This article, “Hints on the Modern Governess System” from Fraser’s Magazine presents the conflict of isolation in the role of the governess. While it does not outright combat the morality of whether a mother should teach lessons to her own children (as opposed to trusting them in the hands of a “stranger”), there are instances in the article that certainly seem to object to the idea of governesses, not because of any inadequacies, but because of the conditions of which they work under. The author writes, “Day by day the governess is worn by the disappointments the most promising child must inflict upon its teacher; but to whom can she, in her weariness, turn for sympathy?” (573) The writer indicates that the parents of the children do not want to hear of their child’s shortcomings, especially by a “third person,” so it leaves the governess in a complicated position. The indication of the governess as a “third person” also establishes her sense of inferiority to the rest of the household. This is just one aspect of the governess’s loneliness. She is also condemned to mere isolation when she is not with the children, “It is only the governess, and a certain class of private tutors, who must hear the echoes from the drawing-room and the offices, feeling that, in a house full of people, they dwell alone” (574).
Perhaps this idea of loneliness of the governess expands further than just her job at an estate. In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, when Jane becomes a governess at the Thornfield estate, she is initially insulted and demeaned by Mr. Rochester (“No wonder you have rather the look of another world” (192)), even though Jane nonetheless, returns his insults with clever wit, this still confirms Jane as an inferior, given her position in the household. However, Jane has a more clever insight: “It is in vain to say that human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility…Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel: they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts just as much as their brothers do” (178). I feel that this quote responds to the condition of women in general of course, but in terms of governesses specifically, it connects with the claims made in Fraser’s article, as these women who are deemed “odd” by Victorian society are subject to even greater loneliness even more when they support themselves.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre Ed. Richard Nemevari.Peterborough, Ont: Broadview, 1999. Print.
“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine. November 1844: 567-577 Print.
I did not get this solitude or loneliness factor from the article, but it ia certainty something Bronte takes on in Jane Eyre. As we discussed in class, Jane is searching for this excitement and a desire to be worldly like Mr.Rochester, but the situation of her upbringing and current job restrict her from being able to venture into this life.
There is also the question of the the governess being a “third party” in the house, but Jane shows how important this presence this can be, when the child’s parents are not greatly involved in the child’s life like with Mr. Rochester and the governess can be their greatest influence. And this is a positive influence. An intellectual teacher.
I like that you really went in depth on the topic of loneliness but i disagree with some of your points. Yes the appendix article focuses on this point a lot, but I believe the reason for this is because the author of the Fraser article was hoping to instill some fear in other women who were possibly thinking about leaving their homes to become governesses. Jane begins to feel lonely in Brontë’s novel, which is where your quote comes from, but just as she really starts to feel stir-crazy, Mr. Rochester literally drops in and changes her experience as a governess. Instead of being ignored she is summoned by him on multiple occasions. When Rochester has guests over, he demands that Jane attend every night with Adèle.