German Governesses in Victorian Middle-class Families: A Challenge to Domestic Authority?

Abstract

Between 1840 and 1900 thousands of German governesses resided in English middle-class homes. As employees they were subject to domestic authority, which lay mainly with the mother. This study uses the memoirs, advice books, essays and letters of governesses, pupils and employers to analyze how domestic authority operated in individual households. It concludes that domestic authority was powerful but open to challenge and modification. It also demonstrates that mothers were important filters of German culture, that minor differences in English and German domestic styles caused conflicts and that knowledge transfer was a piecemeal and selective process.