Governess

A woman employed to educate children in a private household.

A woman employed to educate children within a private household.

Work as a governess, teaching children in another family’s home, was one of the principal respectable possibilities; schoolteaching was another. These occupations offered earnings but could mean dependence on employers and a loss of the social comfort she had known. Remaining unmarried often meant relying on relatives.

A woman employed to educate children within a private household; one of the few paid occupations considered respectable for an educated gentleman’s daughter.

Qualify generalisations: governess work was one of the few respectable occupations for an educated middle-class woman, not the only work available to all women.

Use context to explain the moment: a governess’s uncertain social position helps explain why the Ingrams can insult Jane while relying on women like her to educate their children.

Either question: connect context to the detail being analysed—for example, Jane’s dependence as a governess helps explain the force of her claim to equality.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Mary Morstan’s employment allows her to support herself while remaining within a socially respectable occupation.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home, often living with the family that employs her.

An educated woman employed to teach children in a private household.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Jane teaches Rochester’s ward, Adèle, at Thornfield.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Her education could distinguish her from other servants, while her paid employment separated her from the family.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. A nineteenth-century governess was educated like a lady but worked for wages, leaving her between the family and the servants.

A woman employed to teach children in their own home. In Victorian Britain, her education could mark her as a lady, while paid employment placed her below the family employing her.

A woman employed to educate children in their family home. In Victorian Britain, a governess often had a middle-class education but depended financially on her employers.

Jane’s employment as a governess brings all three together. Context helps us understand these connections, but an interpretation still needs evidence from the novel.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household, the position Jane seeks and accepts at Thornfield while still teaching at Lowood, before leaving.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. Jane teaches Adèle at Thornfield but does not belong to Rochester’s wealthy social circle.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. A nineteenth-century governess’s education could give her the standing of a lady, while paid employment left her outside the employer’s family.

A woman employed to teach children in their home. In a Victorian household, her education could give her the status of a lady, while her paid employment kept her outside the employer’s family.

A woman employed to educate a family’s children in their home, often occupying an uneasy position between servant and social equal.

Becoming a governess gives her an income but not an equal place in a wealthy household. Leaving Rochester protects her principles but puts her livelihood at risk. Reading with context means recognising these pressures while still examining how Brontë presents Jane’s response to them.

An educated person employed to teach children in a private household; Jane earns her living teaching Adèle at Thornfield.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. In Jane Eyre, Jane teaches Rochester’s ward, Adèle, at Thornfield Hall.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Jane’s employment as a governess makes her financially dependent on Rochester.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Her education could give her social standing, but she depended on her employer for an income.

An educated woman employed to teach children in a private household. Her education could give her the status of a lady, while earning wages made her dependent on an employer.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household; one of the few socially acceptable paid occupations for an educated woman of the gentry.

Paid work was possible, but the occupations regarded as suitable for educated gentlewomen were very limited: governess or schoolmistress work was among the few acceptable choices.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. In nineteenth-century Britain, a governess commonly had middle-class education but depended on wages and occupied an awkward position between family and servants.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Jane becomes Adèle’s governess at Thornfield Hall.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household. Her education could associate her with the family’s social class, while her paid employment made her dependent on them.

A woman employed to educate children in their own home. A nineteenth-century governess could have a middle-class education while remaining financially dependent on her employer.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household; one of the few occupations considered respectable for an educated woman of the gentry.

An educated woman employed to teach children in a private household.

A woman employed to educate children in a private household; one of the few occupations considered socially acceptable for a woman from a genteel family.

A woman employed to educate children in their home. In nineteenth-century Britain, her education could give her the status of a lady while her paid employment made her socially subordinate to her employers.

Definition

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AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

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Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720