Answers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common jobAnswers regarding 'Jane Eyre and the Governess in Nineteenth-Century Britain'

The Governess role was a common profession for the middle-class Victorian woman, simply because it required a high level of education and held a reasonable amount of respect towards the position, this enabled unmarried women to earn a living without degrading themselves to lower-class work. However, the role of the governess was a problem for the Victorian upper-class, suddenly upper-class families were employing ‘educated’ women in their homes along with the servants and lower classed employee’s, however, they could not allow them to stay with the lower class workers because they were of a higher class, similarly they could not have the Governess stay with them because they were of a higher class, the position made it hard to stick to the rigid class system put in place. Poovey refers to the governess position as ‘the fate that awaited any middle class women who failed to marry’ because the Governess role was the only option for a single woman, of an educated nature, to earn any reasonable amount of money, as the norm for a Victorian woman was to live of the money inherited from her husband. The role is also noted to ‘most closely approximate’ the role of ‘that of the wife or mother’

Bronte used the role of the Governess for two reasons, Firstly: the novel is part biographical of Charlotte herself, Charlotte, being a governess, would be able to write from a Governess’ perspective accurately. Secondly: The Governess role was a role that showed an independent woman, taking her future into her own hands, as Jane is a character seeking liberation from the Reed’s oppression the Governess role is ideal for the character, enabling her to write her own future rather than awaiting a husband, especially since she notes herself as ‘plain’ (doubting anyone would want to marry her). This decision was innovative, within Victorian Literature, to give the protagonist the role of the Governess as it idolizes an independent woman fighting against a male dominated patriarchal society. Women were expected to marry and live off of the wealth of a husband, Bronte focuses the reader on a character breaking this norm, this is how Jane Eyre could be read as an early feminist text, Jane is equal to Rochester, men and women are equal.

As soon as Jane becomes a Governess Bronte marginalizes all of Jane’s encounters with Adele within the story, this is because Bronte wishes the reader to focus on the protests the role presents rather than the job itself. Instead of a functioning teacher, we are supposed to focus on how Jane is going against ‘the norm’ in society by taking the position, challenging gender roles, Bronte incorporates the role to make psychological arguments rather than to show the function of the role.

The role of the Governess challenges the original readerships perception of the ‘sexual hierarchy’, suddenly women were becoming less submissive and taking working roles that could often equal or even surpass many roles of working men. Women now became competition for working class men in scarce jobs, because of the ‘depressed 1840’s’. Women were previously expected to stay at home and take up traditional women’s roles of wife and mother, working class men now argued against this new threat for work.

It is significant that Jane abandons the role of the Governess as it furthers Bronte’s illustration of a woman pushing the boundaries of the Victorian Ideology, towards women. The original readership would recognize that Jane abandoning her position puts her in a state of vulnerability, exposing herself to the male dominated society, However,  it would appear to contradict the intention of becoming a governess, to become independent, as she becomes dependent on the moral services of John Reed.

By concluding the novel with Jane marrying Rochester, Bronte seems to contradict the intentions of having Jane as the independent female character, as she has conformed to the norms of the Victorian society by marrying a wealthy man. However, it is also important to note the Bronte attempts to reconcile Jane’s independence. Jane is now Rochester’s equal, she is his carer, she also remains Adele’s teacher.