The Middle Classes- Duties of Lady’s-Maid 1861

GAP• Genre: - An advice book

• Audience: - Maids/ servants working for their mistress, however some may be illiterate so the

mistress would use the book to look at relevant pages to show that she has knowledge/ understanding.

- Young wives newly elevated to her husband’s status- middle class.

• Purpose: - A reliable guide to inform servants on running a Victorian household. Advice on entertainment, etiquette, childcare, cooking, employment of servants.

Background research• Isabella Beeton was the English author of ‘Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household

Management’ and commonly known as one of the first and best cookery writers.

• She had a huge family- the oldest of 21 siblings.She therefore had to babysit and carry out general household management, which gave her the experience and confidence to write her famous book.

• In her book she also highlights the importance of both animal welfare and the use of local and seasonal produce, long before these concerns became mainstream.

• The book had 1,112 pages, over 900 contained recipes.

• It was an immediate success, selling over 60,000 copies in its first year of publication and nearly two million by 1868.

• Most recipes were illustrated with coloured engravings , and it was the first book to show recipes in a format that is still used today.

Lexis• Sophisticated, educated lexis –

The lexis used in the book is polysyllabic and educated due to the middle-class audience it is aimed at, e.g: “onerous”, “preliminary”, “trifling”, “incorporated”, “proportions” – although the instructions stated are for the maid, the lady of the house would be the one reading the book, and then instructing the maid from this, as it would be unlikely that the maid could read.

• Field specific lexis/jargon –

Throughout the text there are many complex processes that Mrs Beeton is outlining such as preparing the lady for dressing - “lacing” (lacing up the dress), “merino” (a type of wool), hairdressing – “bandeaux” (a headband) and “pomades” (wax-like substance used to style the hair), “chignon” (hair style) - and how to wash certain items/what to wash them with – “borax (compound used in detergents and cosmetics), “camphor” (solid that is said to ‘nourish’ the hair) and “pomatum” (perfumed oil/ointment for the hair).

• ‘Old fashioned’ lexis –Words such as ‘plume’ (a long, soft feather or arrangement of feathers), ‘scrumptiously’ and ‘quart’ (a quarter of a gallon).

• Old fashioned ‘sayings’ –“A stitch in time saves nine”.

• Many words hyphenated, which would not necessarily be today–

“Rosemary-water”, “lady’s-maid” and “curl-papers”.

Grammar• Complex sentence structure -“Small brushes, manufactured purposely for cleaning combs, may be purchased at a trifling cost; with this is the comb should be well brushed, and afterwards wiped with a cloth or towel”• Very frequent use of punctuation –“The details of dressing we need not touch upon, - every lady has her own mode of doing so; but the maid should move about quietly, perform any offices about her mistress's person, as lacing stays, gently, and adjust them smoothly”• Formalised sentence structure –“…as very frequent washing makes them so very soft”,“…makes them soft, as does also the use of soap”

Graphology• Changing format –-Important words or phrases are emphasised by using italics, e.g: “Hairdressing”, “but not the bristles”-Font also varies on certain words, again possibly for emphasis.-Words such as “INGREDIENTS” are in capitals, which could potentially suggest a new heading. -Subheadings in bold, e.g: “2377 – To clean combs”

What does this text tell us about the 19th century?

• Middle class women were entirely dependant on a supply of domestic servants- a clear division of social class in society.

• Traditional gender roles- the home and it’s management was the women’s responsibility- the domestic sphere. Men- the public sphere.

• Women had to obey men as they had all the resources.

• Isabella Beeton helped to actively promote the expected, domestic housewife role.