daily governess

In the census of 1861 we find the household of Jerome Nicholas Vlieland.

VLIELAND Jerome N Head 64 Teacher Of Languages Overseas - British - Holland
VLIELAND Sarah H 62 Wife Norfolk - Hemblington(Originally: Norfolk - Hemlington)
VLIELAND Maria H 20 Daily Governess Norfolk - Norwich
PARKER Harriet 21 Servnt House Servant Norfolk - Norwich

Governesses in the Nineteenth Century

According to the Victorian definition, the term "governess" could describe a woman who taught either in a school or in a private home, whether on a daily basis (a "daily governess") or as a live-in employee. Most governesses were responsible for educating the children of the household until they were old enough to go away to school or to a private tutor, or, in the case of upper-class girls, to "come out" into society. As a profession, it was socially acceptable at least in part because the duties performed by a governess were very similar to those expected of wives and mothers.

In general, governesses were "gentlewomen" of reduced circumstances; that is, they were middle- or upper-middle-class by birth, driven by financial circumstances to seek employment. Essentially, women who became governesses had no significant male in their lives to support them. The mid-nineteenth century witnessed a marked rise in the number of women seeking governess positions for three primary reasons: 1) the aftermath of the "hungry 1840s" that had resulted in many middle-class bankrupcies; 2) a discrepancy in the number of marriageable men and women, resulting in a problem of surplus or "redundant" single women; 3) an increasing tendency in men to postpone marriage until they had attained economic prosperity. Unfortunately, the large numbers of women looking for employment as governesses resulted in lower wages and more harsh working conditions. But such women had few alternatives beyond marriage; until the end of the century, being a governess remained one of the few respectable professions open to "gentlewomen".

For her employers, it was important that the governess come from a genteel background. Educated and raised to be a lady, a governess was therefore competent to impart the accomplishments and morals of the middle class to children in the way that a working-class woman was not. For many employers, it therefore was imperative that the governess's character be beyond reproach, for her duties including inculcating proper behavior as well as academics. Her role was to superintend as well as embody middle-class female virtue.

Often of an equal social status as her employers, but occupying the place of a servant, the governess, at best, enjoyed an ambiguous station within the household. Most employers would not condescend to treat their governess as an equal, and most servants resented her for her elevated birth. As a result, the governess's life was often a very lonely one. And it didn't help that, to safeguard the governess's virtue/morality, employers generally discouraged her from entertaining suitors -- leaving a governess with little hope of finding a spouse and therefore as little hope of ever leaving her profession. Of course, some governesses did marry -- and many married their employer's younger brothers or sons. However, such marriages not only breached social codes, but also raised the threat of seduction. Not coincidentally, unattractive women were the most likely to be hired by as governesses -- at least where the mistress of the household was doing the hiring.
The information above is adapted from Daniel Pool's What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew (1993), Sally Mitchell's Victorian Britain (1988), and Mary Poovey's Uneven Developments (1988).