Roles as a Governess

~ wrightc7 ~ 6 Comments

The piece from Fraser’s Magazine published in 1844 writes greatly of the necessity of becoming a governess. The job in itself is not ideal, in any way, but necessary. It writes, “There was such an overplus of single women that the old order of things was subverted. Women must have bread to eat as well as men. If they have no husbands to toil for them they must fin food for themselves. They found, if they would not sink in the scale, they must work with their heads, and not with their hands. Must! oh the ruthlessness of necessity,” (569)

As the article goes on, the magazine continues to show the reader the complex life of a governess. These women, although women, were now working women. Their roles as women had therefor shifted from unpaid domestic life and child rearing, to paid domestic roles and child rearing. The role as a governess stemmed from lower-class women who seemingly had no other option but to work. Being women, the only work deemed suitable was child-rearing and teaching.

These women were intelligent, yet isolated. The magazine piece speaks heavily upon this on page 573. If the children needed not to be attended to, the governess was forced to remain solemn in the school room, thus isolating her from the world around her.

The piece heavily criticizes the life of a governess, to the extreme.

 

I would argue that Bronte argues on the opposing side of this magazine piece, even pushing for the idea of women become governesses. According to Bronte, a job as a governess is seen as an opportunity for a woman to work, a good opportunity at that.

Jane is excited about her job as a governess, and again, sees this as an opportunity for her to show her strengths. Bronte writes, “My heart really warmed to the worthy lady as I heard her talk; and  i drew my chair a little nearer to her, and expressed my sincere wish that she might find my company as agreeable as she anticipated, ” (Bronte 164).

Bronte goes on to portray the life of a governess as a wonderful experience for Jane, thus not focusing on the isolated aspect, or many of the negative aspects that the magazine addressed.

 

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard Nemesvari. Toronto: Broadview, 1999. Print.

“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine November 1844: 567-577. Print

Governess of Jane Eyre

~ Ally Cirruzzo ~ 2 Comments

“Hints on the Modern Governess System”, an article published in Fraser’s Magazine in 1844, discusses the lifestyles of governesses of the time. The article describes education as the “work of life” which sustains “intellectual and moral growth” (568). The position of governess was a cost-effective alternative to formal education for many Victorian families; rather than send their children away to school, parents could instead hire a governess to come into their home and conduct lessons. It was a position known to women alone; education was the “holy vocation of a woman”, a trade in and of itself (568). Yet the article laments the difficulties of the life a governess. Although the job was a way for women, even those of lower classes, to emerge from the traditional domestic life and make a place for themselves in the workforce, it was no easy task. The pay was poor, and the children difficult; many young governesses were ill prepared for the “childish follies and perversities which need a mother’s instinctive love to make them tolerable” (571). Furthermore, a governess was expected to keep her reservations about the children she taught to herself. To vent her frustrations would be to betray the trust of the family she works for, as a governess was the “confidante of many family secrets” (572). Despite her involvement in family affairs, the governess was otherwise ostracized by the family from anything that wasn’t school-related, resulting in feelings of isolation and loneliness on her behalf.

Jane, the protagonist of Jane Eyre, takes up the role of governess for reasons not unlike those suggested in the Fraser’s Magazine article. After six years as a student of Lowood and two as a teacher, Jane yearns for “liberty” of the place she has spent the entirety of her adolescence (151). She becomes the governess at the Thornfield estate for a young girl named Adele. Although she takes a liking to Adele, Jane does indeed experience the loneliness known to governesses, which she calls a dreaded “stagnation” (185).

Yet Thornfield is a strange place; Mr. Rochester, Adele’s guardian, makes no claim to be her actual father, yet she lives with him at Thornfield because her own mother, Mr. Rochester’s ex-lover, abandoned her. Jane often hears a crazed laugh coming from the grounds of the estate, which are attributed to the seamstress, Grace. Jane later saves Mr. Rochester’s life from a fire in the middle of the night, which he is grateful for, and asks her not to speak of the incident to anyone. He tells Jane he knew she would “do [him] good in some way” the day he met her (244).Jane, though she takes up what is considered a lowly position in Victorian society, serves an important role at the Thornfield estate as something of a parental figure for Adele and an object of fascination for Mr. Rochester Continue reading →

A Governess’ Role in Society and Jane Eyre

~ n02565783 ~ 2 Comments

The position of the Governess came about because of the number of single women who, without a husband, needed an effective means of procuring money for food and house, and so the job of teaching became a tempting offer, given their free time could be used to better the generation before with the knowledge they spent their single lives acquiring. Plus, an entire family could learn for the price of sending one child to school, making the choice of a governess a frugal and useful one the helped not just the family but provided a young independent woman with an honorable job using her mind (especially considering women were more revered for the capabilities doing housework rather than intellectually.) Though these women were depended upon to teach the rising generation they were not seen at all in a better light, their superior knowledge on subjects meaning absolutely nothing in the eyes of men because the governess system was women teaching women; understandable but nothing of substance when compared to a man’s possible education.

But the life of a governess is not easy, no where near. She is forced to go through the trials of education, dealing with children and their families without the love and trust that accompanies that same weight for mothers, making it a much harder one to hold. In the “Hints on the Modern Governess System,” it is written that the young women, willing to become governesses “learn enough bitter experience in a year to give them the sorrows of maturity, without its strength and safety” (572). These poor women are forced to grow into incredibly complex, understanding and intellectual women without so much as a helping hand or understanding from any outside perspective, seen as a lowly mother without love whose sole job is to teach children until they are deemed ready for the world and then move onto another house of which she is a stranger. And they are given no respect for their incredibly tiring unending job, all the while accompanied with a lonely “independent” life without anyone for a companion. They are forced to go through the struggles of raising children with no one to relinquish their troubles upon, no like-mind to converse with, rather forced to lower their own intelligence to help the children only, forced into isolation as they are deemed unfit to speak to by the aristocrats that hire them. Bronte discusses this isolation of a governess through Jane’s reflection on her own “restlessness” that comes from staying in Thornfield and not a more “practical experience than I possessed” (pg 178). Only a chapter after arriving at Thornfield Bronte already presents Jane’s discomfort at her unadventurous and unfulfilling life, a common feeling amongst governesses. Though Jane does not experience the same isolation other governesses were forced to into, such as the adults of the family refusing to converse with them forcing their only interaction to be with the children they teach. Their gender made them seen as lesser than men, however, they were also below that of a married woman within society, though they very well may have been smarter in all intellectual aspects.

Upon first meeting Adele, Jane immediately begins assessing her prior instruction and capabilities, such as assessing Adele’s singing of the opera song she knew from her mother and then her reciting “La Ligue des Rats”. On page 170, Eyre discusses Adele’s “attention to punctuation and emphasis, a flexibility of voice and an appropriateness of gesture, very unusual indeed at her age; and which proved she had been carefully trained.” This moment shows Jane’s incredible capabilities as a governess, discerning the prior education of a little girl from merely conversing with her. Even their discussion, occurring in french, shows not only Jane’s versatility but that of a governess, having such a knowledge of multiple languages at their disposal.

I feel Bronte portrays governesses in an accurate light of their capabilities both intellectually and emotionally with the people that surround them, and she shows the isolation forced upon governesses because of the difference in social standing between themselves and their employer, no matter how much they could keep up with them. However, Bronte does not agree with society’s opinions, showing the governess life for what it was from their perspective (through Jane’s education and role as Adele’s governess) rather than what was expected of them from their employer, as society tended to focus upon. The care of a governess was not nearly as important than that of the children she was hired to teach. I think Bronte provides an excellent voice for many forgotten women forced into silence because of their servitude.

Bronte and the Victorians opinion of Governesses

~ n02575800 ~ 1 Comment

The Victorian’s beliefs about the governesses were harsh and unapproving. This connects with their standards for women and how far they should rise, academically and socially. Bronte argues against this belief by presenting us with Jane Eyre. As a governess, Eyre is more than qualified intellectually and cares deeply about her student.

The article in the appendix shows how Victorians saw the majority of governesses as wasting their time. They were wasting the child’s, the parent’s and their own time through this form of “second-rate school.” They were poorly swimming upstream as the article states that “she is hourly tried by those childish follies and preservatives which need a mother’s instinctive love to make them tolerable” (571). Why let this strange women into your house to teach your kids when they can gain no control over them. The prejudices of women is also prevalent in their beliefs on governesses, claiming that the governesses and their students should “Becomed fitted to be good wives and good mothers” (577) And if they do not marry, they should be working to know how to run a household. These are the standards that women were supposed to be meeting, not rising in intellect to the point that they can teach the new generation.

Eyre breaks both of these beliefs as she serves as a great and caring parental figure to Adele as well as improving her intellect and sharpening her skills. Adele is being raised by a man who may or may not be her biological father who is never at the same place as her. We have not yet seen a large amount of moments between Jane and Adele, but there are moments when the reader can see how Jane cares for Adele, for instance when Jane says this to Mr. Rochester “I have a regard for her, and now that I know she is parentless—I shall cling closer to her than before” (Bronte 218). The governesses is on the way to becoming the greatest parental force that Adele has ever had. She is also enhancing Adele’s intellect, as Mr. Rochester states “She is not bright, she has no talents, yet in a short time she has made much improvement” (191). Even when he is critiquing his new resident of his house, Mr. Richmond still can not hide the fact that Jane has been an efficient teacher.

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard Nemesvari. Toronto: Broadview, 1999. Print.

“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine November 1844: 567-577. Print

Jane Eyre and Fraser’s Sympathy for Governesses

~ n02714729 ~ 2 Comments

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.

The Dilemma of Victorian Governesses

~ Kyle Hoehne ~ 1 Comment

Governesses in Victorian times fulfilled a crucial role that came out of a need for a cheap, albeit formal system of education. Many families could not afford to send their daughters away to school, and so the occupation arose as an alternative. This is stated in more specific terms in the article, “Hints on the Modern Governess System”, where it’s written, “The policy of the world is to take advantage of want. It became apparent that a whole family of daughters might be taught by one of these single women, struggling for bread, for less than it formerly cost to send one girl to school. Where competition was so great, there was no difficulty in driving a bargain” (567). This bargain, while on one hand allowing more young women to improve themselves through the teaching of governesses, also resulted in a lowering of salary for many of these teachers. The article refers to this in very economic terms that almost serve to disconnect the reader from the idea that the governesses were often paid next to nothing for their services. In connection with this, the article continues by deploring the treatment of governesses. In their positions, governesses were often treated as subservient to everyone in the house hold and they were seen as living a distinctly solitary life. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre sheds some light on this matter, and the eponymous Jane is able to exemplify the role of governess while also transcending some of the boundaries that these women faced.

After serving at Lowood for eight years, Jane, who feels stuck at the school, finally wants to leave. However, because she is an orphan and has no friends or relations outside of the school, finds this rather difficult. Instead of asking for outside help, she creates an advertisement for her services as a governess and is quickly offered a position. This new occupation pays twice as well as her teaching job at Lowton and she is able to attain at least a little bit of the freedom she had desired. However she soon grows restless in her new position. The house where she serves, Thornfield, is a much quieter place than she had expected. Jane says, “It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot” (Bronte 178). Speaking as Jane, Bronte gives a voice to all of the governesses who became stuck in their positions.  At this point Jane has left one unfulfilling situation only to find another. Fortunately for her however, everything changes when Mr. Rochester arrives. Unlike the governesses in “Hints on the Modern Governess System” who are often treated as subservient beings, Jane becomes an object of attention for Mr. Rochester and he begins to treat her with more respect and interest than anyone else in the house. This turn in Jane’s life is a display of Bronte’s knowledge of the governess life. Jane feels the weight of the problems expressed in “Hints on the Modern Governess System” but she is able to avoid the full brunt of their effects, and therefore we see her role as a governess as a largely positive one. Through this, Bronte is able to both reveal issues within the governess system and applaud it for its positive facets.

 

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 1999. Print.

“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine. November 1844: 567-577. Print

Women as Governesses

~ Christine Fahnestock ~ 2 Comments

“Hints on the Modern Governess System” is an article that sheds negative light on the idea of governesses.  The article takes a satirical tone to it as it discusses the role of women as governesses, and mocks and demeans the behavior of women who pursue that role in society.  The article says that “Many [women] left their quiet homes for the school-rooms of halls and castles…There was no place left for them but that which they had chosen.  Like much else, it looked best from a distance” (569).  This passage reflects on women leaving their place in the home to become governesses in schools or castles, and essentially says that it looked like a good idea at first, but once the women were on the other side, they regretted their decisions and wanted to go back to their old lives.  By saying this, the author is instilling a false sense of fear in the target audience and making a mockery of the women who had chosen this path. Because of the great numbers of women that fled into the governess path of life, there was a large amount of competition—some had to lower their standards and marry below them just to keep food in their stomachs, while others had to take ridiculous deals from families to ensure that they’d be able to keep themselves from hunger.  The article says:

“The policy of the world is to take advantage of want.  It became apparent that a whole family of daughters might be taught by one of these single women, struggling for bread, for less than it formerly cost to send one girl to school” (570).

Employing them for cheaper than the deserved price was an acceptable act during this time period, and one that the article encourages. The article further mocks the role of governess by saying that “The governess must endure all thigs, or perish.  A low marriage or a slow death are her only loopholes of escape” (575).  The author of the article is arguing that women who strive to be a governess are only burying themselves and putting themselves in a horrible position—there’s nothing positive to come out of this line of work, according to the article.

Charlotte Bronte’s portrayal of governesses in “Jane Eyre” argues against the points made in this article—her novel shows the benefits of being a governess and instills the idea that it is a reasonable path to follow for a woman.  Perhaps it is Jane’s personal situation that makes the role of governess more bearable, but nevertheless, the novel emphasizes that Jane makes a life for herself by becoming a governess and escaping the misogynistic pressures of the Reed household where she had been residing.  Jane has carved a sense of freedom for herself in the role of governess; one she could not have obtained if she had stayed with the Reed’s.  It is through Jane’s motivation to become a governess that she obtains her own freedom and independence from the gender stereotypes and crushing patriarchal values of this time period.  Upon receiving a response to her governess advertisement, Jane says:

“this circumstance was satisfactory: a private fear had haunted me, that in thus acting for myself and by my own guidance, I ran the risk of getting into some scrape; and above all things, I wished the result of my endeavors to be respectable…” (154-55).

It is clear in this passage that the stigma of being a governess and risking their lives, essentially, was on the line.  However, Jane takes the job at Thornfield.  The audience gets a taste of what the argument was saying—that women who were governesses had been putting themselves at risk of debt and putting themselves in a bad situation.  However, it is clear that Bronte, at the very least, supports the efforts of Jane and her role as a governess.  If Bronte were against it, she would have written a story where Jane falls into debt and has to marry beneath her, or one which she refuses any governess jobs.

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard Nemesvari. Toronto: Broadview, 1999. Print.

“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine November 1844: 567-577. Print

 

Stir-Crazy Governesses

~ lazoe1 ~ Leave a comment

According to the article, governesses were those women who were unhappy with their current state in life and who left “their quiet homes for the school-rooms of halls and castles” (569). The problem with these women is that Victorian society took advantage of the fact that there was a surplus in the number of governesses versus the number of positions. These women, who only hoped for a better education and maybe a better life, were left with low paying salaries and the burden of being the “hired strangers” (570). Governesses became the lowest class:

Many ladies would not dare treat their maids as they behave to the teacher of their children. Why? The maid had a broad field before her; she can afford to turn upon her mistress. The governess must endure all things. A low marriage or a slow death are her only loopholes of escape. (575)

The article then goes on to discuss the dissatisfaction that governesses deal with throughout their lives. They are unable to return home and unwilling to be paid any mind by their employers; “Governesses are usually a fretful, discontented race” (574).

Though Brontë’s character, Jane, is absolutely one of those discontented women that the appendix article talks about, she is saved when she attends Lowood. Jane had a very rough start in life, being orphaned and raised by an abusive family, and only dreamed of venturing out and knowing more of the world. Lowood gives Jane the tools she needs to apply and get her position at Thornfield Hall. Instead of following the “norm,” Jane is saved when she leaves the Reeds’. All that awaited her there was abuse with no affection, save that of Bessie, one of the maids. Jane truly benefits when she attends Lowood, especially after the typhus incident when other members of the community get involved and Mr. Brockelhurst is removed as sole caretaker of the girls. Jane never once regrets leaving her lavish home behind for the simplicity of Lowood.

Jane is happy at Thornfield Hall — Jane had “heard of the treatment of governesses” (Brontë 163). After some time, she finds that she still “desire[s] more of practical experience than [she] possessed, more of intercourse with [her] kind, [and] acquaintance with variety of character” (Brontë 178). It is right at the point that Jane begins to feel stir-crazy, the way the article predicted, that Mr. Rochester comes into the picture. Mr. Rochester does not treat Jane in the conventional way; instead of ignoring Jane he takes pleasure in her company and she in his. I feel as though the introduction of Mr. Rochester at this point in time is Brontë going against the ideas in the Fraser Magazine. Jane is not the crazy governess who will have to be sent to the asylum, she is witty and perceptive. The relationship between Jane and her employer is very odd, but Jane finds that she dreads the day Mr. Rochester departs because she will know what it truly is to be alone.

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard Nemesvari. Toronto: Broadview, 1999. Print.

“Hints on the Modern Governess System.” Fraser’s Magazine November 1844: 567-577. Print

Gender Influence and Governesses

~ philliph1 ~ Leave a comment

“The modern governess system is a case between woman and woman.”

(“Hints on the Modern Governess System” 571)

The magazine article from Fraser’s critiques the governess system by an aim at the domestic sphere. The women hiring the governesses are the intended audience, and the article repeatedly relies on a mother’s empathy. But wait… there’s no wife at Thornfield Hall. How does this change the governess critique? How does it relate to Jane Eyre? My blog post uses the quote as a starter topic, and will seek to explore how Brontë treats the governess’s duty in a home without a motherly domestic influence. Continue reading →

Victorian Governesses

~ reevesj2 ~ Leave a comment

The Victorians looked down on the idea of governesses because they upset the social balance. They were educated women who broke away from their life course in order to explore paths that were not previously open to them. It was stated that “many left their quiet homes for the school-rooms of halls and castles” (569). Many governesses turned their back on their old comfortable lifestyles. This ended up costing them because they were forced to work for an income or resort to a marriage beneath their ranks in order to live in comfort. Therefore, they were taken advantage of by the families who hired them because of their desperation. Becoming victims of their own circumstance, governesses were seen as unhappy women who were wasting away their youth on the education of families of varying social rank. Their position held little prestige because of its overabundance on the market. All they accomplished was upsetting the social order of things.

Brontë’s portrayal of governesses goes against the societal views. It offers a circumstance where being a governess is better than the alternative. While Jane is a ward of the Reed’s, her life is very bleak there. She is unhappy and poorly treated by her peers on a regular basis. It is not until she moves to Lowood that she is able to pursue her own education and start up a life based on her own wants. Jane remarks: “I had the means of an excellent education placed within my reach; a fondness for some of my studies and a desire to excel in all…” (149). While before she was just a girl living in ignorance and isolation at the mercy of her guardian, now she is set on a path toward independence and is happier than she ever imagined possible. If one had to pick from the two options available, the one that she chose certainly appears to be more agreeable.