A Historical View of the Victorian Governess Essay -- European History

A Historical View of the Victorian Governess Although the governess serves as the heroine in Jane Eyre, she was not a popular figure in Victorian England. The governess did not have a social position worthy of attention (Peterson 4). low-spirited and middle-class Victorians were not even sure how to treat the governess. She was from the same class, unless her lack of financial stability made them view her as their inferior. mayhap the clearest definition of the governess was stated by Lady Elizabeth Eastlake in the Quarterly check up on The real definition of a governess in the English sense, is a beingness who is our equal in birth, manners, and education, but our inferior in worldly wealth. defer a lady in every meaning of the word, born and bred and permit her father pass through the gazette (bankruptcy), and she wants nothing more to case our highest beau ideal of a guide and instructress to our children. (qtd. in Peterson 10)The only time a woman of birth and education was justified in seek date was if she found herself in financial distress, and had no relatives to give her patronage (Peterson 6). The position of governess was especially appropriate for a lady who sought example be do of the death of her father, or his financial ruin. It was considered appropriate because, while it was paid work, it was in the home. The governess avoided the immodest and unladylike position of public occupation. The position of governess would not cause a lady to loose her social position (Peterson 6). The employment of a gentle woman in a Victorian middle-class family served to reward certain values (Peterson 4). The governess was to teach the female children skills that would be attractive in marriage such as fluency in a forei... ...er employment for governesses. These organizations also provided temporary housing, insurance, and annuities for the aging governess. As for the life of a governess, perchance Bronte described it best when she wrote to a fri end regarding his miss. She claimed as a governess his daughter would never be happy (Bronte, On the Requirements, 274). Works Cited Bell, Millicent. Jane Eyre The Tale of the Governess American Scholar 65 (1996) 263-8. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston Bedford, 1996. ---. On the Requirements of a Governess. Strong minded(p) Women & Other Lost Voices from Nineteenth-Century England. Ed. Janet Murray. New York Pantheon, 1982. Hughes, Kathryn. The Victorian Governess. London Hambledon, 1993. Peterson, Jeanne. The Victorian Governess. drop off and Be Still. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington Indiana UP, 1972.