Philippa Janu, University of Sydney
Author Biography
Philippa Janu is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research focuses on the representation of governesses in English novels written by women during the long nineteenth century. Her work has been previously published in Bront毛 Studies. Philippa is also an experienced secondary school English teacher.
Abstract
Miss Margland, a minor governess character in Frances Burney鈥檚 1796 novel Camilla, is rarely discussed by literary critics. This article, which engages with recent critical examinations of Burney鈥檚 work in relation to Bildung and the marriage plot, argues that Miss Margland鈥檚 peripherality, insignificance and incompetence enable her to draw attention to the inhibitions that social and narrative conventions place upon the complex and meaningful development of women. The theories of Pierre Bourdieu are used both to highlight the governess鈥檚 particular investment in misrecognizing the economic foundations of cultural dominance, and to show how her wielding of unofficial power allows her to reveal the rules and paradoxes governing courtship and marriage. Sustained comparisons between Miss Margland and Camilla demonstrate how the governess acts as a catalyst for the heroine鈥檚 Bildung, and exposes the injustice of being compelled to submit to social codes and behaviors that limit women鈥檚 education and development.
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