The Governess In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

In the 19th century literature, the governess was mostly silenced, being a simple female character. On the contrary, in Neo-victorian literature, she was given voice and was no longer only a character in the background. Having a poor social condition, the governesses in the Victorian age were known to have been exemplary women: modest, diligent, with good reputation. In the house where they worked, they would have a place somewhere between a member of the family and a servant. She was not integrated in the family, being just an observer, without the justice to interfere. An articol from the magazine “Punch”, called "A Model Governess" in 1848 gives an image of the idea of the governess, …show more content…
Jane was an orphan who lived with her aunt and cousins, who disregarded her. After a while, she went to a school of girls where she would remain for some years, working as a teacher. Her fate was set and her only choice was to become a governess. After working as a teacher, she came into the house of Mr. Rochester, to take care of little Adele, who did not have a mother and was presumly adopted. After spending some years in the house, Jane eventually marries Mr. Rochester, which brings her to escaping her condition of being a governess. “Jane Eyre takes up this miserable vocation even though she is a talented and intelligent young woman and could possibly have found a more fulfilling job, such as the teaching job she obtains from St. John Rivers later in the novel. Jane simply has so little confidence in herself and her abilities that she can’t allow herself to do work she really enjoys. Because she has little self-confidence, she won’t even consider raising her social status and finds it easier to simply accept that she will always be a poor lower-class governess”