The return of the governess. Jane Eyre strikes back?

We have been a little bit reluctant to report this news (we considered that it was just a passing comment used as a cliché and nothing more) but the insistence of several important British newspapers on this topic motivates this post.

The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian (you name it) publish these days articles about the return of the governess figure:

The traditional English governess is making a comeback among families seeking a head start for their children at school.
A mixture of child care and private tuition make the governess an attractive alternative to au pairs and nannies, said the head of The English Governess, a new agency. (...) (from Daily Telegraph)

A York-based agency is advertising for teachers - or recent refugees from the classroom - to enrol with wealthy expatriate and foreign families to teach their children.
While fictional governesses from Jane Eyre to Anna and the King of Siam usually encountered romantic complications, the emphasis of the English Governess agency is on teaching English. (from The Guardian)

But the real reason of this post are these comments in The Guardian article:

Victoria Smolen, 25, former governess to the Suckling children, says she had worried she would be treated like a servant. "But the children were well-behaved and I spent two months in Tuscany. It's actually quite glamorous." (...) (Treated like a servant? It sounds familiar?)

But a word of warning to future employers. Ms Smolen reveals that she kept a journal. "I'd be lying if I said I couldn't see it being turned into Jane Eyre for the modern age."

We will wait and see.

Categories: In_the_News, Jane_Eyre