Governess

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A governess is a female employee of a family who teaches children within their home. In contrast to a nanny (formerly called a nurse) or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not their physical needs. Thus her charges are of school age, not babies.

The position is rare now, except within large and wealthy establishments such as those of the Saudi royal family. It was common in well-off European families before World War I, especially in the countryside where no suitable school existed nearby. Parents' preference to educate their children at home—rather than send them away to board for months at a time—varied across time and countries. Governesses were usually in charge of girls and younger boys; when a boy was old enough, he left his governess for a tutor.

Governesses taught the "Three Rs" 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 (often male) with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, e.g. a drawing master.

A governess was in an awkward position in the Victorian household, neither quite a servant nor a member of the family. As a sign of this social in-between-ness, she often ate in isolation. She had a middle class background and education, but she was paid and not really part of the family. Being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways an unmarried middle class woman could support herself in that society. Her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the only likely way out of it was to marry. Once her charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or, exceptionally, might be retained by the grown-up daughter as a paid companion.

In the past, the term "governess" also referred to a female politician who serves as governor, but the term is now exclusively used to refer to a female teacher employed by a family, with the term "governor" being used in politics for both males and females.

Madame de Maintenon, who became the last mistress of Louis XIV of France, gained entry to his inner circle as governess to his illegitimate offspring, the children of Madame de Montespan.

Several well-known novels have focused on governesses, including Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and her sister Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey. Henry James's most famous governess is the over-sensitive, perhaps hysterical one in The Turn of the Screw. Maria, the main character in The Sound of Music, leaves convent life to become a governess.