Is it now shameful to be a ‘Mrs.’? When ‘Ms.’ came into use thirty or so years ago, the idea was that it would serve as a title when the marital status of a woman was uncertain or when she preferred to not have it known. Today, it is often used as a catch-all, even for women who are clearly married.

Michael S. writes:

I was reading this New York Times story about Grand Central Terminal and I came upon these two paragraphs:

Among those seeking assistance were Joseph and Sabina Prusan, who had planned to meet their granddaughters, Jillian Griesmer, 10, and Alexandra, 13, around noon at Pennsylvania Station, where they were informed that the girls had been rerouted to Grand Central.

“We were nervous,” Ms. Prusan said after a conductor helped reunite the group. “It’s the only time the girls ever went by themselves.” The girls were more sanguine. “We had to stay seated and wait for 20 minutes,” Alexandra said with a shrug before returning to her BlackBerry.

Okay, never mind that the 13-year-old has her own Blackberry. Apparently Joseph and Sabina Prusan are a married couple. Married to each other, that is, which makes them husband and wife. (Otherwise the common last name, and the practice of referring to them as “Joseph and Sabina Prusan,” rather than “Joseph Prusan and Sabina Prusan,” is rather a challenge to explain.) And this married couple are waiting for their granddaughters.

So why does the writer refer to the grandmother as “Ms. Prusan”? Is there any genuine doubt at all that Joseph and Sabina are married to each other?

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