The Governess in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
The nineteenth-century figure of the governess occupies a complex space in literature and society, reflecting broader tensions about class, gender, and education. As seen in Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw, the governess often embodies the "employed gentlewoman," a concept fraught with contradictions as discussed by M. Jeanne Peterson. Despite their critical role in educating children, governesses were often viewed as inferior, caught between the servant class and their employers, leading to social isolation and a lack of authority, issues highlighted by Alice Renton. This precarious social position is further explored in works such as A Perfect Treadmill of Learning by Kathryn Hughes, which examines their roles and curricular responsibilities.
The economic challenges and limited social mobility faced by governesses prompted the creation of institutions like Queen's College and the Female Middle-Class Emigration Society, as detailed by Patricia Clarke. Their experiences often reflected broader Victorian anxieties about the "plight" of women and social stability, themes explored in The Anathematized Race: The Governess and Jane Eyre by Mary Poovey. Fictional governesses, such as those in Sheridan Le Fanu's works, challenge patriarchal norms and highlight the duality of their roles, as explored by Teresa Mangum.
In literature, the governess is portrayed variously as a virtuous heroine, a parodic figure, or a sinister influence. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James complicates this image, blurring lines between sanity and madness, as analyzed by Alice Hall Petry and E. Duncan Aswell. The governess's narrative role, especially in Victorian fiction, serves as a lens through which to explore the complexities of gender and social class in a rapidly changing society.
Contents
- Representative Works
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Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
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The Victorian Governess: Status Incongruence in Family and Society
(summary)
In the following essay, Peterson considers the role of the governess within the Victorian middle-class family, focusing primarily on the incongruencies inherent in the notion of “employed gentlewoman.”
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A Perfect Treadmill of Learning
(summary)
In the following essay, Hughes provides an overview of governess life, discussing the oftentimes tumultuous relationship between the governess and the mother, the bond a governess might share with her students, and the typical subjects a governess was expected to teach.
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The Victorian Governess: Status Incongruence in Family and Society
(summary)
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Criticism: Fictional Governesses
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Reflections of a Governess: Image and Distortion in The Turn of the Screw
(summary)
In the following essay, Aswell argues that The Turn of the Screw is a non-supernatural tale revolving around the narrator's inability to confront and acknowledge her dark side.
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Exposure in The Turn of the Screw
(summary)
In the following essay, Schrero contends that The Turn of the Screw should be analyzed in terms of various cultural beliefs and traditions common to the Victorian era—particularly the interactions between children, parents, servants, and governesses.
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Jamesian Parody, Jane Eyre, and The Turn of the Screw
(summary)
In the following essay, Petry claims that with The Turn of the Screw James wrote a parody of the popular novel Jane Eyre, portraying his own narrator (the unnamed governess) as an almost exact parody of Brontë's famous female protagonist.
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Reader, I Married Him
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Hughes provides an overview of nineteenth-century fiction featuring the character of the governess, beginning with Jane Austen's 1816 novel Emma, and ending with James' 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw.
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Jane Eyre: The Tale of the Governess
(summary)
In the following essay, Bell focuses on what she describes as Jane's intense desire for independence, which the critic argues is the heroine's prime “social fault.”
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Sheridan Le Fanu's Ungovernable Governesses
(summary)
In the following essay, Mangum explores how the grotesque, abusive, powerful, and gender-ambivalent governesses in Le Fanu's short stories and novels challenge traditional patriarchal authority and threaten domestic order.
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Reflections of a Governess: Image and Distortion in The Turn of the Screw
(summary)
- Further Reading