After I began reading The Governess, I developed a problem with the novel. The problem I have is, who is the governess? Throughout the story I wondered where is Mrs. Teachum, the supposed governess, and what does she do for these girls? What does she teach to them? I believe Miss Jenny is the real governess and teacher, and that Mrs. Teachum is just a figure in the background who leans on Miss Jenny for support.
Its odd that in the beginning of the novel, Mrs. Teachum is described as a woman who values educating the younger generation. Mrs. Teachum takes on these little girls to educate them and to teach them morals and ethics but the role she plays in educating the girls is very small. There are many instances where Mrs. Teachum leans on Miss Jenny. For example, Mrs. Teachum puts Miss Jenny in charge of the other girls and tells her to divide the apples among the girls; when the girls begin to fight over the largest apple Miss Jenny tries to stop the fight. Also, it is Miss Jenny who teaches the girls why it was wrong to fight over something so trivial. Another example of when Mrs. Teachum leans on Miss Jenny is when Mrs. Teachum calls Miss Jenny to her office and tells her to learn and write down each girls background so that she can read about her pupils. Mrs. Teachum should have spoken to her students individually and not have asked Miss Jenny to do it for her. Even though the girls do know that Miss Jenny is going to report back to Mrs. Teachum, it shows that Mrs. Teachum has a general lack of interest in getting to know her students. It is obvious that Miss Jenny really cares for the other girls.
Miss Jenny is the real teacher because in addition to teaching the girls to keep their hands to themselves, she teaches them additional morals and ethics from her own life experiences. She also educates the girls by reading fairy tales to them. Mrs. Teachum treats Miss Jenny like an assistant or an unpaid intern because she doesn't give her any credit for the work she does. Instead, of commending Jenny for being a leader, the narrator remarks that Miss Teachum is amazed to see the girls holding hands after they fought over the apple. The girls are holding hands because Miss Jenny spoke to them and helped the girls become friends. Another example of how Mrs. Teachum treats Miss Jenny like an aid is she tells the girls not to pay attention to the first fairy tale Miss Jenny read because the story wasn't real and the creatures don't exist. If Mrs. Teachum were a better teacher she wouldn't have missed that Miss Jenny was teaching a lesson to the girls.
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3 comments:
This is an interesting interpretation of "The Governess," but I do feel as if it is interesting to look at where Miss Jenny Peace learned most of her lessons and the ability to teach the young students. Although Miss Jenny Peace is displayed teaching most of the children through fairy tales and such throughout the novel, it is Mrs. Teachum who teaches them the true morality of these stories. Miss Jenny Peace was directed by Mrs. Teachum and a good teacher is someone who guides their students. I just thought I would offer an opposite view point.
I agree with you completely, Mrs. Teachum seems more like what would be seen as a modern day principal where Miss Jenny is more like a teacher. Miss Jenny has already learned her lessons and is now teaching them to the younger girls. I would think that with everything that went on in her life Mrs. Teachum would have quite a few stories to tell the girls but she leaves that completely up to Jenny. The girls were so sad when they found out Jenny was leaving because she was the one person they could truly look up to.
I definitely think you make a great point here--Mrs. Teachum may have taught Jenny originally, but Jenny is the one doing the actual work. It's easy to say 'hey, tell the kids this moral story,' which is what Teachum does, but it's much harder to make sure the girls actually learn the lesson they are supposed to.
Also, shouldn't Mrs. Teachum have known the backgrounds of the girls before she agreed to take them as students? I thought that part was really weird.
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