Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855)_Letter to Emily Bronte

Alone with her sisters Anne and Emily Bronte, Charlotte was a governess, which was the very few position open to middle class women back then. For Bronte it was better to be “a housemaid or kitchen girl, rather than a baited, trampled, desolate, distracted governess.” (P1895). That said it all, being a governess include being disrespected by bad behave children and mad parents. Bronte told us that she worked hard in order to be a governess, that she lived in a beautiful home “the country, the house, and the grounds are, as I have said divine” (P1895) but was not able to enjoy it at all. “As for correcting them, I soon quickly found that was entirely out of question: they are to do as they like…I have tried that plan once. It succeeded so notably that I shall try it no more.” (P1895) Her bosses forbidden her to correct the children under any circumstances, it must also be understood that they were not easy children at all ( I read some of the episode that Anne Bronte had with those kind of kids...) They go to bed thinking about what they should do, to make their governess life miserable the next day. And to say that those children were well born that they were heiress with no good behavior is very sad when we think about what they will be in the future. Charlotte said that she like the Mr. Sidgwick better than Mrs. Sidgwick “it is seldom that he speaks to me, but when he does I always feel happier and more settle for some minutes after. He never ask me to wipe the children’s smutty noses or tie their shoes or fetch their pinafore or set them a chair” (P1896) I understand where Bronte is coming from after working so hard on the kids all the day long she has all the reason no to want any more order form her bosses. Especially if she knows it is her job and that those children should know already how to tie their shoes but just did not do it, in order to infuriate their governess and give her more hard time. Poor governess…Poor Bronte's siters...