The Life of the Governess Rebecca Sharp :: Victorian Era

The Life of the Governess chest of drawers Fair Sets the StageIf run away Rebecca Sharp had determined in her heart upon making the conquest of this double beau, I dont think, ladies, we have any right to blame her (Thackery 27). The fibber of Vanity Fair encourages readers non to blame Rebecca Sharp for being determined to pull in Joseph Sedleys attentions and proposal in sole(prenominal) ten years After all, the narrator reminds us that she was motherless, and thus had no adept(a) to help her secure a husband. Yet, members of Vanity Fair rebuke Miss Sharp for her assertive efforts. Perhaps, though, one should sympathize and applaud Miss Sharps labors because her destination after ten days was the life of a governess.A Governess-A DefinitionThe position of a governess ask that one act as a companion for her charges and teach them the accomplishments that would modify them to compete effectively in society The required accomplishments were still one or two languages, prefe rably French and Italian, music, dancing, drawing and needlework The eventual(prenominal) aim was the best possible marriage.--Alice Renton, 48The governess was even often the heroine for writers counselling on domestic, educational and social issues (The Victorian Governess). Yet, author and former governess Charlotte Bront wrote, it was punter to be a housemaid or kitchen girl, rather than a baited, trampled, desolate, put off governess (Damrosch 1524). And Anna Jameson wrote, a woman who knows anything in the world would, if the choice be unexpended to her, be anything in the world rather than be a governess (Renton 59). wherefore the Negativity Regarding a Governess?As the cries of these governesses allude, life as a governess was not always glamorous, despite the literary regard. A governess who was capable of teaching much than the usual subjects was generally little valued (Renton 50). The pay a governess real often reflected the small value. Her wages could be as low a s eight pounds a year Charlotte Bront received twenty pounds per year (actually only sixteen since washing expenses were deducted at the source) (Allingham). Perhaps the Quarterly Review best put the institution of being a governess in perspective when the interest was published, a being who is our equal in birth, manners, and education, but our inferior in worldly wealth (Renton 96). Thus, governesses ranked with the superior servants (Altick 56) and ended up face broken and lonely as Jameson described (Renton 59).So Where Did Becky Fit In?Becky was obviously not the typical Victorian governess.