What does this sentence mean?
'A widow lady and twenty-one. 'Tis a backward age for a body who's so forward in her state of life.'

What does ".Tis a backward age for a body who's so forward in her state of life." mean?

Thanks in advance!

Question

What does this sentence mean?
'A widow lady and twenty-one. 'Tis a backward age for a body who's so forward in her state of life.'

What does ".Tis a backward age for a body who's so forward in her state of life." mean?

Thanks in advance!

Answer

'A widow lady and twenty-one. 'Tis a backward[ young] age for a body who's so forward [ old] in her state of life.'

It is an old fashioned way of saying that  that it is a young age to be a widow as most women lose their husbands at a much later age.