A Historical View of the Victorian Governess

1363 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender roles in the Elizabethan society

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). Aristocratic and middle-class Victorians were not even sure how to treat the governess. She was from the same class, but her lack of financial stability made them view her as their inferior. Perhaps the clearest definition of the governess was stated by Lady Elizabeth Eastlake in the Quarterly Review:

The real definition of a governess in the English sense, is a being who is our equal in birth, manners, and education, but our inferior in worldly wealth. Take a lady in every meaning of the word, born and bred and let her father pass through the gazette (bankruptcy), and she wants nothing more to suit 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 seeking employment was if she found herself in financial distress, and had no relatives to give her support (Peterson 6). The position of governess was especially appropriate for a lady who sought employment because 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 reinforce 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...

... middle of paper ...

...er employment for governesses. These organizations also provided temporary housing, insurance, and annuities for the aging governess. As for the life of a governess, perhaps Bronte described it best when she wrote to a friend regarding his daughter. 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 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." Suffer and Be Still. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1972.

Show More
Related

  • The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm X is an extremely critical figure that contributed in shaping American social life. He was a famous man who articulated the struggle, anger, and beliefs of African Americans. He was a radical man who fought for change despite the situation. His struggle for equality for the black nation landed him in prison. While in prison, Malcolm was able to study, and earned a college degree. However, most importantly while in prison, Malcolm X was introduced to the Islam faith by one of the prisoners. He received teachings from the Muslim faith, which made him realize that, his people were being oppressed and abused by the whites. While out of prison, he went to visit honorable Elijah Muhammad and later on went around preaching Elijah Muhammad’s teachings. Through his preaching’s, he was able to bring many people into the Muslim faith. He later on decided to visit the Middle East and make a holy pilgrimage/ Hajj in Mecca. Malcolm X’s views about the potential for real change in America changed, after visiting Mecca and breaking with the Nation of Islam.

    Read More

  • Malcolm X: Leader and Mover

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition to his childhood, Malcolm had a successful middle school life. But it wasn’t long before Malcolm had taken a downturn in his life. He went into a life of crime and drug use. He was given the name “Detroit Red”(Foner). Eventually, Malcolm and his long-time friend, Malcolm "Shorty" Jarvis, moved back to Boston. In 1946, they were arrested and convicted on burglary charges, and Malcolm was sentenced to 10 years in prison, although he was granted parole after serving seven years. When he was 21 years old, he encountered Elijah Muhammad; leader of the Nation of Islam. By 1949, Malcolm had converted to the NOI, which required purity of the body, eliminating Malcolm's drug ha...

    Read More

  • Personal Essay: The Autobiography Of Malcolm X

    2067 Words  | 5 Pages

    Malcolm’s life may have ended more than 50 years ago, but his struggle lives today. Regardless of his imperfections, his example of courage and desire for truth should be an example for all. Trying to live a life true to your beliefs of right and wrong can be the most intimidating task a human ever faces. Malcolm X took on that challenge with courage and did the best he could, with the means provided to him. As with Malcolm’s example, keep an open mind, be willing to change your beliefs and misconceptions, and this book can provide insight into his life and possibly your

    Read More

  • The Disuniting of America Reflection on a Multicultural Society

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book is mainly inspired by the minority report that Schlesinger write for the task force as a review of the New York State social studies syllabus. In this book, the author emphasized the intellectual flaws and political dangers of the ethnocentric recommendations advocated by the majority. With the summarization of the traditionalist position, he leads a contemporary debate about multiculturalism.

    Read More

  • The New Republic - Women's Rights

    521 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the years dragged on in the new nation the roles of men and women became more distinct and further apart for one another. Women were not allowed to go anywhere in public without an escort, they could not hold a position in office let allow vote, and they could only learn the basics of education (reading, writing, and arithmetic). In law the children belonged to the husband and so did the wife’s property and money. The only job women could think about having was being a ‘governess’ which would give other women education.

    Read More

  • Applying Adult Learning Theory Through Character Analysis

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film “Malcolm X,” produced by Worth, written and directed by Lee (1992) portrays the life of civil right’s leader Malcolm X as he makes his transformational journey from street hustling, jail, and imprisonment to later emerging as a leader for social change. While in prison, X becomes heavily involved in the Islamic movement and later meets Elijah Mohammed who is instrumental in his rapid climb to become Islam’s national spokesperson. His journey comes full-circle when after some oppositions, he disassociate himself from the Nation of Islam and embarks upon a pilgrimage to Mecca. While in Mecca X experiences another transformation that resonates throughout his life until his death in 1965 (Malcolm, 1992). By means of the events in this film, I will analyze the character Malcolm X in view of Mezirow’s transformational learning theory, and that of Bandura’s social learning theory to illustrate how theoretical perspectives can be used to explain character learning and development.

    Read More

  • Women in the Workplace

    2059 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the 1920s, women struggled to develop a work identity that would give them professional status and preserve their femininity (Walkowitz, 1051). They wanted to be eligible for an executive position, but at the same time they also wanted to be Women finally began working outside the home, but not yet at the level, status, and rank they deserved. They deserved

    Read More

  • Inequality in American Society from 1815 to 1860

    2455 Words  | 5 Pages

    McDaid, Jennifer. "Women's Struggle for Equality: The First Phase, 1828-1876." H-Net. N.p., June 1998. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .

    Read More

  • The Turn of the Screw

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    A governess in the Victorian period was faced with conflicting demands. Bell argues that a

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Little House on the Prairie

    2315 Words  | 5 Pages

    During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...

    Read More

  • Malcolm X Summary

    2002 Words  | 5 Pages

    The book offers a view from the Afro-American life that I never would have seen otherwise. Before reading the book, I had the image of Malcolm X being a radical leader, encouraging violence and supporting Pan-Africanism. What I now understand is that Malcolm, along with every other single Afro-American, have been undergoing some of the worst discrimination in history. Malcolm gave support to the Afro-American in the fact that he preached the white man was to be the devil while under Black Muslimism, I cannot blame him for doing so as I would have as well if placed in his shoes. Not only that but in Malcolm’s last years he converted to Islam, where he was introduced to a world of peace where races could co-exist with no problems, only after being outlawed from Black Muslims where Malcolm gave many years of devotion to promote the religion, also another example of the hardship Malcolm was faced

    Read More

  • Downfall of the Governess in The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the governess's last attempt to consume the children for herself, she sends Ms. Grose away with the sickly Flora and keeps Miles with her at Bly. After her last vision of Quint and with Miles dilapidated in her ineludable arms, the governess frightens Miles so that he collapses and dies, by the governess's conniving will, and to her own bane. Although the governess seemed to have good intentions, her root of mind was self-serving and deceptive.

    Read More

  • Women of the Nineteenth Century: Sarah Stickney Ellis

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.

    Read More

  • Queen Victoria Women

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Great Britain’s maternal image of their monarchy set a feminine ideal of domesticity and home life for all classes of women, ironically contributing to the outbreak of feminists in Victorian society. Queen Victoria’s public figure revolved around her feminine image involving family, motherhood, and respectability. Known as the icon of domesticity and femininity, her public image spurred the suppression of women workers

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    During this time Elizabeth returns home still baffled about the letter Mr. Darcy wrote her.... ... middle of paper ... ... Unmarried women would become governess’ and live as dependents of their family, other relatives, or their employers. The governess position gave them little social status, which opened them up to much prejudice.

    Read More

More about A Historical View of the Victorian Governess

Open Document