thinking that perhaps she was meant to be seen as an outsider of sorts, living on the margins of society. But that one quote was the sole reference to her, and there's no reason to believe that being a widow had anything to do with her view of Obama.
So was this merely sloppy editing, or could it be that her being a widow adds flavor to the story? And does being "encountered" add texture and a physical dimension? Or does it suggest (as I at first thought) that she was some sort of vagrant, who just happened to be quite well read?
What do you think? Post your comments below.
