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It’s because Mrs. Weston is the exception, and not the rule, when it comes to governesses. It’s not that her character or origins are any higher or lower than Jane Fairfax’s, but rather how she has been treated by the people around her (in particular her employer,) which has made the difference; and the contrast of Jane’s situation with hers really underscores that.
As Miss Taylor, Mrs. Weston had the charge of two young girls who had lost their mother, and I cannot see the widowed Mr. Woodhouse being a tyrant. In effect, Miss Taylor was the mature ranking genteel woman in the household, a stand-in maternal figure to Isabella and especially Emma, and thus beloved, respected, and treated very much almost as if she were thoroughly one of the family. And as we know, where Emma/the Woodhouses lead, Highbury society will follow, and so Mrs. Weston would always have likewise been admired and respected in their small social circle for many years by the time she becomes Mrs. Weston and settles as a gentlewoman in her own right.
It’s not so much that it’s humiliating for Jane Fairfax to be going to be a governess (though it IS a step down from being a companion with the Campbells, who seem to have treated her as a friend, much as the Woodhouses view Mrs. Weston,) but the terror of what’s waiting for her as a governess to a strange family. The chances are very high that her career would be difficult and feel degrading, as the position of governesses were generally neither quite servant nor family. Jane was facing a very real prospect of isolation and possibly maltreatment by strangers she is obliged to live with and work for in order to survive with the barest respectability. We can assume that any family Mrs. Elton has in view for Jane to go to is going to be much like Mrs. Elton herself, and any shows of friendliness would be just that–shows. The majority of governesses did not benefit by their dependence upon the families they worked for, and unless a family made the long-term efforts the Woodhouses did to make them feel valued and welcomed, it was generally a grim and grey sort of existence.
The arcs of Jane Fairfax and Miss Taylor-Mrs. Weston serve to reinforce the points made in the novel about the responsibilities leaders in society have–whether that society be large or small. As Mr. Knightley does and Emma learns, their truly considerate acts of kindness will be what brings connection and contentment to the lives of those with fewer advantages in the world, and frames this kindness as not only a nice thing to do, but a part of their duty to bless others as they have been blessed.
It’s because Mrs. Weston is the exception, and not the rule, when it comes to governesses. It’s not that her character or origins are any higher or lower than Jane Fairfax’s, but rather how she has been treated by the people around her (in particular her employer,) which has made the difference; and the contrast of Jane’s situation with hers really underscores that.
As Miss Taylor, Mrs. Weston had the charge of two young girls who had lost their mother, and I cannot see the widowed Mr. Woodhouse being a tyrant. In effect, Miss Taylor was the mature ranking genteel woman in the household, a stand-in maternal figure to Isabella and especially Emma, and thus beloved, respected, and treated very much almost as if she were thoroughly one of the family. And as we know, where Emma/the Woodhouses lead, Highbury society will follow, and so Mrs. Weston would always have likewise been admired and respected in their small social circle for many years by the time she becomes Mrs. Weston and settles as a gentlewoman in her own right.
It’s not so much that it’s humiliating for Jane Fairfax to be going to be a governess (though it IS a step down from being a companion with the Campbells, who seem to have treated her as a friend, much as the Woodhouses view Mrs. Weston,) but the terror of what’s waiting for her as a governess to a strange family. The chances are very high that her career would be difficult and feel degrading, as the position of governesses were generally neither quite servant nor family. Jane was facing a very real prospect of isolation and possibly maltreatment by strangers she is obliged to live with and work for in order to survive with the barest respectability. We can assume that any family Mrs. Elton has in view for Jane to go to is going to be much like Mrs. Elton herself, and any shows of friendliness would be just that–shows. The majority of governesses did not benefit by their dependence upon the families they worked for, and unless a family made the long-term efforts the Woodhouses did to make them feel valued and welcomed, it was generally a grim and grey sort of existence.
The arcs of Jane Fairfax and Miss Taylor-Mrs. Weston serve to reinforce the points made in the novel about the responsibilities leaders in society have–whether that society be large or small. As Mr. Knightley does and Emma learns, their truly considerate acts of kindness will be what brings connection and contentment to the lives of those with fewer advantages in the world, and frames this kindness as not only a nice thing to do, but a part of their duty to bless others as they have been blessed.