Editing Governess (section)

==Role==
Traditionally, governesses taught "[[the three Rs]]" (reading, writing, and arithmetic)<ref>{{cite book |title=Life in Old Virginia; A Description of Virginia More Particularly the Tidewater Section, Narrating Many Incidents Relating to the Manners and Customs of Old Virginia so Fast Disappearing As a Result of the War between the States, Together with Many Humorous Stories |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeinoldvir00mcdo |last1=McDonald |first1=James Joseph |first2=J. A. C. |last2=Chandler |year=1907 |publisher=Old Virginia Pub. Co. |location=Norfolk, Va |page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeinoldvir00mcdo/page/241 241]}}</ref> to young children. They also taught the "accomplishments" expected of [[upper-class]] and [[middle-class]] women to the young girls 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 (usually male) teachers with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, such as a drawing master or dancing master.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===In the United Kingdom===
In the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] household, the governess was neither a [[servant (domestic)|servant]] nor a member of the host family. She worked in the [[Social structure of the United Kingdom#Upper class|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 a sign of this social limbo, she frequently ate on her own, away from both the family and the servants. By definition, a governess was an unmarried woman who lived in someone else's home, which meant that she was subject to their rules. In any case, she had to maintain an impeccable reputation by avoiding anything which could embarrass or offend her employers. If a particular governess was young and beautiful, the lady of the house might well perceive a potential threat to her marriage and enforce the governess's [[social exclusion]] more rigorously. As a result of these various restrictions, the lifestyle of the typical Victorian governess was often one of social isolation and solitude, without the opportunity to make friends. The fact that her presence in the household was underpinned by an employment contract emphasized that she could never truly be part of the host family.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

However, being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways by which an unmarried, middle-class woman could support herself in Victorian society.<ref name=refgov>{{Cite ODNB |last=McDermid |first=Jane |title=Bennett, Sarah (1797–1861), governess |date=2004-09-23 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-49144 |access-date=2023-04-20 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/49144 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The majority of governesses were women whose fortunes had drastically declined (e.g. [[Sarah Bennett]]<ref name=refgov/>), due to perhaps the death of their father or both of their parents, or the failure of the family business, and had no relatives willing to take them in. Her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the only way out of it was to get married. It was difficult for a governess to find a suitable husband because most of the eligible men she encountered were her social superiors, who preferred a bride from within their own social class, particularly since such women generally had better financial resources.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

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 [[Lady's companion|paid companion]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

===British governesses outside the United Kingdom===
An option 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.<ref>{{cite book |author=Howe, Bea |year=1954 |title=A galaxy of governesses |location=London |publisher=D. Verschoyle}}</ref>

The [[Russian Empire]] proved to be a relatively well-paid option for many. According to [[Harvey Pitcher]] in ''When Miss Emmie was in Russia: English Governesses before, during and after the October Revolution'',<ref name=Pitcher>{{cite book |author=Pitcher, Harvey |year=1977 |title=When Miss Emmie was in Russia: English Governesses before, during and after the October Revolution |ISBN=1906011494}}</ref> as many as thousands of English-speaking governesses went there. The estimate of numbers ('thousands'), although necessarily vague, is justified by some knowledge of the main [[lodging house]] used by those not accommodated with their host families, [[St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Moscow#Early history|St. Andrew's House, Moscow]], and by the places of worship they preferentially frequented, for example [[St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Moscow|the church associated with the House]]. Pitcher drew extensively on the archives of the [[Queen's College, London#History|Governesses' Benevolent Institution]] in London.<ref name=Pitcher/>