Governesses played part in nineteenth century fiction, and there is an abundance of journals, letters, and memoirs to validate those many fictional representations with real-life experiences. Employed in England since the reign of the Tudors, the Governess was initially associated only with aristocratic houses; by the turn of the nineteenth century, however, changing economic conditions gave rise to increasing numbers of middle-class families who could afford Governess. Factory owners and businessmen began hiring Governesses for the education of their children—a visible sign of the economic and social success of the family. Indeed, retaining a Governess served as a status symbol, signifying the power and wealth of the family. A Governess also helped validate a family's membership in the ranks of the leisure class, a station characterized by the fact that the lady of the house was truly a woman of leisure. In the past, the upper middle-class mother had been responsible not only for household duties but also for the primary education of her children. However, by engaging a Governess, the Victorian mother freed herself of her primary obligation to her children and could concentrate on her philanthropic obligations.
In essence, there were three types of Governesses: a school
teacher; a woman who resided at one place and traveled to another
home to teach (a “daily governess”); and a woman who lived in a
household in order to teach the children and serve as a companion to
them (a “private governess”). Governess was responsible for the
education of both boys and girls and among the duties was the
teaching of reading and writing. A Governess would then teach the
girls subjects as English, geography, history, singing, piano,
drawing, and needlework. Having been further schooled in the fine
arts of dancing, piano, and singing, the girls, by the ages of
seventeen or eighteen, would then be ready for their social debut, at
which point their adult lives (and the search for a suitable husband)
began. Boys, on the other hand, typically left their Governess at the
age of eight, when they entered a preparatory school. This was in
keeping with the Victorian belief that the education of boys was of
vital importance, based on their future roles as supporters of their
own families. Girls had much less need for a formal education, since
their prospects for marriage were based primarily on their personal
fortunes and secondarily on their personal appearance and manners.
Above all, a good Governess had to be a lady herself, in order to
instill in her students proper morals and values. Moreover, a Governess could not expect any affection from her students in return.
In this way, the mother was not ousted from her role as the principal
figure in her children's lives.
The yearly salary for a governess ranged from fifteen to one
hundred pounds, the latter figure reflecting the wages of a very
well-educated woman working for an extremely wealthy family.
Although a private Governess was provided with food and shelter, she
was expected to either buy or make her own clothes, keeping in mind
that she was required to look presentable at all times in order to
avoid shaming her employer. She was also expected to pay for her own
medical care, travel expenses, and laundry, and she could expect no
security of employment. In addition, Queen's College was established
in 1848 in order to provide a formal education for Governesses and
help raise their marketability. Choosing to leave behind the crowded
market in England, many women emigrated to British colonies in South
Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as to Canada, the United
States, India, and Russia, hoping to find employment as Governesses
overseas.
Any flirtation or attraction between a gentleman and a Governess
was strictly forbidden, and a Governess was obliged to downplay her
own sexuality in order to avoid any misperceptions; as a result, the
stereotype of the stern and strict Governess was quick to emerge.
Despite this popular image, which indeed has its basis in fact, there
were many examples of happy situations in which the Governess was
respected and well-treated by her employers and was loved by her
pupils.
Literature
Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the Governess began to
appear in role as a character in literature, exemplified by Jane
Austen's Emma (1815). Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre
also appeared in 1847, and became a bestseller almost instantly.
Critics have suggested that the rapidly increasing levels of literacy
among women, combined with an intense interest in the uncertain
status of unmarried middle-class Victorian women contributed greatly
to the immense popularity of novels like Jane Eyre, The
Professor, and Shirley, as well as Agnes Grey
(1847) by Charlotte's sister Anne. The Brontës themselves were
obliged to find means to support themselves when marriage eluded all
three girls, and their father's clergyman salary was insufficient to
provide for all three daughters. Charlotte, Anne, and Emily each
received educations that prepared them to be teachers, and all three
spent some time as Governesses.
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