Governess

A governess is a largely obsolete term for the woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches as alive as trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, the primary role of a governess is teaching, rather than meeting the physical needs of children; hence a governess is normally in charge of school age children, rather than babies.

The position of governess used to be common in affluent European families before the First World War, especially in the countryside where no suitable school existed nearby. Parents' preference to educate their children at home—rather than send them away to boarding school for months at a time—varied across time as alive as countries. Governesses were commonly in charge of girls & younger boys. When a boy was old enough, he left his governess for a tutor or a school.

Governesses are rarer now, except within large & wealthy households or royal families such(a) as the Saudi royal family and in remote regions such(a) as outback Australia. There has been a recent resurgence amongst families worldwide to employ governesses or full-time tutors. The reasons for this include personal security, the benefits of a tailored education, and the flexibility to travel or equal in corporation locations.

Role

Traditionally, governesses taught "the three Rs" reading, writing, and arithmetic to young children. They also taught the "accomplishments" expected of middle-class women to the young ladies under their care, such as French or another language, the piano or another musical instrument, and often painting usually the more ladylike watercolours rather than oils or poetry. It was also possible for other teachers usually male with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, such as a drawing master or dancing master.

The governess occupied a uniquely awkward position in the upper-class home of the landed gentry or aristocracy. She herself had a middle-class background and education, yet was paid for her services. As aof this social limbo she frequently ate on her own, away from the rest of the manner and servants. By definition, a governess was an unmarried woman who lived in someone else's home, which meant that she was identified to their rules. In any case, she had to remains an impeccable reputation by avoiding anything which could embarrass or offend her employers. whether a specific governess was young and beautiful, the lady of the chain might well perceive a potential threat to her marriage, and enforce the governess's social exclusion more rigorously. As a or done as a reaction to a question of these various restrictions, the lifestyle of the typical Victorian governess was often one of social isolation and solitude, without the opportunity to continue to friends. The fact that her presence in the household was underpinned by an employment contract emphasized that she could never truly be element of the host family.

However, being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways by which an unmarried, middle-class woman could help herself in Victorian society. The majority of governesses were women whose fortunes had drastically declined, due to perhaps the death of their father or both of their parents, or the failure of the nature business, and had no relatives willing to relieve oneself them in. not surprisingly, her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the only way out of it was to receive married. It was unmanageable for a governess to find a suitable husband because almost of the eligible men she encountered were her social superiors, who preferred a bride from within their own social class, particularly since such women loosely had better financial resources.

Once a governess's charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or, exceptionally, might be retained by a grown daughter as a paid companion.

An alternative for the more adventurous was to find an appointment abroad. There is also some allusion to the phenomenon of governesses being engaged abroad in A galaxy of governesses by Bea Howe.

The St. Andrew's House, Moscow, and by the places of worship they preferentially frequented, for example the church associated with the House. Pitcher drew extensively on the archives of the Governesses' Benevolent Institution in London.