In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte highlighted the harsh economic and social realities faced by Victorian women seeking employment as governess or teachers, as shown in the newspaper of the The Times of London. During the 19th century Britain lacked any sort of centralized or national standard to certify teacher or governesses, women at that time had to market themselves.
Given that standard accomplishment such as knowledge of languages, music, drawing, and arithmetic's were widely expected from applicants. Governess had to self credit themselves. Governess tried highlighting superior fluency, year of experience, moral character, and even age. If we take a look at the The Time of London newspapers we can see a perfect example of this "A lady in her 24th year... she is a musical, a good reader, domesticated, and Industrious" ("Governess Ads," par. 4), "A lady, age 26, accustomed to tuition... in English and French in all there branches, Italian, drawing and music" ("Governess Ads," par. 5) you get the point. Furthermore, many ads were placed by third parties, such as clergy men and or parents. This practice served as an informal proxy for formal credentials, an endorsement by clergymen. The guaranteed moral rectitude and social standing, and shielding middle class women from indecorum in public newspapers or press.
Jane follows this same process in her advertisement: "A young lady accustom to tuition...She is qualified to teach the usual branches of good English education, together with French, Drawing, and Music" (Chap. 10). Like the women advertising in The Times of London, Jane must present herself as marketable commodity by framing her Lowood training and accomplishments as proof. Finally, Jane's need to advertise reveals the delicate balance Victorian governesses had to navigate, to commodify themselves while also preserving their standing as respectable middle class governess, women.
Work Cited
Brontë, Charlotte [Currer Bell]. Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. Smith, Elder and Co., 1847. Cove Collective, Southeastern Louisiana University.
Kaston Tange, "Governess, Companion, and Housekeep Ads," from The Times (London), 4 June 1846, 17 January 1845, 8 January 1845, 8 January 1845, 7 October 1847, 5 October 1847, Victorian Contexts, PBWorks, http://victoriancontexts.pbworks.com/w/page/12407398/Governess,%20Compa….