Sunday, September 05, 2004
Lady's Maid by Margaret Forster
Lady's Maid was one of the books passed to me by a friend, the same friend who gave me those horrible Wendy Holden books. I approached Lady's Maid with trepidation and was impressed and pleased.
Lady's Maid is a novel about the relationship between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her maid. A detailed look at the duties and life of a Maid, neither Understairs nor Upstairs - not family nor a regular servant. Mrs. Wilson (unmarried but gets a Mrs. out of respect) is privy to the most personal part of E.B.B.'s life from her fragile health to her correspondance and visitors. Close as her relationship is and as much as Miss Barrett counts on her for daily survival, any thoughts on Mrs. Wilson's part of a friendship are mistaken. Wilson has worked her way up to the position of Lady's Maid and is thrilled and a bit overwhelmed to be serving such a wonder as Miss Barrett.
The story follows Wilson as Wilson follows Elizaeth Barret into her marriage and to Italy. Over the years Wilson sacrifices her personal life and finds herself frozen in time at the same wages but adding many tasks to her daily regimen. Within a short time she is organizer, traveller, nanny, and housekeeper, all for her original wages as Maid. It takes a while for Wilson to start fretting at the restrictions though she has been warned that Mistresses are thinking of themselves not of their servants and care only for the inconveniences that their servant's problems bring to them.
When it becomes obvious that although married Wilson had become pregnant prior to the marriage, she is cast aside. Struggling back to the only way she knows to support herself, Wilson sacrifices again and again to get back into the Browning's employ. At times she must choose between her husband or a child or serving the Brownings. Mrs. Browning's literary understanding and empathy for lower caste women and their lack of power makes her treatment of Wilson even more galling.
On the other hand, I sometimes sympathized with the Brownings. Wilson did count on them to fix her problems and did count on them to bail her out of the difficulties that her expectations of support had brought her to. Time after time they wouldn't help her and time after time she asked. (sigh)Despie her anger and frustration and loss, Wilson felt real compassion and responsibility for Elizabeth Browning; these feelings were a tighter bond that wages or employment.
A heartbreaking look at 19th centures life for a servant.
Lots of recommendation for this one mostly to women in their 30-60's but a few to men who I know enjoy the 19th century or the Brownings.
Lady's Maid is a novel about the relationship between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her maid. A detailed look at the duties and life of a Maid, neither Understairs nor Upstairs - not family nor a regular servant. Mrs. Wilson (unmarried but gets a Mrs. out of respect) is privy to the most personal part of E.B.B.'s life from her fragile health to her correspondance and visitors. Close as her relationship is and as much as Miss Barrett counts on her for daily survival, any thoughts on Mrs. Wilson's part of a friendship are mistaken. Wilson has worked her way up to the position of Lady's Maid and is thrilled and a bit overwhelmed to be serving such a wonder as Miss Barrett.
The story follows Wilson as Wilson follows Elizaeth Barret into her marriage and to Italy. Over the years Wilson sacrifices her personal life and finds herself frozen in time at the same wages but adding many tasks to her daily regimen. Within a short time she is organizer, traveller, nanny, and housekeeper, all for her original wages as Maid. It takes a while for Wilson to start fretting at the restrictions though she has been warned that Mistresses are thinking of themselves not of their servants and care only for the inconveniences that their servant's problems bring to them.
When it becomes obvious that although married Wilson had become pregnant prior to the marriage, she is cast aside. Struggling back to the only way she knows to support herself, Wilson sacrifices again and again to get back into the Browning's employ. At times she must choose between her husband or a child or serving the Brownings. Mrs. Browning's literary understanding and empathy for lower caste women and their lack of power makes her treatment of Wilson even more galling.
On the other hand, I sometimes sympathized with the Brownings. Wilson did count on them to fix her problems and did count on them to bail her out of the difficulties that her expectations of support had brought her to. Time after time they wouldn't help her and time after time she asked. (sigh)Despie her anger and frustration and loss, Wilson felt real compassion and responsibility for Elizabeth Browning; these feelings were a tighter bond that wages or employment.
A heartbreaking look at 19th centures life for a servant.
Lots of recommendation for this one mostly to women in their 30-60's but a few to men who I know enjoy the 19th century or the Brownings.
# posted by JJ @ 4:28 PM 
